Joules clothing middle class

[Grumps1]

Aibu to think it’s middle class? Someone at work told me they wouldn’t shop there as it’s too low brow and badly made 🙄

Working class does not mean poor.

£60 isn't much for a jumper. If you want a quality jumper, there are plenty of go-tos in the low £100s. Joules is neither quality nor MC.

A Breton polo neck sweater I got from there shrank so much my size 6 daughter wears it, only a little roomy, and it was a size 14! I thought I had put on 3 stones!!!

Poor quality, lost it's market or didn't change fast enough for it's demographic.

Exactly. Look at a brand’s imagery, what kinds of models doing what kind of activity on their website, price point, location of stores etc etc. From this thread, it sounds as if Joules has lost its original target demographic.

20/25 years ago we used to wear their polo tees at the yard. The tshirts and jumpers lasted forever.
Then they went all commercial with flowers and cheap rubber wellies that dont last 5 mins. It's not been a quality brand for 15 years or so

It's middle class in a frumpy outdated way, like someone else said it suits the horsey/sailor/rugby try hard gen x types and younger boomers. I quite like some of the children's clothes but won't buy it if it has a visible logo because I think the horsey/sailor aesthetic is cringy/try hard. I have been known to use the sentence 'It was full of Joules wankers' to describe a PTA meeting. In my observationa, millenial middle class parents prefer eco brands over nauticals, florals and rugby collars. Such as Patagonia, Passenger, Frugi, Rapanui, wool hand knits.

It’s owned by Next now so what do you expect? It’s lower end high street.

I didn't know that! I never took any notice once they stopped making hard wearing polo tees, but that makes sense.

It's also sold on QVC, even Imogen ther Brand expert puts on a fake middle class voice.

Definitely middle class but I’m honestly no blown away by their stuff. The sizes for kids clothes are terrible, always way too small.

Agree with pp who said it was aimed at the middle aged rather than middle class.

Harsh but true!

Definitely middle class but not upper middle class anymore.

I used to love and wear their harbour tops most days but I stopped buying after the quality went downhill and they shrunk( never tumble dried either)
I bought 2 from seasalt which were so thin they were almost see through( I returned them)
I now wear Pop over blouses which are not cotton jersey
So no nothing has lasted recently

I bought 2 dresses from there in a sale. The draw was the pockets and the length, the negatives were that they faded in the wash. I still wear them at home but wouldn't to work anymore.

It is middle class. It used to be pretty good quality but has gone down a lot in recent years and become quite frumpy.

Most working class people I know (and I know a lot as that is my background) tend to buy from Primark, supermarkets, Next or designer sportswear.

That’s one picture!

Middle class is no longer an income bracket, it is a set of values or tastes, which persists, albeit fragmented.

I am familiar with Joules as a shop for people who want to be horsey but aren't. Nothing wrong with that. My family kept horses and tended to buy clothing and accessories from larger outfits that were less fashion leaning and much cheaper! I don't recall anyone wearing Schoffel or Dubarry either - maybe the odd wax jacket but that's it. I tend to associate such brands with performative country living, rather than the bog standard reality of it.

Joules pops up mostly in tourist areas and market towns; Bowness, the Lake District, Ludlow in Shropshire, etc. I presumed it was less class focused and more 'holiday opportunist'. Many, many working class people have good money to spend. If they're not hanging out at Joules, they probably just think it's shite.

And yes, the quality took a severe nosedive around 2010. It's all very 'Bunty comes to tea' for me

I’d say it used to be, and then they became popular, the quality went through the floor and they seem to have a perpetual sale on.

I bought from there around 10 years ago but their style didn't seem to move with the times. I've still got one of their blue quilted jackets that I use as a dog walking coat. The wellibobs were lovely but they perished outside on the welly stand despite regular use.

I had a coat from there that’s 15 years old and going strong! Had some lovely kids clothes and they resell well online. I think it was recently bought by Next so I worry that it will go down hill as I find their clothes overpriced for the quality.

I thought it was for older ladies around 55+. I tend to put it in more of an age box than a class box, possibly because only older people might spend 40+ on a t-shirt. I find their stuff consists of navy stripes and fushia flowers 99% of the time, so not for me.

It's good for costs and rainwear.