Camel Polo | Joules Townie And Country Fashion, Dressing For The Rural Idyll
The label’s high-profile fans include everyone from the TV farmer, Jimmy Doherty, and his girlfriend, Michaela, and Ben and Marina Fogle, to the likes of Elle Macpherson, Helena Bonham Carter, Amanda Holden, Jools Oliver, and Kirsty Allsopp.
What they, and thousands of rural-roosters, second-homers, yummy-mummies and traddy-daddies love is the reality of the ultimate townie-and-country wardrobe; ‘free-range’, unconventional classics.
For her – rustic, but tailored herringbone and wool-check tweed field-coats or ‘hacking’ jackets finished with quirky, mis-matched or vintage buttons and a madcap floral lining, for example; curvy, wool-check, boyfriend blazers and waistcoats, with braid trim; posy-print, tiered skirts; and wool/angora sweaters with a dog motif. For him – the polo shirt, reinvented with stud fastenings and slogans for Gurkha elephant polo and camel polo tournaments; a long-line tweed jacket with satin spot lining; or a pair of bright green suede desert boots. For the kids, everything from tartan pyjamas to miniature waxed jackets.
One of the things which really put Joules on the map was its printed Wellington boots. “We were the one of the first to do them, and now we have them in bright florals, pastel roses, polka dots, with dogs on, in every colour under the sun, and just recently, we’ve added ribbons. We sell about 100,000 pairs a season.”
True to its country roots, Joules is based in Market Harborough, a prosperous market town in the East Midlands, on the Northants-Leicestershire border, which dates back to the 13th century and was formerly part of the Rockingham Forest, a favourite hunting ground for medieval kings. Tom Joule, 42, fits his own customer profile perfectly. He and his wife, their two children, a daughter, 9, and a son, seven, live in the town, with assorted dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits and horses.
He readily concedes it is a country paradise, “but it’s genuine, not contrived. There’s no opulence and the way we live is reflected in the clothes. We still use our heritage and you can still find Joules at 300 county shows and horse trials around the UK every year. But it’s country clothing with a twist. Or, as his older sister, Martine, who heads up the communication team, likes to describe it: ‘great hand-me-downs.’
Pictures by Simon Songhurst
Hair and make-up by Dirk Neuhoefer using Shu Uemura
Model: Cathrine Dal
Styling: Hilary Alexander
Fashion assistant: Natasha Cowan
Photographed at Papa Tangarora, courtesy of explora’s Rapa Nui, Posada
de Mike Rapu, Easter Island, www.explora.com ; and Exsus Travel;
www.exsus.com ; 020 7337 9000: LAN www.lan.com
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