Category Archives: Canadian dress

Canadian Fashion Connection – Alan Cherry

Posted on 2017-09-20 by Jonathan

For over 35 years, Alan Cherry was a Toronto fashion retailer known for his upmarket eye-catching fashions. His grandparents immigrated from Russia to Toronto in 1906 and began a dry cleaning and tailoring business. His mother started her own women’s … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – The Great West Felt Company

Posted on 2017-09-17 by Jonathan

In the days before down-filled nylon and double walled synthetic rubber boots, keeping feet warm in cold, snowy weather was made possible with thick felt boots. Felt is an excellent insulator, but only when the weather stays below freezing, its … Continue reading →

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Montreal in two days and six exhibitions – Exhibit 1 – Fashioning Expo 67

Posted on 2017-08-28 by Jonathan

When the possibility for a few days away could be pried out of the summer schedule, Montreal came up tops as a destination. I especially wanted to see Fashioning Expo 67 because the FHM had loaned a couple of garments … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Master John

Posted on 2017-08-07 by Jonathan

Although ‘Master John’ sounds like some kind of fetish shop, it was actually Toronto’s glam-rock boot shop in the 1970s. Stocked with styles that rivalled Vancouver’s Fox & Fluevog, London’s Terry de Havilland or Los Angeles’ Fred Slatten, John Master … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Smallman & Ingram

Posted on 2017-07-17 by Jonathan

On September 8, 1877, John Smallman and Lemuel Ingram opened a dry goods business with six employees at 147 Dundas Street in London, Ontario. Aiming to serve the higher-end market with goods imported from Europe,  Smallman and Ingram found success. … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – C. J. Grenier Ltd.

Posted on 2017-07-17 by Jonathan

Jerome Grenier established his corset company in Montreal in 1860. Over the years the company grew to include bras and girdles, stockings, and swimwear – one of their most popular product lines was the Caresse bra. Since the 1990s, it … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Marie Saint Pierre

Posted on 2017-05-20 by Jonathan

This past week saw two historical milestones happen in Quebec. The first was Montreal’s 375th birthday, and the second was the induction of Montreal fashion designer Marie Saint Pierre into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Marie Saint Pierre graduated LaSalle … Continue reading →

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Fashioning Canada Since 1867 article

Posted on 2017-05-12 by Jonathan

The latest article about Fashioning Canada Since 1867: 150 years of Canadian fashions – Bill Doucet | Cambridge Times While Canada’s contribution to fashion may be somewhat underappreciated, there are garments that are internationally known. Take for instance a Russian group that … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – H.W. Brethour, Brantford

Posted on 2017-04-15 by Jonathan

We were just offered some clothes from an old Brantford, Ontario family. One of the garments has the label ‘From H.W. Brethour, Brantford, Ont.’ so I looked it up and I was amazed what I found online — twenty years ago … Continue reading →

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Canadian Fashion Connection – Fashion Prosthetics

Posted on 2017-03-27 by Jonathan

In 2013, Ryan Palibroda and McMauley Wanner, who had met at the University of Calgary two years previously, formed the Alleles design studio. Their goal was to create affordable and accessible fashionable options for lower limb amputees using their skills in … Continue reading →

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