Uckfield Entrepreneurs
First opened in 1928, W E Cole is a family-owned business in its third generation, a bespoke tailor and outfitter, with its founder known as a “cutter of distinction”. Owning one of Cole’s three-piece suits was a mark of true social distinction.
Many customers who walk into the shop these days are also third generation customers, whose grandfathers were probably served by the enterprising Mr. William Edgar Cole.
While the business is now strictly menswear, there is still an air of distinction about the shop and its manager, Derek Foster, a keen fisherman and motorbike rider, who has worked there for nearly 40 years and could very easily model most of its clothes. It offers a wide range of high-quality clothing from British and European suppliers and provides customers with a traditional service of assistance, involving careful, expert advice. There is also a flourishing hire department for weddings and major functions.
Derek started as a civil servant in London but moved into men’s retailing with Acumen in Regent Street, then Allders in Croydon, before joining Thorpe’s in Uckfield. Derek came as part of its 2002 sale to Cole’s, an acknowledged “win-win” for all.
There have been many changes in society in the past three generations, but he cautions that in menswear, “fashion” is something of a misnomer. Changes in menswear are matters of evolution and repetition than metamorphosis. Clearly, there are limits to the number of styles available for a formal suit.
Covid lockdowns and Brexit took their toll. The shop complied with government directions on social distancing, including asking customers to try not to feel the width of its suits unnecessarily. Trade has been different since, with a big revival in customer footfall after Covid restrictions ended, although Brexit’s damaging impact continues with a permanent import tax of 12.5% on all stock from Europe.
And while Cole’s is a byword for style, class and quality in menswear, there are no limits beyond these. Cole’s sells everything that a man wears, although long-sock garters might not now be available, despite being a vital item for short-trousered schoolboys in the 1960s.
What is Derek’s least favourite piece of menswear? Double-pleated trousers, with hippy flares coming a close second. Like the sublime to the ridiculous. Nonetheless, I’m sure that he would do a brilliant job of selling a pair of either to his discerning customers whenever needed.
Long live Cole’s of Uckfield!