‘This is what was missing in Whitby’ says founder of ethical clothing brand inspired by the Yorkshire coast
With shops in Whitby centre and in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Whitby Yard is a fashion brand that specialises in relaxed, ethical clothing inspired by the Yorkshire coast. Emma Ryan meets founder Jacquie Fox.
From Wimbledon to Whitby - a woman with a love for the coastal lifestyle has created her own brand of clothing after not being able to find anything she wanted to buy on a day trip to the North Yorkshire seaside town.
Five years on and Jacquie Fox now has a shop on the historic cobbled streets of Whitby selling her own brand pieces, designed by herself and inspired by a peninsula in north east America.
Whitby Yard takes its name from Martha’s Vineyard, an island sitting off the coast of Massachusetts and Cape Cod in the States - where it is well known for its laid back surf and sea loving lifestyle.
When she married husband, John, in 2019 on the Isles of Scilly, off the southern tip of Cornwall - known for sailing, water sports and coastal walks - it was here Jacquie realised what was missing for people visiting Whitby for similar fulfilment.
From then she set about filling that gap with t-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, joggers and accessories.
Jacquie explains: “We got engaged on my 50th and went to New England but prior to that, he brought me to Whitby for a day out and there was nothing I wanted to buy here.
"There was something missing and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I was shocked there was no surfer or coastal clothing, it was jet shops and Dracula.
“In New England everywhere sold beautiful t-shirts with coastal designs and when we got married a year later on the Isles of Scilly, I saw the Isles of Scilly shop with t-shirts with the Isles of Scilly on.
“I said to John ‘that is what is missing in Whitby’. There was no brand tourists could take home. We came back from our honeymoon and I said, ‘I will start my own’. I think he thought I had turned 50 and was having a mid-life crisis - but that is how it started.”
Jacquie revisited a wonderful and whimsical childhood memory to draw the now instantly recognisable, whale tail logo. As a young girl she was fascinated with whales and started ‘The Whale Club’ at school with friends where they made whale badges and talked about whales.
She needed a strapline to go with it, and, as with all the best ideas - she and John came up with it over a bottle of wine one Sunday afternoon.
“We wrote lots of words down associated with the coast and came up with ‘Salty Air, Breezy Sails’. I didn’t want the brand to be stormy or wild, it is serene and peaceful.”
At first Jacquie started selling Whitby Yard clothing online, at Christmas markets and a shop in the town agreed to take some pieces to sell. Soon after she got a phone-call to say the shop had sold out and could she do some more?”
And so Jacquie, who was working for a blue chip company in Wimbledon, south west London, decided to open her own little shop in Whitby. Whitby Yard quickly outgrew its surroundings and relocated to another unit, also on Church Street..
A second branch of Whitby Yard opened in Saltburn in 2022 where there is a strong surfing community.
Jacquie created a surfboard graphic which has now become synonymous with the Saltburn range of clothing. The same offerings of t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies and so on as the Whitby shop, but it has its own Saltburn slant.
“I can’t believe I have opened a shop with a brand people love”, she says, with an infectious enthusiasm and delight for the venture.
The concept is simple. Garments are made from specifically sourced organic cotton, some samples Jacquie has rejected if the quality, despite being organic, isn't good enough. In addition to t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, joggers, you will find hats, caps, back packs, tote bags and everything you need to be cool and cosy at the coast.
Even a Whitby Yard bone china mug to enjoy a proper cup of tea or even a hot chocolate to warm you up after a bracing sea dip.
Then there are the aesthetics - you won’t find black anywhere in Whitby Yard. Think ice-cream colours like mint green, peach, pistachio, berry and bubblegum pink.
There is an earthy colour palette in there too with sage green, heather and khaki coming from the moors. And, well it is a shop inspired by the coast after all, so navy, denim blue, driftwood and salmon also make up the cheerful company of colours.
Jacquie says: “You won’t see any black in my shop and I don’t because of the goths and Dracula. I want it to be completely different. I want it to be colourful and I want people to think they don’t know what to buy.
“People say ‘you should sell this and you should sell that’, but for me no. That is not my brand, my ethos is to keep it simple, so it is easy to wear.
“I have made mistakes”, she admits, “and got colours in people didn’t like. I got yellow in once, I really like yellow, but it just didn’t work.”
There is a genuine pride with which Jacquie holds Whitby Yard.
She says: “Five years later, if I see someone else in one of my t-shirts I get really excited, if somebody comes in and says, ‘I love your shop’, I still get that giddy feeling.”
Looking to 2026, she is contemplating new designs and likes to refresh a couple each year. The Moors to Sea range (look out for the little grouse) is due an update, she says.
Jacquie adds: “One of my favourite things with designs is to hark back to New England. American customers love it.
"When they come in and say the shop feels just like New England - I think I have got it right.”
whitbyyard.com