Why Our Clothes Look And Feel The Way They Do

I’ve been asked a lot lately about why our clothes feel the way they do.

Not just how fabulous they look—but equally as important is how they sit on the body, how they move, how they make you feel when you put them on in the morning. It’s something customers mention to me time and time again… that there’s a comfort to them, an ease, something that just works.

For a long time, I didn’t fully understand how to explain that.

But in recent years, something clicked into place for me.

I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD later in life, it's sometimes referred to as AUHD - quite a spicy mix, let me tell you! If I’m honest, it made my whole life make sense in a way I hadn’t expected. One had masked the other for most of my life, but hey ho, I know now.  It wasn’t a dramatic moment —but it was a clarifying one.

And it made me realise that the way I experience the world is quite different.

Everything is heightened.

I feel fabric deeply. I notice texture instantly. Some fabrics I can’t even touch, in true Jo dramatic mode, I actually physically shudder and retch. I’m also acutely aware of restriction—where something pulls, where it presses, where it doesn’t quite sit right. Certain things aren’t just uncomfortable; they’re unbearable. Seams that dig into my armpit (think leotards in the days before Lycra). My poor mother would have to sew diamond-shaped patches under each arm. I was a dance kid, and that was a lot of patches. Sorry Ann! And as for waistbands with no give… they don’t just annoy me, they completely distract me. I physically can’t ignore them.

So I don’t design them in…It’s as simple as that.

My design process has always started with a beautiful fabric first. It comes before anything else, I need to touch it, smell it (don't judge) feel and see how it moves. The weight of it, the drape, the touch temperature, the way it responds to the body—it tells me what it needs to become. 

From there, the shape follows quite naturally. I tend to know very quickly what will work and what won’t. Decades of doing this have given me a kind of internal shorthand—I can often visualise the finished piece long before we reach the sample stage. 

Then comes the real fun …colour and print, which is where I find real joy; this is where my inner fashion geek goes full throttle. My perception of colour is laser precise, and I’m instinctively drawn to combinations and balances that feel right, even if I can’t always immediately explain why. It’s a very intuitive part of the process, but also a very considered one. 

I do refine, of course. I tweak constantly. Small details matter more than most people realise, and I will always adjust something if I know it can feel better, sit better, or move better.

I think this is where, unknowingly, my neurodiversity has quietly shaped Laundry b  clothes.

Not in a way that defines them—but in a way that runs underneath everything.

There’s also the way I work.

I’ve always been someone who can focus deeply, especially on something I love. Fashion has always been that for me. It’s not something I switch off from easily—it’s a constant thread in my mind. For some people, that might look like working too much, and I’ve certainly had moments where people have worried about that. This is just my natural rhythm.

It’s also balanced by something equally important—I need a lot of quiet. A lot of space. I’m not someone who thrives in loud rooms or busy social environments. In fact, I find them incredibly overwhelming.

Which is why the way we get to connect as a community means so much to me.

Our livestreams, our online conversations… they allow for real connection, but in a way that feels manageable, genuine, and calm. It’s a way of building something meaningful without the chaos and noise. 

And that feels very true to who I am.

I don’t want this to read as though everything about this is a strength. It isn’t. There are things I find difficult, things that have held me back, particularly in more traditional business settings. I’m not a natural networker, and I’ve had to accept that my path has been slower, has looked different and has taken me much longer because of that. Growth is important, and I take comfort in the tale of the Snail & Tortoise. We celebrate our 20th birthday this year. 

Business awards, network events, self promotion these are all well beyond me. Fortunately, our amazing social butterfly ladies pick that job up for me and are more than happy to sing our praises wherever they are, for which I will be forever grateful.  

Over time, I’ve come to understand that the same traits that make some things harder are the ones that allow me to design in the way I do. To notice what others might miss. To prioritise how something feels, not just how it looks.

And ultimately, to create clothes that people genuinely want to live in.

So if you’ve ever put something on from us and felt that immediate sense of ease… that’s where it comes from.

Not just from my fashion expertise and experience. 

But from a very instinctive, very personal way of experiencing the world—and designing within it.

Jo x