108

CA

NA

DA 150

109

“Performing,asitwas,‘Kotow’tothe

goddessofFashion,andsacrificingtoher

sisterdivinityofSociety.”(Canadian

IllustratedNews,1870)

KingStreetwasOldToronto’sluxury

shoppingdestination.Thethird-largestcityin

theDominionofCanada,Torontowasthe

newcountry’sEnglish-speakingcommercial

center,withroughlyhalfthepopulationofthe

older,FrancophoneMontreal.Instark

contrasttotheculturalpluralismofmodern

Toronto,societywasdominatedbyanAnglo-

Protestant,colonialelite.Inspiredbyfashion

reportinginAmericanmagazineslike

Godey’s,Leslie’sandDemorest’s,thecity’s

style-consciouscouldgetawardrobeupdate

atdrygoodsemporialikeRobertWalkerand

Sons,a.k.a.TheGoldenLion,onthesiteof

today’sKingEdwardHotel,orGraham’s

TempleofFashionintheSt.LawrenceHall.

Atopthecity’shierarchyoftailorsand

dressmakerswerefineestablishmentslike

ladies’tailorO’BriensLimitedandWilliam

StittandCompany–raritiesinhavingthe

prestigetolabeltheircouture.(Canadaand

hautecouturewerebornwithinayearof

eachother:EnglishmanCharlesFrederick

WorthestablishedtheChambresyndicalede

lahautecoutureinParisin1868.)

Stitt&Co.werethefavoritedressmakersof

IshbelMarjoribanks,CountessofAberdeen,

aScottisharistocratandprogressivewho,as

thewifeofGovernorGeneralJohnCampbell

Gordon,wasaleaderofsocietyin1890s

Canada.OneofIshbel’sachievementswhile

themistressofRideauHall,wasfoundingthe

NationalCouncilofWomen.Thisautumn,

hergreat-great-granddaughter,LadyAnna

Gordon,becamethefirstmemberofthe

Britishnobilitytoenterintoasame-sex

marriage.

InDecember1897,tomarkthecloseof

QueenVictoria’sDiamondJubileeyear,the

CountessofAberdeenhostedaVictorian

EraBallattheArmouriesonUniversity

Avenue.Twenty-fivehundredguestscame

tothisfancy-dresscelebrationoftheBritish

Empire.Ishbel’seighteen-year-olddaughter,

LadyMarjorie,wentastheForestsof

Canada.AstheGlobereported,the

Countesswas“regal”inabluevelvetgown

trimmedinermine;herpetticoatandcourt

trainembroideredingoldwithCelticdesigns.

Theoutfitmadeapoliticalstatement:it

showedhersupportforIrishHomeRule.The

CelticRevivalembroideredelementswere

repurposedfromadressbyMarySims,“the

WorthofDublin,”madewhileLadyAberdeen

writtenby

DrSarahSheehan

BornandraisedinOttawa,the

homeofCanCon,Sheehanspent

overtwodecadesinToronto.She

walkedinafewlocalfashionshows

inthelate’90s,includingoneat

theCatacombsandIngridZ’s

controversialartshowatYork

University.Sheehanhaswritten

aboutfashionforHamilton

Magazine,FASHION,andher

blog,PatternVault.Shelivesin

downtownHamilton.

Twitter@DrSarahSheehan

ven in the t ime o f Con f edera t i on , To ron to the Good

had a s eve re ca se o f f a sh i onab l e s o c i e t y . A

sa t i r i ca l c o r r e spondent f o r the Canad ian

I l lu s t ra t ed News , c i r ca 1870 , de s c r i be s how

wea l thy young Toron ton ians wou ld “do K ing ” by

engag ing in a r i tua l p r omenade a l ong a par t i cu la r

s t r e t ch o f K ing S t r ee t .

E

OppositePageCNTowerJumpsuit,ca.

1976,RyersonFashionResearch

CollectionFRC2014.99.003,

Anonymousdonation.PhotobyJazmin

Welch.ImagecourtesyofRyerson

University.

Fromhumblebeginings,topresentdaysince

1867FashioninTORONTO

110

wasvicereineinIreland.Likethegownshe

woreinMontrealjustweekslater,the

Torontoensemblemayalsohavebeen

custom-madebyWilliamStittandCo.

Outsidehighsociety,customdressmaking

wasonthewane.Ready-madeclothing

becameincreasinglyaccessiblethanksto

technologicaladvanceslikesteampower,

railways,andsewingmachines.Thenew

“departmental”storeshedgedtheirbetsby

sellingbothready-madeandcustom

garments,withtailoringanddressmaking

serviceson-site.Withintwoyearsof

Confederation,TimothyEatonoftheT.

EatonCo.broughthisretailvisiontoQueen

andYonge(insidethefootprintoftoday’s

EatonCentre).TherivalRobertSimpson

Co.,establishedsoonafter,movedtothe

southsideofQueenStreet(nowtheBayand

Saks)in1881.Eaton’sandSimpson’smail-

ordercatalogswerequicklydisseminating

thelateststylesnationwide.

SignsofCanada’sfur-tradeheritageremain

eventoday,clusteredalongYongeStreet.

Thelate-VictorianDineenBuildingatYonge

andTemperanceStreet,nowhometothe

DineenCoffeeCompany,wasbuiltin1897to

housetheshowroomofW.andD.Dineen,

furriers;thesignofanotherfurrier,Robert

Fairweather(est.1867),isstillvisiblenear

YongeandKing.Early20th-centuryToronto

sawtheadditionofCreedsandCompany.It

wasfoundedasafurrier’sbyJackCreed,

whohadtrainedinParisafterfleeing

pogromsinTsaristRussia.Creedslater

pioneeredin-storedesignerboutiquesunder

Jack’sson,Eddie.From1910,another

furrier-turned-departmentstore,Holt,

Renfrew,andCompany,madeitsToronto

homeintheElginBlock,justsouthofthe

DineenBuilding.(Holt’sbeganasaQuebec

business;thecompany’sheadquartersdidn’t

movetoTorontountilthe1970s.)

Despiteitsfamouslylonghistory,the

Hudson’sBayCompanyhadnoretail

presenceineasternCanadauntiltheearly

1960s,whenitboughtMorgan’s,aMontreal

chainwithalocalflagshipatBloorand

Yonge.

UnlessyoulivedintheJunction,Ontario’s

short-livedProhibitionendedin1920.

Prosperous,Deco-eraTorontowasbursting

withfashionoptionsforthesmartset.The

MacLeanPublishingCompanylaunched

Mayfair,highfashionandsocietymagazine

alongthelinesofCondéNast’sVogueor

VanityFair,in1927.ThecoverofMayfair’s

secondissue,showingablushingbrideat

herchurchwedding,isrevealingofasociety

stillfaithfultothenotionofuniversalChristian

values.Forreadersofmoremodestmeans,

MacLean’shadChatelaine,withasection

devotedtothelatestVoguesewingpatterns.

Bytheendofthedecade,Toronto’sbest-

dressedcouldlunchortakeinafashion

showinSimpson’sArcadianCourtor

JacquesCarlu’sRoundRoom,furtherup

YongeStreetinEaton’ssparklingnew

CollegeStreetflagship.

Forthefinestinexclusive,high-endfashion,

eliteclientscouldvisittheformidable

MadameMartha.MadameMarthamade

couturegarmentsinhersalonat600Bay

Streetuntil1929,whenMayfairannounced

thesaleofherbusiness.(TheGrayCoach

Terminalopenednextdoorsoonafterward.)

AnearlyadvocatefortheCanadianfashion

industry,bythe1930sshewasSimpson’sin-

housecouturier,availableforconsultationin

thethird-floorFrenchSalon.In1946,Yousuf

Karshtookherportrait.

Ryerson’sfashionprogram–foundedwith

thecollegein1948–laidthefoundationsof

Torontoready-to-wear.Asintheold

DominionofCanada,postwarhautecouture

YousufKarsh,MadameMartha,1946.

CourtesyofLibraryandArchives

Canada.

OppositePageTopIshbelMaria

(Marjoribanks)Gordon,Marchionessof

AberdeenandTemair,1897.Bottom

BridalillustrationbyElsieDeaneon

thecoverofMayfair’ssecondissue,

June1927.CourtesyoftheMagazines,

TravelandMiddlebrowCulturein

CanadaProject.

111

hadtwincentersinMontrealandToronto.

In1954,whenMontrealcouturierRaoul-

JeanFouréformedtheAssociationof

CanadianCouturiers,theexclusivegroup

includedtwoTorontodesigners:Tiborde

Nagay,arecentémigréfromParis,and

Federica,aformerParisbuyerwhohad

relocatedfromMilan.Buttheconsortium

waslimitedbyalackofdesign

protectionsandtheneedtouseonly

Canadiantextiles.

Sourcingtherightfabricswasstilla

challengeinthe1960swhenToronto

boutiquefashionengagedwith

contemporarytrendslikeloungewearand

thedecade’syouthculture.Lingerie

designerClaireHaddad,whoinherited

herSyrian-Lebaneseparents’garment

business,usedimportedsilkshand-

paintedbylocalartists.Formerlyof

Detroit,MarilynBrooks(whobecamethe

firstpresidentoftheFashionDesigners

CouncilofCanada)firstsoldher

flamboyantclothesattheUnicornon

GerrardStreet,whileLondonexpatPat

McDonaghshowedhertakeonthe

CarnabylookattheEstablishmenton

Bloor.WhentheCNToweropenedtothe

publicin1976,staffworeuniforms

designedbyMcDonaghandBrooks.A

jumpsuitbyMcDonaghbearsaCNTower

printingrayandsienna;Brooks’version

wassilvernylon.

TheTorontofashion

industrywascoming

intoitsown.

TorontoLifeFASHIONlaunchedin1977,

Flarein1979.Bytheearly’80s,Alfred

SunghadpartneredwiththeMimran

brothers,andViviennePoy–later

Canada’sfirstsenatorofAsiandescent–

wassellinghersignatureknitwearfrom

herYorkvilleboutique.DanielStorto

beganhisglove-makingodyssey.

Comrags,nowaTorontoinstitution,was

foundedin1983byJoyceGunhouseand

JudyCornish,whometatRyerson.

M.A.C.,conceivedin1984asa

History

112

professionalmakeuplineby“TheFranks”

(FrankAngeloandFrankToskan),opened

itsfirstcounterintheSimpsonsbasement;

thebrandgotaboostwhenMadonnawore

RussianRedlipstickonher1990Blond

Ambitiontour.Andtwohugelypopular

televisionshows,CityTV’swidelysyndicated

FashionTelevision,hostedbyJeanneBeker,

andCBC’sFashionFilewithTimBlanks,

broughtrunwaybuzztoaglobalaudience.

Duringthe’90srecession,thecityrebranded

thehistoricgarmentdistrictastheFashion

District,andtheBataShoeMuseum,

designedbyMoriyama&Teshima

Architects,openedatBloorandSt.George.

TorontolabelsLidaBaday,Mercy,andDavid

Dixonweresuccessfulexponentsofthe

decade’sminimalismandvintage-inspired

style.MercydesignersJenniferHalchukand

RichardLylemetattheTorontoFashion

Incubator,aCityofTorontoinitiativethat

continuestoflourishunderdirectorSusan

Langdon.(CurrentTorontoFashion

Incubatorsuccessstory:SidNeigum.)The

daughterofJapanese-Canadiangarment

workers,Langdonmadethenon-profit

incubatorintoamodelventure,adoptedby

othercities.

Bytheendofthedecade,locallabelshadan

officialumbrellaorganizationfortheseasonal

runwaypresentationsinTorontoFashion

Week.Thankstoglobalindustrieslike

financeandentertainment,21st-century

Torontohasbecomeathriving,cosmopolitan

center.DuringTorontoInternationalFilm

Festival(TIFF),theVictorianfashionparade

isreborninKingStreetcelebrity-watching.A

stylishpubliccanenjoyfashionexhibitsat

theDesignExchange,housedintheold

TorontoStockExchangeonBayStreet,and

theROM’sPatriciaHarrisGalleryofTextiles

&Costume.

JulieYoo’smeticulouslycuratedIMissYou

Vintagehasgrownfromalow-keyopeningin

2006toaplacewhereLadyGagashops.

TommyTon,thepioneeringstreetstyle

photographer,hadhisfashionepiphanyas

anOakvilleteenwatchingFashion

Television.FeministartistandcuratorPetra

Collins,aTorontonativeandformerOCADU

student,shootscampaignsforAdidasand

Gucci,andRomanian-bornLucianMatis,

who“[came]toCanadatostudyfashion,”*is

dressingSophieGrégoireTrudeau.Erdem

MoralıoğlumayhaveleftthecityforLondon,

butJeremyLaingisbackinhisParkdale

studio.

Sostrongisthelocalindustrythatlastyear

whenTorontoFashionWeekgotdumpedby

itscorporateowner,themoodinthe

aftermathwasmorefestivethangrim.Infact,

ifSusanLangdonhasherway,thecountry

couldfinallygetaCanadianFashionCouncil.

A1969ClaireHaddadclothing

advertisementforEaton’sCourtesyof

EstateofClaireHaddad

OctaviusThompson,StLawrenceHall,1867.CourtesyofThomasFisherRare

BookLibrary.Editedvia[https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasfisherlibrary/

30865104186/in/album-72157672729106183/]

TheoriginallogofortheUnicorn,the

firstboutiqueopenedbyMarilyn

Brooksintheearly1960s.Copyright

2017MarilynBrooks

www.marilynbrooks.com

113

TopComrags,Spring1986.Photo:

ChrisNichollsforNowMagazine.

CourtesyofComrags/ChrisNicholls.

CornerDetailofprintonCNTower

Jumpsuit,ca.1976,RyersonFashion

ResearchCollectionFRC2014.99.003,

Anonymousdonation.PhotobyJazmin

Welch.ImagecourtesyofRyerson

University.

BottomGardenpartyfashionshow

hostedbyEaton’s,1930.Courtesyof

CityofTorontoArchives.

Toronto

FashionWeek

isdead.

Longlive

Toronto

FashionWeek.

*Source:TorontoLifeQ&A,March2016.