Category Archives: RECENT POSTS

THE RAG TRADE

AUGUST 6, 2020

In those days we felt we were invincible and Jim’s zeal for my success was bursting out. We shifted gears after I gave my notice at Comfort Clothing and were off to Toronto to accept the offer for his doctoral work at the University of Toronto.

Shortly after arriving we found an apartment that we liked in the Beach neighbourhood. The rental came with a garage. Jim was thrilled to have a space to tinker on an old car and to build things. The landlord, a police officer that lived across the street, took a liking to us. We rented the third floor in a two-and-one-half story house.

After committing to a lease we learned that Jim’s two advisors had been in fight with the university over the future of the doctoral program and had resigned. Jim took it as an omen. He had been accepted to three doctoral programs and none had worked out. It was time to go to work, so in the fall of 1979 he set out to find work with a developer.

I set up my first fashion design studio on College Street, just around the corner from the EL Mocambo (a live music venue), the garment district on Spadina Avenue, and a short walk to the School of Architecture at U of T on College Street where Jim had expected to go to school.

Janice Colbert Fashion Design was born.

Janice’s business card c.1980 ©Janice Colbert 2020

I rode the 510 Queen street car from the Beach to work. In the 1980s the Leslieville, Riverdale and Moss Park neighbourhoods were not gentrified. I made sure to sit up front as close to the driver as possible.

My studio was on the second floor above a bagel shop. I could walk the length of Spadina from Queen Street West to College Street in fifteen minutes. With so many fabric shops, the walk took longer because I could find any fabric or notion that I needed on my way to work.

We made a cutting and design table; bought a used Juki industrial sewing machine, a rotary electric cutter, a Wolf dress form, a roll of pattern making paper and a sample bag. Good to go! There weren’t any computers for drafting patterns or for grading the design into the various dress sizes—it was all on me—with just a pencil, paper, rulers, and scissors.

Janice’s sketch, fall 1980, left: corduroy jumper-dress, right vest and skirt suit. ©Janice Colbert 2020

Corduroy was and still is a popular fabric to transition wardrobes from summer into fall because it is cosy. The fabric was popular in cottage country north of Toronto where the cold temperatures arrived much earlier than in the city, but either way, corduroy jeans with a wool sweater or corduroy blazers with denim were the look.

I purchased two bolts of wide wale corduroy, one in teal and one in grey, zippers, buttons, lining, cone thread, labels, CA number and a business license.

I did all the sewing as well, so the two garments that I designed (in Fashion, production prepares six to eight months before the next season) for the 1980 fall season were a good start, a jumper- dress and a button-front vest with skirt suit.

I tried to find a sales rep. We met with an agency. Something was wrong. I unpacked my sample bag to show my collection. The senior sales rep tore into me. ” So you think you can just walk in here and expect us to carry your work! Just like that? Without any experience! See this gold hanger? You have to put your best garment on a gold hanger. That shows to the buyer what your best garment is. You need gold hangers, not wood ones.” He held the hanger in my face. “Who—do you—think you are!”

I wasn’t prepared for his rebuke. My mother had passed two months ago, my emotions raw, I couldn’t conceal my indignation and disgust. He achieved what he wanted. Packing up my stuff, we scrambled to the door. A younger salesman ran after us. “Let me talk to you. Listen. I don’t know why he is like that. He couldn’t design his way out of paper bag. You could do more with a sack of burlap than he could ever imagine.”

Jim and a university friend in law school offered to be my sales reps.

The reception was great. I sold to stores in Burlington, Stoney Creek, Oakville and Toronto. One store was J’s Place at 2191 Queen St. E.in the Beach. It is now a jewellery store known as The Gingerbread House. My designs were in a fashion show, J’s Fall Fashion Brunch at the pub across the street.

detail of corduroy jumper-dress, high-waistline, V-neck, welt pocket, zip back, lined

corduroy vest, V-neck, welt pockets, button front, lined

THROW OF THE DICE

JULY 23, 2020

I lived on the second and third floors of a house with four girls, during my final year of Fashion College. Three of us were in fashion design and one was in fashion merchandising, although I always wondered why she didn’t pursue fashion design because she was a shoo-in with her expertise in clothing construction.

We all made things outside of our assignments for school. Whether it was refinishing a dresser painted with cheery yellow paint, knitting a sweater, making a silver necklace for a boyfriend, creating objects for the school Christmas bazaar or gifts for each other; there was a lot of creating going on.

cloth backgammon game, denim fabric, red felt tabs with white snaps, red topstitching

cloth backgammon game, denim, red felt tabs with white snaps, red topstitching

When I met Jim, backgammon was a popular game among his university friends. The box that held the game was easily portable to the school pub and an affordable entertainment that offered an alternative way to converse with friends without going so heavily to drinks.

I made this folding backgammon game for Jim’s Christmas gift.

folded in thirds, opening up ©Janice Colbert 2020 c. 1978-1980

Backgammon, a game of skill, is an ancient game, older than chess, and is a member of one of the oldest classes of board games.

cloth backgammon board, plaid flannelette, denim and red felt; yellow cotton piping and border

Two players move their 15 checkers (game pieces) around twenty-four triangular points according to the throw of two dice, the winner being the first to remove all their pieces from the board.

15 red felt and 15 blue denim checkers, yellow blanket-stitch seams, D.M.C. embroidery cotton

15 red felt and 15 denim checkers, yellow blanket-stitch seams, D.M.C. embroidery cotton

I made a storage bag for the checkers and dice.

‘LOVE JAN’ text on denim storage bag, chain stitch embroidery, D.M.C. yellow embroidery cotton, plaid flannelette drawstring, red topstitching, 15 red and 15 blue checkers, dice

The present was a complete surprise! Merry Christmas always Jim.

RETRO TEA COSY

JULY 9, 2020

3-cup teapot, Arthur Wood

Tea and all things tea continue to be popular. Tea holds its own in the coffee obsessed culture we live in. When I was at Comfort Clothing I had a small side project on the weekends, creating tea cosies with plans to sell them at gourmet food shops. Some stores were concerned about whether I could meet their demand. I was trained to manufacture. My concern was whether they would pay me. Sometimes a businesses accounts payable is not as pretty as the storefronts that we shop in.

Cosy Red Grandmother’s Flower Garden

Here is the one that I was marketing. The design on the front is called Grandmother’s Flower Garden. The cosy (12″ wide x 8 ″ high) covers a range of teapot sizes from three-cups to 5 ½-cups.

Evesham, 4-cup tea pot, Royal Worcester

tea cosy covering Evesham teapot

detail of flower motif, english paper piecing, seven hexagons

tea cosy shown with Evesham cream and sugar accessories

Cosy Yellow Grandmother’s Flower Garden

Sarah’s Garden, 5 ½ cup tea pot, Wedgwood

detail of flower motif, english paper piecing, seven hexagons

tea cosy covering Sarah’s Garden teapot, shown with cream and sugar accessories

hexagon pattern piece with example of fabric ready for wrapping

English Paper Piecing is a method of attaching and stabilizing pieces of fabric together. The practice’s name comes from the fact that it was, and still is, popular in Britain. The technique used to paper piece involves wrapping paper shapes in fabric and then stitching the fabric together. Once a shape, block, rosette, or finished piece has been made, the papers are removed, leaving the fabric as the remaining item.

The hexagon is a design shape that goes way back. I have seen Matthias Church in Budapest where the florid late Gothic style was extensively restored in the late 19th century.

It is a motif in many quilts where the well-loved pattern is known as Grandmother’s Flower Garden (left) and Tumbling Blocks or Baby Blocks (right). It just depends on how dark and light colours are arranged. Here are two detail pictures from baby quilts that I made for my daughter c. mid 1980s.

And lastly, the hexagon pattern has been obsessively repeated in many of my paintings. Here are two examples: 42 x 48 inches, acrylic on wood panel.

left: Key West House Colours II and right: No Geography Without Stars III

ADAPTIVE CLOTHING 1978-1979

JUNE 25, 2020

It is easy to design for the fashion model and the runway. Most of us don’t have that body type and have practical lives filled up with work, in some cases children and chores to fit in where we find a few minutes here and there. Some of us do all of this in wheelchairs.

Designing for the runway and fashion magazines is where I wanted to begin my career. That wasn’t realistic. I started work as a designer at Comfort Clothing Services, a new adaptive clothing company that was meeting needs for people with disabilities, which mostly encompassed senior citizens, through re-thinking shirts, blouses and skirts, to make it easier for men and women to dress themselves without relying on others for help.

There is a stereotype that exists surrounding the realities of older adults. Current attitudes still make them feel invisible and devalued. So much so that they don’t want to let on that they are senior citizens. Many of them feel a different age than their actual years. Appearance is not a reliable indicator of age or eventful life experiences. Some folks in their seventies function as someone in their sixties while a person in their forties might be functioning on the level of a sixty year old.

The production team was hired through a government program that was meeting the needs of mothers from mother-headed families. The sole support mothers gained financial and employable skills to help them get off the welfare program, Mothers’ Allowance.

They learned skills that included the operation of industrial machines and steam irons, how to spread fabric on the cutting table, transferring the pattern pieces to paper for an efficient layout in preparation for cutting with the electric rotary-cutter, to bundle the garment pieces for the seamstresses, to press and check for quality control.

They were an impressive group of gentle mannered people. A woman, who was a proficient seamstress before she came to the factory, told me that she rubbed her children’s backs at bedtime until they fell asleep. Another cleaned her house every morning before she came to work. They were open with me about their life experiences and their disappointments. Some had partners in prison and others were abandoned without financial support to care for their children and some just didn’t have any opportunities because of their parent’s situations. I learned so much about their side of life. From a quiet suburb of Ottawa to this, I was naive.

The adaptations to garments made more sense.

Technically buttons are sized in “lines”—40 lines equals one inch. Line 30 is the size of a dime. Line 36 is the size of a nickel.

Line 20 and 24 that equals ½ inch and ⅝ inch were the general size for shirts and shirtwaist dresses. After doing a survey of my shirts and my husband’s shirts I found it is still the case. When we used larger buttons that goes along with larger buttonholes to accommodate the button, it reduced the frustration and time lost for less nimble fingers trying to push a small button through a tight buttonhole.

buttons ⅜″–LINE 18, ½″–LINE 20, ⅝″–LINE 24, ¾″–LINE 30, ⅞″–LINE 36, 1″–LINE 40

For some styles we eliminated the buttonhole altogether and used Velcro under the front placket with the decorative buttons, just for appearance sake sewn on the top, and pieces of Velcro on the other side of the shirt to match the button placement.

Why is there only one chest pocket and why is it always placed on the left side? If a person is left handed, the pocket is inconvenient. If a person doesn’t have the use of their right hand or lacks flexibility in their right arm, the pocket is useless. We made shirts with two chest pockets so customers could easily store a small wallet or a pack of cigarettes in either pocket. Smoking was still popular and accepted.

In addition to the change in button size, blouses for women were made with raglan sleeves that have more room in the armhole area and require less flexibility when getting dressed.

Another adaptation was the wrap-around skirt, having two free edges, one of which folds or wraps over the other, allowing for an adjustable waistline. This skirt has been a standard style for decades. A Velcro strip on the waistband instead of a button, made it easy to get dressed. If balance was an issue, the wrap-waistband eliminated the need for a woman to step into a skirt, to get the hook into the loop to fasten the waistband, and zip up the skirt with those tiny zipper pulls. If needed she could even sit down while putting on the skirt.

Fabric was purchased before I worked at Comfort Clothing. Bright colours were the trend for 1978. The cotton that we offered for women’s blouses was inelegant—pastels, muddy colours and small prints that belonged on a quilt. There is less contrast for people with grey hair between their hair colour and complexion. Whether their complexion is warm or cool; black and white solids plus the jewel colours, for example, emerald, sapphire, turquoise, fuchsia and navy for cool complexions and lavender and indigo for warm complexions would have been striking. Why was it assumed that their clients wouldn’t want something on-trend? I expect it was partly due to a new company not having the budget to order large minimum quantities that manufacturers require. Another might have been to avoid larger prints because they need pattern matching that uses up more yardage for the cutting and sewing; expertise that might not have been up to the nascent skills of the women who required confidence building versus frustration.

Small prints in centre column become muddy (hard to perceive) from a distance. Try it- step back!

The wraparound skirt has been around since the 1950s. The one that we produced was made in cotton twill.

Khaki is what I remember. Hound’s-tooth wool, denim or corduroy for fall or a cute check for spring would have been more compelling.

houndstooth

left to right: blue and gray wool hound’s-tooth check, dark cotton denim, teal cotton corduroy

left to right: khaki cotton twill, red Swiss cotton check, blue Swiss cotton check

The last design that I participated in at Comfort Clothing was the early stages of addressing the fit of pants for people who live most of their life in wheelchairs. It was understood there wasn’t a need for the front rise in pants to be as long as it is, for those that are sitting, compared to pants for people who are able to stand. There was a lot of creased fabric that got in the way. The back rise needed to be longer so that the waistband wasn’t constantly being pulled down below the back waistline. I had begun a pattern for the design but developing something like this takes many iterations.

Jim had the plan to get a Doctorate in Urban Planning and Development so he could teach at the university level during the school year, and each summer do one property development for income and personal growth. He was choosing between a start-up opportunity, a doctoral program at Queens and a scholarship program at University of Toronto.

By the end of the summer he was gearing up to start his Doctorate when his principal advisor left Queens to chair the CRTC.

I was enjoying my predictable life with a great job, living in our little apartment and a city that had been my home for four years.

Jim shifted gears and pursued the scholarship opportunity at University of Toronto. We went to Toronto on Labour Day Weekend to see friends from university and find a place to live. We had just arrived when I received a call late at night from my brother. My mother died from her cancer.

It was a shock. I saw her in the hospital before we left and no one had expected this. My father said she could go on for months. My co-workers were sympathetic. After my mother’s death I could truly comprehend their heartbreak and disappointment. I felt so alone.

Everyone surprised me. On my last day, a package on the lunch table, silver rose earrings wrapped up for me.

Bond Boyd sterling silver rose earrings 1979

A WEDDING: 1978

JUNE 11, 2020

During the fall of my graduation year (1977), Jim my soon to be fiancé, entered a two-year M.PL. (Masters in Urban Planning Development) program at Queens. He had been accepted to many programs but this one allowed him to study in the Law School and the Engineering School, and have a teaching spot to pay the bills. It also meant that we could live in the same city. We married mid-way through his program on September 2^nd1978 just before Jim headed back to school.

bride and groom, tuxedo and wedding dress

Janice and Jim. I made my wedding dress, floor length with slight train, fitted bodice and flared skirt, round neckline with narrow self binding, front and back yokes, princess seaming, full length sleeves, gathered into narrow bias binding, satin ribbon for tie belt

For our honeymoon, a touring/camping trip in a 1966 red Rambler, a first time visit to Cape Cod was our destination but on the way we stopped at Lake Placid, New York and Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe Vermont. I saw The Sound of Music film with my grandparents when it first opened in Canada. My parents had been to Stowe to ski and brought me back a souvenir T-shirt that just said STOWE in green letters across the front. I wore it all the time. So we were curious to see the place for ourselves.

The highlight was our stay in Provincetown. We joined the crew of the Schooner Hindu for a sail across Provincetown Harbour and into Cape Cod Bay.

We were in shorts and T-shirts. It was a warm day at the harbour on September sixth but we wondered if we would find it too cold once on the ocean. The crew was busy preparing to set sail. They were all in summer clothes so we thought we might be okay. Shortly after we were into the bay, the wind came up, the sky went dark, and it looked liked rain. The crew quickly went down below and suited up in foul-weather gear. They had to sail the boat. All we had to do was sit there, and freeze; there wasn’t anywhere else to go.

Pepe’s Wharf had “the best seafood in all New England”, so they said. It was the place to see the crowds and the ferry that sailed between Provincetown and Boston.

Lobster with sky-high prices was available all over town. I grew up in Halifax for my early years and even though mother was from Prince Edward Island, I had never had lobster. Jim grew up in Ottawa and was not sure if he would enjoy it. We could not afford to order something we might not like. We decided to order a lobster roll to share as a starter, followed with burgers and cole slaw. Once we tucked into our lunch we immediately realized; should’ve gone for the whole lobster!

Commercial Street was a great place for window-shopping. I forgot about a sign in one of the windows for silk sheets at a good price. I wanted to go back to look for the store. So we re-traced our steps and after some searching found the right store and opened the door. Jim was more about approaching the salesclerk and getting the shopping done. I was smitten with the wide plank floors, the dark wood walls and the window at the back with an ocean view. There were wood plinths. I thought it was for jewelry on display under glass. But I could not quite understand what the objects were. I glanced at leather briefs, skull faces and chokers displayed on the walls. After some discussion the clerk said I had misread the sign. The sign said silk shorts, for men. At eighty dollars a pair, we made our excuses and rushed out the door.

Thirty-five years later, when we were wintering in Key West, Florida, we discovered The Hindu wintering at the Historic Seaport. It was a working gig for her, karma for us. A revisit was a must.

GRAD COLLECTION: SWIMWEAR 1978

MAY 28, 2020

The woman’s one-piece swimsuit or tank suit, also called a maillot (as described in the grad fashion show catalogue) is a tight swimsuit with a deep neckline and high cut legs worn in lieu of a bikini. This one has a halter neckline and crossover bodice.

The coordinating tunic cover-up with bishop sleeves, has gathers along the neckband, a small opening in the back of the neckline with ties, similar to the front opening on child’s tunic cover-up (see below). Self-fabric tie-belt. The fabric is a floral organza.

Janice's sketch, bishop-sleeve cover-up and one piece maillot

Janice’s sketch, tunic cover-up, bishop-sleeve, organza print; one piece maillot, nylon/spandex ©Janice Colbert 2020

bishop-sleeve cover-up and one piece maillot

one piece maillot and tunic cover-up, bishop-sleeve

organza, 15-inch repeat

Mother & Daughter fashions were a vogue that began in the 1940s. Clothes for formal wear or play were made identical for mother and daughter. Brother-and-Sister clothes were the same idea, dressing brothers and sisters in matching styles. It was also done with Sister-and-Sister. In the 1960s I had several outfits, usually for the holidays, identical to my sister’s dresses except for colour, like the Bouclé spring coats I mentioned in the About category. The look can be a bit twee, when the outfits are identical.

The child’s swimsuit is also a maillot in the same green nylon/spandex. The similarities stop there. This one has a bandeau neckline with a ruffle, halter straps that criss-cross and then tie between the shoulder blades and cutaway sides.

The only similarity is the fabric for the tunic cover-up. The child’s version is sleeveless versus the bishop-sleeve for the woman’s tunic. There is a ruffle at the shoulder line to give some protection against sunburn. It ties at the front and there is a ruffle at the hem.

The organza has a 15-inch repeat. The tunic is 14 inches long from the shoulder to the beginning of the ruffle. That is barely one repeat so the effect is of an oversize print on a child’s body.

The woman’s cover-up is about 36 inches long, which is 2 ½ repeats, the fabric is still beautiful but the impact isn’t as dramatic.

Janice’s sketch, child’s tunic cover-up, organza print; one piece cutaway swimsuit, nylon/spandex ©Janice Colbert 2020

child’s tunic cover-up, organza print; one piece cutaway swimsuit, nylon/spandex

I loved the opportunity to work with a child. It was fun making the patterns pieces that had more in common with doll clothes. Children on the runway make the audience sit up to attention. They offer lightness to an environment that can be fraught with drama and tension.

GRAD COLLECTION: BLACK COAT 1978

MAY 14, 2020

Other than the raincoat from, FASHION SHOW: SECOND YEAR COLLECTION 1977, this is one of a small number of coats that I have designed.

The brushed wool wrap-coat has a shawl collar, bishop sleeves and a fabric belt at the waist. Like a 1950s circle skirt; from the waist to the hem the coat flares out. The lining is satin. Braid trim is on the collar and front edge of the coat and on the bishop sleeves.

Brushed wool is a directional fabric; it has nap, just like velvet, corduroy or suede. When you run your hand over the cloth in one direction the surface appears smooth, silky and reflects light; run your hand in the other direction and the surface is raised, matte and absorbs light, making the colour look darker.

The upper part of the collar and the lower part of the sleeve have been cut on the reverse nap, so they look like a silky black compared to the rest of the coat.

Janice's sketch, wool coat; shawl collar wrap, tie at waist, bishop sleeves; collar and sleeve contrast is reverse side of fabric

Janice’s sketch, wool coat; shawl collar wrap, tie at waist, bishop sleeves; collar and sleeve contrast, cut on reverse nap for contrast ©Janice Colbert 2020

GRAD COLLECTION: BLACK VELVET 1978

APRIL 30, 2020

In this group there are four designs. The common elements are black knit velvet and two floral challis prints, pink, blue and green on a black background. One is a border print. The theme is a folklore vibe with layering and mixing of challis plain weave prints with the plush knit velvet.

Black satin ribbon, 1.5 and 2 cm widths, and black lace create visual interest to the velvet because the open-net lace adds a layer of texture and the ribbon adds a layer of shine. The contrast enhances the richness of the velvet without adding colour.

left: jumper dress and blouse, right: pullover vest and dress

Jumper dress and blouse

The black velvet jumper dress has a U-neck, short bodice with one row of ribbon around the bodice line, two rows of ribbon, 1.5 and 2cm wide, at the hemline. There are racer-back armholes and a back zip.

The challis blouse has a ruffle neckline and self-fabric tie for the bow. There is a ruffle at the cap of the sleeve. The border fabric is placed above the wrist and finished with a drawstring tie.

Janice’s sketch, black velvet jumper dress, satin ribbon trim, racer-back armholes; challis blouse, neck bow, ruffle at neck and cap of the sleeve ©Janice Colbert 2020

black velvet jumper dress, challis blouse

Pullover vest and dress

The black velvet vest has a U-neck and short bodice with racer-back armholes.

The challis dress with button front closure, has ruffle neckline and self-fabric tie for the bow. There is a ruffle at the cap of the sleeve. The border print is placed above the wrist and finished with a drawstring tie. The single tier of the dress is finished with a border print hem.

Janice's sketch, black velvet pullover vest, racer-back armholes; challis dress with front buttons, neck bow, ruffle at armhole; contrasting border fabric for the bottom tier

Janice’s sketch, black velvet pullover vest, racer-back armholes; challis dress with front buttons, neck bow, ruffle at the cap of the sleeve; contrasting border fabric for the bottom tier ©Janice Colbert 2020

black velvet pullover vest, challis dress, contrasting border fabric for the bottom tier

Fun times! Jumper dress and blouse, vest and dress

Blouse and skirt

The black velvet blouse with button front and bishop sleeves has a satin ribbon tied in a bow and a lace ruffle at neckline, satin ribbon and lace at the wrists.

The challis skirt has three tiers, with two rows of satin ribbon, 1.5 and 2cm wide, on the top and middle tier. The bottom tier is finished with a border print hem.

Janice’s sketch, black velvet blouse, bishop sleeve, lace at cuffs and neck, satin bow tied at neck; skirt, challis print and border print on bottom tier, satin ribbon ©Janice Colbert 2020

black velvet blouse, tiered skirt with ribbon and border print

Blouse and skirt

The blouse with Peter Pan collar and placket front, has two coordinating challis prints on the front yoke and the same coordinating prints on the bishop sleeves and their cuffs. The prints have a narrow satin ribbon to cover where the patterns were sewn together.

The skirt has two tiers.

Variations:

The blouse fabric is a fine rib jersey with shimmer like the blouse in the Red & Green Collection (hot pants and blouse).

The bottom tier is finished with two fabrics, one floral and a horizontal stripe, not shown anywhere else, which finishes the hem.

Janice’s sketch; blouse, fine rib jersey with shimmer, bishop sleeve with challis print bands, collar and placket challis print, skirt, challis print and border print on bottom tier ©Janice Colbert 2020

blouse, fine rib jersey with shimmer, bishop sleeve with challis print bands, collar and placket challis print, skirt, challis print and border print on bottom tier

blouse, back view

GRAD COLLECTION: RED & GREEN 1978

APRIL 16, 2020

Remember we are looking at late 1970s fashion. Clothing was more relaxed and baggier. The folklore/hippie/ safari vibe was the look with lots of layering of clothes and prints and patterns; midi skirts and vests, maxi dresses, strapless dresses, headbands, green and khaki with their compliment colours. There were also platform sandals worn with hot pants, tube tops and skinny tops with high-waist pants and jeans with bell-bottoms. Fashion was so varied that anything could go.

I don’t have all the garments shown in the photos. Detail images are of the ones that I still have on hand. I felt fortunate to have sold some of the pieces after the graduation fashion show in the late 1970s. And I’m thankful that I had the foresight to save the remaining samples of my work.

red floral peasant blouse, front slit, narrow neckband, braid tied at sleeves

red floral peasant blouse (missing braid ties at neckline and sleeves)

In this group there are three designs. The common elements are red-floral plain-weave cotton similar in scale to Liberty patterns and green cotton twill. Trim includes 3mm wide green braid to match the cotton twill, green buttons and 2 cm wide fabric belts with brass buckles and eyelets.

left: back view of vest with racer-back armhole, blouse and skirt, right: long vest, tiered skirt and peasant blouse

Long vest, tiered skirt and peasant blouse

The model in the centre of the photograph is wearing a red-floral peasant blouse and tiered skirt. The pullover blouse with a front slit is shirred along the narrow neckband. A length of braid pulled through thread loops closes the neckline. On the sleeves braid is run through a channel and exits through thread eyelets where it is tied.

The skirt has braid on each of the three tiers. Cotton Swiss eyelet-embroidery is layered underneath the tiered skirt like the fabric in the blouse on the left.

The twill long-vest with red-floral belt has twelve 1.5 cm buttons down the front, a V-neck front with mid-armhole darts and racer-back armholes, self-fabric belt loops.

Variation: The addition of 3 cm wide cotton lace on each tier of the skirt.

Janice's sketch and fabric samples, long vest, tiered skirt and peasant blouse

red floral fabric, green twill fabric, long vest, short vest three blouses, tiered skirt, dirndl skirt, hot pants

Featuring the centre garments, long vest, tiered skirt, peasant blouse

detail, green vest, racer-back armholes, buttons, red belt

detail, green twill vest, mid-armhole darts, racer-back armholes, red belt

detail, red floral tiered skirt, braid, 3 cm wide cotton lace

Vest, blouse and skirt

The red-floral vest with V-neck and racer-back armholes has buttons down the front and ties at the waist with braid. The dirndl skirt in midi length is twill with a front-button placket.

Variation: The blouse was made with cotton Swiss eyelet-embroidery. The scalloped border was incorporated in the collar edge, and for the sleeve cuff and hem.

vest, blouse and skirt

Hot pants and blouse

The pullover blouse has red-floral accents for the extra-long placket, the Peter Pan collar with rounded ends in front, and the cuffs. The collar and cuffs are trimmed with braid that follows the edges. A braid bow ties at the neck.

The hot pants with red-floral belt have a fly front, two pleats on each side of centre and self-fabric belt loops. The side seams are flat fell seams.

Variation: The fabric for the blouse is a cream-colour jersey with a fine rib and shimmer.

hot pants and blouse

hot pants, red belt

SUMMER BREAK: ALGO ORIGINAL, MONTREAL 1977

APRIL 2, 2020

I entered a competition and won an intern position at a dress factory well known for moderately priced ladies’ fashion dresses, Algo Original in Montreal. We didn’t have a formal name for what it was that I was going to work at there, like we do today, but it was an opportunity to work in a garment factory for six weeks or so.

I looked forward to a summer in Montreal. I was familiar with it. My aunts and an uncle and my grandparents lived there. I had been to Expo ’67 twice.

My oldest friend, who was at Fashion College with me, was also awarded a position at a lingerie manufacturer. My uncle heard that we were looking for a place to stay and offered the second bedroom in his apartment. He said he was never there anyway, working during the day and then out socializing or at a ball game in the evening, Vermont on the weekends.

My parents drove me to Montreal on a Saturday morning to meet Elliot, my contact person and to make sure everything was on the up and up for their twenty-two year old daughter. We had a look around the factory before I started work on Monday morning.

Sal and I lived in the Outremont borough and loved the old brick building that was our home for the summer. We traveled together on transit to the garment district on Chabanel Street.

I was silenced by this dream come true. Any trim you could imagine. Shelves stacked with enormous bolts up to the ceiling. Such an array of fabrics, any one of my choices could be lifted down for me. The flurry when the stylist, Lize came to the workroom to check on things, her voice booming above the factory noise. The friendliness of the pattern maker at the sunny window, her ease in pattern-making, her confidence with fitting the model or Judy at a time when patterns were drafted with rulers, pencil and paper.

The sewing room was right there too. I was used to Juki industrial sewing machines and sergers at school. In the hands of an experienced seamstress the clothing pieces just zipped through the machines. I gave it a try but could not keep up. And the needle caught my index finger; the women at the machine beside me gently reach over and reversed the hand-wheel to raise the needle. Oops!

Algo had a collection of “bodies”; dress silhouettes they knew were selling well to the wave of young women and recently divorced women who needed affordable office wear to join the work force. The fabrics, and things like necklines and sleeve details and length could be changed but the body measurements remained consistent.

At a sales meeting, I couldn’t believe how accepting the sales reps were of my two designs. I heard their endorsement by their projections, discussing how many of each they could sell.

Here are two of my designs that were manufactured by Algo.

party dress, with ribbon trim criss-cross consisting of three colours on the bodice, utilized as a long braid stitched at the shoulders and left to hang freely from the short bodice to knee length; jersey fabric

blue wool dress, roll collar, paisley print to line the cap sleeves, slash pockets, placket front and facing; paisley trim on the belt with a button closure each point

blue wool dress, roll collar, paisley print accent for the cap sleeves, slash pockets, placket front and facing; paisley print on the belt with a button closure each point

When it was my last day at the factory a sales rep expressed surprise, “What are you going back to school for? You’ve got this!”

I started my graduation year, in the fall.