There’s something refreshingly real about Julie Oates.
The woman behind has built one of South Africa’s most recognisable local fashion brands Julz Shoes, but there’s no big ego attached to the success. In fact, throughout the conversation, Julie constantly redirects praise back to the people around her.
“It couldn’t just be me,” she says more than once.
Julie is proudly a “PE girl” at heart and says she never felt the need to leave Nelson Mandela Bay, even as the business expanded nationally and internationally.
“I love the beach, I love the outdoors, and I love the people here,” she says.
And somehow, that relaxed coastal energy feels woven into the brand itself, colourful, approachable, playful and grounded.
From aviation to fashion
Before Julz Shoes, Julie spent many years working in aviation before eventually pivoting towards her love of fashion and shoes.
After a fire destroyed her first business, she found herself rebuilding from scratch. That rebuilding eventually became Julz Shoes, a brand now stocked through hundreds of doors and expanding into markets like Kenya.
But even now, with the growth of the business, Julie still speaks about the brand like someone who’s simply passionate about making people feel good.
Even the energetic social media videos customers know and love are part of a much bigger team effort.
“People think it’s just me dancing around online,” she laughs, “but there’s a whole team behind that.”
From marketing and batch filming to customer service and logistics, Julie says people often underestimate how much work happens behind the scenes.
“There’s so much more that goes into it. It’s not all glamorous.”
Shoes that don’t judge
While fashion is central to the business, Julie believes shoes represent something deeper too.
“Shoes don’t judge,” she says. “No matter what size you are, you’ll always end up fitting into your shoes.”
That thinking has shaped the brand’s strong focus on inclusivity and comfort.
Whether someone has slimmer feet, wider feet, larger shoe sizes or simply wants stylish shoes that feel good to wear, Julie wants there to be something for everybody.
Foot health has also become increasingly important to the brand, especially as customer priorities shifted after COVID towards sneakers, flats and more comfort-focused fashion.
But for Julie, comfort never means sacrificing personality.
The Julz customer still wants colour, bold fashion moments and statement pieces, just without the pain that often comes with fashion trends.
And according to Julie, the brighter styles almost always sell out first.
Fashion that feels personal
Julie remains deeply involved in the creative side of the business.
She travels frequently for inspiration, keeps a close eye on trends and still designs locally alongside her team.
One thing customers have come to love is the fact that Julz rarely repeats the exact same ranges.
“If it sells out, it sells out,” she says.
That approach keeps the brand feeling special and personal.
The business has also expanded beyond shoes into handbags, wallets and premium leather accessories.
And now, Julie has added menswear to the Julz family too.
The new range, called Will, is named after her partner and has already seen strong interest from customers shopping not only for themselves, but for their children too.
Julie designs both the Julz and Will ranges herself, carrying the same focus on individuality, comfort and quality across both brands.
Making customers feel seen
One thing Julie understands well is that modern customers want connection.
From the Julz chatbot to personalised customer engagement, the brand has adapted to how people actually shop today.
“People shop at night now,” she explains.
That customer-first approach has helped build remarkable loyalty and repeat business over the years.
“We don’t want to lose what the brand started out as.”
And perhaps that’s part of why people connect so strongly with Julz Shoes in the first place. Behind the branding is still someone who genuinely cares about the customer experience.
Built through resilience
The road has not always been easy.
Beyond losing her first business in a fire, Julie recently faced another setback when severe storms caused flooding damage to one of the brand’s spaces.
But rebuilding is something she has learnt to do well.
“There’s no recipe,” she says honestly.
Just constant movement, adaptation and finding ways to keep growing.
And perhaps that’s exactly what makes Julie Oates such a fitting People of the Bay feature.
Behind the bright shoes and playful branding is a woman who built something meaningful through resilience, creativity and heart, while still holding tightly onto the city that shaped her.
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