Brand Spotlight … 10 minutes with Welligogs!

“You can have anything you want in life …. if you dress for it!”

Today’s brand spotlight welcomes Welligogs, a truly beautiful British brand, full of timeless, elegant and chic clothing, footwear and accessories for Woman. Everything about this brand oozes luxury, from the distinct Welligogs detailing that is instantly recognisable, to the sustainable materials used throughout all of their products.

This brand is not only my go to for Race Days, Country events and day to day, but it also makes up my work wardrobe too! Incredibly versatile though all of their products, this brand has you covered whatever the scene, Country to City, Day to Night and Work to Leisure.

I am so excited to welcome you into the world of Welligogs, and those behind the brand, as well as sharing some best selling products, and there may even be a sneaky coming soon exclusive!

So grab your favourite drink, and let’s get into it!

I do also have a special Welligogs discount code at the bottom of this blog too!

*Left: Rockingham Green Gilet, Right: Phillipa Leather Handbag*

Thank you so much for joining me on the blog today Tess, it’s so great to have you! First of all, we would love to know what inspired Welligogs?

My mum started WG back in 2001 when we moved from Australia to England. We originally designed hand painted wellington boots and raincoats, which is why we’re called Welligogs – it is a midland term for wellies. In 2006, we started introducing wax jackets and leather wellies into our range. Mum and dad preferred the durability of these, they were created from more sustainable materials and were made in either England or Europe. From then, the collection has organically grown into the brand you see today.

I started working for the business full time in 2020, before that I used to help at shows as my holiday job. I still design our collections from our family home in Staffordshire where we’ve been for the past 23 years.

Oh I love that and it is great to hear where the name Welligogs came from too! Could you tell us what it is about Welligogs that makes you so unique?

Our tailoring and signature details. Not only are our wools beautifully cut but we maintain accentuating the feminine shape in our waterproof collection too. Our signature contrast detailing differentiates WG pieces without being gaudy. I personally don’t like heavy branding, I aim to make our designs refined and chic, you’ll distinguish a WG design from its structure and features.

I am also a massive eco-warrior and have a real focus on sustainability. Any choice I make, I try to be as eco as possible, from choosing natural, regenerative fabrics to use in our styles to working with local manufacturing, to the ink we use in our printers. All are conscious choices.

Would you say the Welligogs customers are of a certain demographic?

When my mum ran the company, we had a more mature WG woman as our core customer. Since I’ve taken on the business, I have strived to expand our collection to appeal to a younger woman who loves both city living and country pursuits. We aim to create designs that can be worn across multiple generations. As a mother and daughter who borrow each other’s clothes, we hope our designs surpass single generation wardrobes too. Be it something that can be worn by different ages or timeless investment pieces that can be passed down.

Welligogs pieces are certainly easily distinguishable, and always a talking point, and it is great to hear a company being so forward thinking with sustainability, as well as focusing on timeless investment pieces suitable for all! With such a beautiful collection, are you able to pick a favourite product?

I wear our chunky footwear the most, mainly our Rio Boots and Hackney Loafers. I lived in London for 7 years so have a love for both city edge and country heritage. I wanted to bring a modern sharpness to our traditional designs and so took a classic style like the loafer or Chelsea boot and put it on a heavier, chunky sole.

We love something that can take us from Country to City, and back again! Welligogs is thriving, but where do you see it 5 years from now?

We’re ever growing and I aim to continue this, however, I don’t want us to become a mainstream brand that you see everywhere. Our uniqueness makes us different, I’m not one to dress the same as everyone and I want to maintain that with WG.

And we just adore how your uniqueness makes the products differ so much from others! Which product would be your best seller?

It depends on the season, our waterproofs and wools are always heavily desired. However, our Phoebe Shirts are a go to for our WG women. They are smart as well as being extremely comfortable; you feel like you’re wearing a T-shirt, whilst looking like you’re wearing a shirt.

The Phoebe Shirts are a firm favourite here at CCL, we love effortless, easy comfort, whilst looking fabulous at the same time! What would be your proudest moment with Welligogs so far?

Our stand at The Game Fair and the success of Ladies Day. We had our biggest stand ever last year and got so many lovely compliments on it. One of the highlights of the show is the Best Dressed Competition we run for Ladies Day. We have been building the competition over the past 6 years and it is now a big draw at the event. The first year we had 6 contestants, in 2023 we had over 100. It’s so wonderful to see everyone put in so much effort and I can’t wait to see how everyone dresses this year.

We just love The Game Fair on this blog, definitely one of our favourite events, and your stand is always a first stop for us! You must be bursting with ideas being the creative behind the brand, but we would love to know what or who is your inspiration?

My mum, she is wonder woman. She grew the business with my dad whilst raising 4 kids. It was a hard graft and they created it together without investment from external sources. She literally built it from the ground up whilst also being a kind, supportive and loving mother – she’s truly a marvel.

That is really lovely, and there is something so special about a family business! What do you love most about your job?

The pure variety of it. We’re a small family business and so our job roles transcend all departments. No one day is the same. One of my favourite parts is creating the designs: building the concept of the product, choosing fabrics and then developing the samples. I love photoshoots too, styling the outfits and telling the story of our creations through imagery. Nothing beats seeing our styles in action by our wonderful WG women though. It’s such a privilege meeting our customers and talking with them about how they wear their products and what designs they have. Some of our women still have the wellies from 23 years ago!

Welligogs is certainly a community of amazing woman! We love to visit you at the shows, and meet all the other likeminded customers! What shows can we expect to see you at this year?

All our favourites: Cheltenham Gold Cup, Badminton, Windsor Horse Show, Chelsea Flower Show, The Game Fair, Burghley plus some more sprinkled throughout the season.

Speaking of Cheltenham Gold Cup, it really isn’t long until Cheltenham Festival, and lots of the CCL readers will be busy planning their outfits. What would be your go to product from Welligogs perfect for a Cheltenham Festival outfit?

Our wools are a Cheltenham favourite and you often see the WG cuff walking around the racecourse. This year we launched our beloved Phillipa Handbag which is a perfect racing day bag. A structured small handbag that stands on it’s own (something I haven’t seen on the country market). She has a deep interior space with an inside zipped side pocket for security. An extremely handy external side pocket which is perfect for your racing betting slip and a shoulder strap if you wanted to wear her cross body. She comes in a rich tan and has our contrast stitching that adds depth and texture.

I love that you have mentioned the new Phillipa Handbag, as we are just in love with it here! It will definitely be a piece part of my own Cheltenham Races outfits! Mentioning new launches, how do you continue to stay creative?

I adore being in nature and recharge by getting outside. Every morning I do yoga, walk or take my dog on a bike ride in the woods and finish with a cold swim. I find cooking and baking very therapeutic and especially enjoy eating the dishes, I love food! I am also a writer, I have a short film being released this spring.

Ah yes, nature and being outside is definitely our way to recharge too! It sounds like you have a lot of creative hobbies, as well as work! I would love to know who from the industry do you admire?

I find Stella McCartney’s devotion to sustainability inspirational, and I love the structure and boldness of Alexander McQueen. Both are exceptional British designers.

Here at CCL, we always LOVE a little teaser of something new coming. Is there an exclusive that you can drop for our readers?

We have our gorgeous Oxford Coat launching in a stunning duck egg blue wool with satin features. It will be on our stand at Cheltenham so come check her out.

Ok, I am already in love, that’s definitely something we will be looking out for! Finally, we know that it is a dream for so many to start their own business. To finish, do you have any advice for someone dreaming of starting their own business or brand?

To not give up and go for it. There is always a play of luck in success, however I believe luck is a combination of hard work and opportunity, you make your own luck. You also learn more from failing, so don’t be afraid or disappointed if something doesn’t work out. Get back in the saddle and ride on.

We just love some quick fire questions to get to know those behind the brand a little more! We didn’t let Tess get away just yet, here’s a little more about her!

5 quick fire questions with Tess…

Favourite food:
Cake! I am a sugar addict and if I could eat it all day I would. My favourite flavour is Hummingbird which is a banana, pineapple and pecan sponge with a cream cheese icing spiced with coconut and cinnamon.

Unpopular opinion:
I hate champagne. Not the most ideal when you’re at an event with a champagne reception…

Favourite quote:
“Well done Slytherin, well done Slytherin” – why would you not evoke Dumbledore when congratulating someone 😉

Go to karaoke song:
Elephant Love Melody from Moulin Rouge

Last book you read:
The Temple of Fortuna – I read Classical Studies at university and love anything to do with the Classical world.

Tess, I can’t thank you enough for sharing the Welligogs story with the CCL readers, it has been such a pleasure to have you, thank you 💖

WELLIGOGS DISCOUNT CODE:

‘LUCINDA10’

Please note this only works online, and only works on full priced items.
This is also an affiliate code.

Don’t forget to pop and see Welligogs if you are at any of the events this year!
That’s all for now my Darlings. I can’t wait to catch up with you again soon!

Lots of love, Lucinda xo

You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it.
— Edith Head