Jules Reid

As many of our readers know, Jules Reid’s elegant yet whimsical designs have become quite popular amongst a smart set of women who appreciate couture details at an exceptional value. And we love the exotic flair, with looks that are just as at home in Manhattan as they would be in Majorca!

Here at WIJW we also do love inspiring entrepreneurial stories, and after a brief meet with my friend Reid, it dawned on me that this was absolutely one of those stories.

A little about her road to success…

Reid credits her mother for fueling a fashion impulse quite early on—mum would wear colorful saris (from their years spent in India) and sewed patterns the young Reid would find in Vogue. “I was always into color and was willing to wear things that no one else probably would,” says Reid of her early days. After college, though, her creative impulse had to be briefly put on hold when a position as a Wall Street stock broker presented itself. At the start, she opted for the conservative women’s suit, (the ubiquitous uniform often believed to assure success in a male dominated arena), yet after establishing herself, she felt free again to express her own unique sense of style—colors, bare legs, high heels—generally all the elements one might not think appropriate for her profession! It was during these years, researching design in her spare time, that Reid says she really started to develop the aesthetic that would later become the Jules Reid line.

Ten years on, she found herself married with three children—and very much in need of a creative outlet! With excitement, she opened a super chic and successful store and also started decorating peoples homes. Here she had a chance to fine tune her sense of pattern, texture, and color. It was not until turning 40, however, with a “now or never” sense of urgency, that Reid realized the dream that had been there for decades: to create her own clothing line.

And it doesn’t surprise us at all that the multi-talented multi-lived Jules Reid pulled together a truly fabulous collection!

In life we so often don’t go for what we really want. Taking Reid’s example certainly inspires one not to wait for that imagined perfect moment, but rather to create the moment here and now!

Spending some time with the lovely Jules Reid I’m sporting a Tom Ford “Buckingham” jacket in black and ink wool wide twill damier, Turnbull and Asser shirt in red and white cotton stripes with contrast white collar and french cuffs, Seaman Schepps cuff links are pearls with pale blue sapphires, vintage silk pocket square, black and white silk hounds tooth check pants, black patent belt and tasseled wing tip loafers all by Gucci, Cartier “Tank Divan” from Raj Tolaram, my fragrance is Creed Windsor.