The object: the Fox umbrella
Most umbrellas are bought in a doorway and left on a train. The Fox GT1, made to order by a firm keeping people dry since 1868, is what you buy when you've had enough.
Almost every umbrella you have owned was bought in a hurry, in a doorway, and then left on a train. That is a reasonable way to treat a thing that costs a few pounds and turns inside out at the first gust. The Fox GT1 is what you buy when you have decided to stop going through that.
Fox Umbrellas has been, in its own words, “keeping you dry since 1868”, and it has a better claim on the subject than most. The firm’s own history of the umbrella credits the development of Fox steel ribs and frames in the late 1800s as the moment the modern umbrella was born, replacing the whalebone and split cane that came before. The frame is still the point of the thing, and the GT1 is built on what Fox calls its Classic Fox Steel Tube Frame.
Why this one
The GT1 is the plainest good thing in Fox’s range, which is why we’d choose it. A 25-inch brown steel tube frame with black ribs. About 36 inches from handle to ferrule, about 550 grams, with a canopy roughly 41 inches across when open. A polished hardwood handle in one of four finishes: medium brown, dark brown, light grained or dark grained. The canopy is water-repellent, UV-treated polyester, and it comes in more than 30 colours, of which we would take black or navy. It comes with its own matching case.
There are no animal heads to explain and no logo to carry about. Fox also makes every umbrella to order rather than keeping finished stock, usually dispatching in five to seven working days, and you can have the tip cup in gilt or nickel, engraved for £20 more. Your initials on it are a modest defence against the train.
What it costs
The list price is £157, but read the small print: Fox shows its prices without VAT and adds the tax at checkout according to where you are. At the UK’s standard 20%, that makes £188.40. Because each one is made to order, Fox doesn’t offer returns unless the umbrella is faulty, so choose your handle and colour with care.
If you want the grander version, Fox’s solid umbrellas have the handle and stick cut from one continuous piece of wood, and the firm says they are strong enough to use as a walking aid. The RS6 in hickory lists at £365 before VAT, though its page showed as sold out when we looked.
To keep it looking right, Fox’s advice is simple: leave it open to dry, and only roll it neatly once it is completely dry. And when you’ve got it, remember what it’s for. It isn’t only for you.
How we chose: all details and prices are from Fox Umbrellas’ own product, FAQ, history and care pages, read on 1 November 2026. The price with VAT is our own sum. The umbrella was not handled for this piece, and nobody paid to appear in it.
