Category Archives: Canadian dress

Canadian Fashion Connection: D. McCall & Co.

Posted on 2019-10-12 by Jonathan

The wholesale millinery business of D. McCall & Co., was established in 1879 by Dougald McCall and William Blackley (Blackley had immigrated to Montreal from Scotland in 1860 and moved to Toronto in 1866.) The business was originally located at … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Kates Boutique

Posted on 2019-10-05 by Jonathan

The Montreal millinery company Kates Boutique was founded in December 1969. Kates was a supplier of basic fashion headwear to bridal shops, department stores and hat salons across the country. The company was incorporated in March 1993, at which point … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Ida Desmarais

Posted on 2019-09-11 by Jonathan

The Musee McCord just released EncycloModeQC – a comprehensive online resource of the Quebecois fashion industry. This is a great resource for finding more about Montreal designers and manufacturers of clothes we have in the collection. The first designer I … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Rosbergs

Posted on 2019-09-02 by Jonathan

Jacob Wolfe Rosberg and Mary (Mindel) and their four children emigrated from Kielce, Poland to Toronto in 1913. After a few years, the family moved to Niagara Falls to open a menswear shop that supplied workers at the Queenston hydroelectric … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Norma Lepofsky

Posted on 2019-08-27 by Jonathan

Toronto knitwear designer Norma Lepofsky was well known in the 1980s, but there is very little written about her or her business, including when the business began and closed. I have pieced together what I can and hope readers will … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Woods & Taylor

Posted on 2019-08-22 by Jonathan

James MacDonnell Woods was born in 1833 in Tulloch, Ireland and married in 1854 before immigrating to Canada the following year. By 1860 he had settled in Galt and was working as a store clerk. His business partner Alfred Taylor … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Peerless

Posted on 2019-08-20 by Jonathan

Peerless Clothes was founded in 1919 by brothers Moe and Phil Segal. In 1951, Alvin Segal joined his stepfather’s (Moe) business. At that time, the company employed almost every extended family member of the Segal family in either the cutting … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection: Lore Maria Wiener, 1920 – 2019

Posted on 2019-08-12 by Jonathan

Lore Maria Wiener (nee Frensdorff) was born in Hanover Germany on March 31, 1920 to a Catholic mother and Jewish father. After graduating high school she apprenticed as a seamstress and went on to study fashion in Vienna. In November … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Iona Monahan

Posted on 2019-07-31 by Jonathan

Canada’s fashion industry has always been centred around Montreal and Toronto. In the 1920s Montreal became more dominant, but with Quebec’s political instability in the 1970s, Toronto rose up to challenge Montreal’s claim, and even surpass Montreal as the leading … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Daymac Robes Ltd.

Posted on 2019-05-23 by Jonathan

Founded in Toronto as Dexter Robes Ltd. Nov. 24, 1941, the company’s name was changed to Daymac Robes Ltd. On December 14, 1944. The company closed in August 1985 but reopened in 1987, only to close again in 1997. The … Continue reading →

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