Bravo, Joules is Back in the Saddle!
As an Anglophile, it probably comes as no surprise that my favorite brand is a British one. Joules is a clothing and lifestyle brand that was founded in 1989. I first became aware of it in the mid to late 2000s when I purchased some polo shirts and other tops from tack shops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. During a ride with Wimbledon Village Stables in 2010 while on holiday in London, I was astonished and delighted to learn that Joules had entire shops in the UK! This was before I had a smartphone or else I would certainly have taken a selfie of my huge grin as I clip-clopped past the Joules shop, which sadly is long gone from Wimbledon thus preventing me from recreating the moment. At the conclusion of that fabulous hack through Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park, I made my way to the store for what was the first of many happy Joules shopping trips.
One of the things I’ve always loved about Joules is their hand-drawn prints. They have an artistic quality that is unusual to find amongst commercially produced items, and many of the prints are equestrian and countryside-inspired. Over the past several years though, Joules produced fewer and fewer “horsey” things and I found myself increasingly shopping for vintage Joules items on eBay and Poshmark. I wished they would go back to their British heritage roots and produce some new versions of the styles I fell in love with.
Happily, this autumn Joules has done exactly that. Last month at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials in Lincolnshire, England, Tom Joule, founder of Joules, announced they were “back in the saddle.” I’ve already purchased a number of blouses, tops, sweaters, jodhpur trousers, and even a fedora from their autumn collection.
Check out the Joules Instagram feed and the Joules shop on Next’s website to see this season’s pieces, but be warned that if you’re like me your wallet is going to take a hit!