Joules

[cremedelacardi]

I've read today that joules are getting advisors in to help boost profits. So where in your opinion is joules going wrong? I still buy pieces there but they often end up in my wardrobe unworn.

I buy Joules for my teenage daughter. Those floral and stripes mixes seem to young for me.

They've definitely overdone the prints. Half the clothes each season are in a variation of the same print. It's dogs! Now it's bees! Now it's foxes!

I like their plainer stuff - I've got a couple of jackets and coats that are total workhorses and wellies that have lasted for ages. But apart from basics most stuff is pretty flimsy and/or weirdly cut.

Agree with the PP who said that Seasalt are doing that market better.

Quality has gone down and the price has gone up.

I started buying their stuff when it was all polo shirts and gilets and not much else. Even then it wasn't "real" horsey/country wear. It was what you wore to HOYS or Burghley to look a bit more respectable than you did in your mucking out gear.

However they did what they did well, good quality, nice details etc. Now the sweatshirts are so thin they are almost see through, the knitwear is acrylic and the nice wooden buttons and velvet/corduroy trim is gone but the price point is higher.

I still buy some of their stuff, in fact I have had some good summer dresses this year from them but I didn't pay more than I would from M&S so I wasn't disappointed.

IME all their harbour tops shrink.

I used to love joules (am doggy and horsey though) however the quality these days is crap. A lot is too short in the body anyway then you wash it and it ends up cropped. Dd 12 has now inherited it all as scruffy wear for the stables. They also need to modernise. Everything is a bit dated now and basic. They either need to go more mainstream and move away from the dog and horse style or go a bit more upmarket and channel the Holland Cooper style. Improve quality, make their coats warm again. My last puffer was disappointing. Kids clothes are cute but mine are too old for it now. Maybe a teen range?

I used to love Joules but the price just dosent meet the quality anymore

I think I'm wearing one of those same wrap dresses at the moment bought last year after having a baby and it still feels like the most flattering thing I own!
I still like some of the plainer bits and pieces from Joules, but they've definitely gone overboard with the embellishments. I was trying to find a plain navy Breton recently and couldn't see one that didn't have bees or flowers or vegetables (!!) on. I think part of the problem is that they have a very defined 'look' so even their plainer things can be very obviously Joules, and not everybody wants that, especially now that it's a very mainstream brand. Love the kids stuff though.

Also my recent experience of their knitwear has not been good, all horrible artificial stuff which doesn't fit with the country image at all

Buying full price from them is pointless as there are so many huge sales, all the time. They created their own race to the bottom.

The website is truly awful and glitches frequently.

And the jumpers bobble.

They got too big too quickly and did what many brands do in that situation where they raided their prices, lowered their quality and kept reusing the same designs/ patterns for years and expecting the same level of popularity. See also Cath Kidston and Jo Malone.

*raised not raided

Too jaunty

Can’t stand shopping online with them anymore - have to filter out Friends of Joules stuff all the time. I think they’ve confused their brand by trying to be Not on the High Street.

I find the fit/cut frustrating - must only suit flat chested, narrow shouldered women. Necklines are all very high.

I don’t want to dress like a 5yr old with all the bees and vegetables and dots. Would rather they did some plainer styles for grown women.

@fyn same, and about to hit 40 and most my friends 40-50. It's not quality farming wear.

It's not quality horse or dog walking wear.

It's weekend country break wear. Which is sad, as I used to love a joules top, for cross country, or the boots etc.

Yes re: the lovely quality and detailing of 10-20 years ago having disappeared. The tweed and corduroy skirts, velvet and cord edges, nice buttons, etc. It then seemed to move heavily towards garish floral patterns in bright pink and orange and is now just very identifiable along with this vibe of 'people who think they're super active and country but actually aren't'. Some of the plainer stuff still looks nice but on closer inspection the quality isn't great. And all the knitwear is synthetic.

I used to
Not any more
Too much dog branding
Last thing I bought was too hot
I do like their gilets thought but I am currently too fat to wear mine

I used to get kids stuff there, but I got DS a coat from there, it was dreadful compared to the one we had before which looked almost identical.

They sing middle aged from the rooftops. That practical yellow raincoat that was doing the rounds. Or conversely with all the ditz and dogs and ‘cute’ linings, they are too young (suitable only for children).

I also find the clothes come up small, which for the target audience isn’t great, give us some vanity sizing and cut for stomachs and boobs. They have shut a lot of shops so you are then dependant on distance sizing working. The one in Waterloo station was shut by 6pm the other day. I think there is only one or two others left in London now but I notice them when I go to affluent towns.

They also do that classic ‘this is the price’, except on this day, that day and most of the days of the year if you have a code or we have a sale. So no one wants to bite at full price and really devalues the brand.

I actually love horsey chic despite living in London but they don’t even get this right.

My boss shops there a lot which puts me off it!!
Always find it v expensive too.

Agree that they scream townie trying not to be townie. Though I do very much like their baby clothes.

Kids clothes used to be lovely, but renown for odd sizing (coming up tiny).

Wellies were never worth it. Quality is now poor, and doesn’t last with washing I find. DH used to get a fair bit from their menswear but now claims it’s overpriced tat.

Shame really from 10years+ ago.

I’ve got that big stupid yellow raincoat. It’s the most ill fitting, uncomfortable, thing I own. I don’t know what I was thinking. I look like I’m off fishing in my trawler on the North Sea. A homeless guy shouted, “Nice coat” in a sarcastic tone of voice the last time I wore it. That was the last time I wore it.

I really like their gilets and jackets and I have several but the prints on dresses and tops are ghastly and not my style at all.

About ten years ago I bought a nice stripey Joules sweatshirt in a charity shop. Fabulous quality and I wore it to death.

While on holiday recently I came across a Joules so I wandered in, full of expectation. I even sent DH off to get a coffee as I thought I'd be a while trying things on. There wasn't one garment that interested me, such a shame.

I bought my DD some leggings recently as i knew she'd love the print. Far more than I'd usually pay for leggings and hands down the worst quality ones ever. Baggy round the knees once they've been on half an hour and badly faded after the first wash. Never again.