Jack Wills Clothing

Jack Wills is a British clothing brand for both males and females aimed primarily at students.  There are stores throughout the UK and Ireland, as well as a website which delivers internationally.  

The company was founded in 1999 by Peter Williams and gets its name from the grandfather of the original founder.  The first store was opened in Salcombe, Devon.  This is quite a weird place to open a store catering for the university market, since there is not a university in this town - however, it shows the strength of the Jack Wills company and brand that despite starting in a location which would seem to be counter-productive to such a company, the company has actually thrived and expanded greatly. 

The Jack Wills company grew rapidly, so that there are now 31 Jack Wills clothing stores within the United Kingdom, one in the Republic of Ireland and the Jack Wills website where it is possible to buy the full range of products, with delivery worldwide.  This is a very popular option for many people who go to university in a town or city where there is not currently a Jack Wills store.

Jack Wills has many different items of clothing in their gentleman's range.  This obviously is changes depending on the season.  However, the clothing range includes all clothing a male would ever buy.  This includes jackets, hoodies, smart shirts, t-shirts, underwear and trousers.  Obviously the exact items within this range change depending on the season and styles.  As such, expect more coats and sweaters in the winter/autumn and more shorts etc in the summer.  Prices run from about £30 for a basic t-shirt up to £400 for large jackets. 

The ladies range of Jack Wills clothing, like many fashion retailers, is larger than the range of Jack Wills clothing for men.  As with the male clothing range, this changes depending on the season.  However this includes the same sort of ranges as men, including out-door wear, trousers, skirts, dresses, tops and various other accessories.  Again the clothes are priced relatively highly, especially compared with most mass market UK fashion retailers, with the cheapest tops costing in excess of £30 and the most expensive jackets costing almost £300.

The Jack Wills company also sells soft furnishings for the home.  This includes bed covers, rugs and the like.  Again these are relatively expensive, with pillowcases costing about £20 each, duvets costing from £80 depending on size and cushions costing from about £70.

Jack Wills has stores throughout the UK and Ireland. It is the company policy that these are generally in older, character buildings which have been converted to become a fashion shops. It is also company policy to make sure that the stores are in the areas of towns which are more bohemian in nature. The first Jack Wills store was located in Salcombe, Devon. Since then a large number of stores have been opened. There are five stores in various locations in London including in Notting Hill and Chelsea. Aside from these there are stores in the following locations in the UK: Aldeburgh, Bath, Bicester, Brighton, Bristol, Burnham Market, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Chester, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Guildford, Gunwharf, Harrogate, Leeds, Marlow, Nottingham, Oxford, Reigate, St Albans, St Andrews, Winchester and York. In addition, there is a single store in the Republic of Ireland in Kildare. The opening times for these stores vary and so it is best to check the local store to find out exactly when it is open.

Since Jack Wills is primarily aimed at the student market, the company launched a separate company with a slightly older target market.  This company is called Aubin and Wills.  This company was formed more recently than Jack Wills and as such has only opened four stores; one each in Notting Hill, Wimbledon, Brighton and Edinburgh.  In addition the Aubin and Wills sells products through their website.