Tag Archives: Janice Colbert writer

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

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: 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

Janice’s sketch, long vest, tiered skirt and peasant blouse ©Janice Colbert 2020

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.

Janice’s sketch, vest, blouse and skirt ©Janice Colbert 2020

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.

Janice’s sketch, hot pants and blouse ©Janice Colbert 2020

hot pants and blouse

hot pants, red belt

FASHION SHOW: SECOND YEAR COLLECTION 1977

MARCH 19, 2020

The annual fashion show to highlight the Fashion Arts Programme graduate student designers, took place in April 1977. The first year designers exhibited one work per student. The second year designers were well on their way with more work to exhibit that included seven to eight garments each.

I received a phone call on the residence phone where I lived. There was one phone for everyone’s use on the floor. A girl came running to my room to tell me that there was a call for me. My mother had called; we were waiting for test results because she found a lump in her breast. She called to say she needed a mastectomy. I went home to be with her. My family was in shock over her diagnosis.

I wasn’t able to attend the final dress rehearsal on the weekend before the show.

I was in attendance for the night of the show to take a bow on stage. My parents were there; mum would not have missed it. Her surgery came later.

Here are the themes for each group of designs that was assigned to the class during our second year.

LOUNGEWEAR

The designs included baseball shorts, boxing outfit, hockey jumpsuit, two hitchhiking outfits, jumpsuit, umpire gear and jodhpurs. A sports theme was obviously the brief. What does hitchhiking loungewear look like? Not sure, but there were two students that showed them.

Janice's sketch, cotton knot t-shirts with racer-back; cotton knit boxer shorts; white cotton lace for racing strips down the side seam of the top and shorts.

Janice’s sketch, cotton knit t-shirts with racer-back; cotton knit boxer shorts; white cotton lace for racing stripes along the side seam of the top and shorts ©Janice Colbert 2020

cotton knit t-shirts with racer-back; cotton knit boxer shorts; white cotton lace for racing stripes along the the side seams

cotton knit t-shirts with racer-back; cotton knit boxer shorts; white cotton lace for racing stripes along the side seams ©Janice Colbert 2020

RAINCOATS

Raincoats included cape coat, wrap and jacket, navy coat, reversible coat, khaki coat, tunic, rose coat with green vest, green coat and a yellow suit. Mine was the wrap and jacket shown here.

raincoat, pullover and wrap waist, raglan sleeves, front fly conceals grippers, centre back pleat,

Janice’s sketch, raincoat, pullover and wrap waist, raglan sleeves, front fly conceals gripper snaps, centre back pleat, elbow patches ©Janice Colbert 2020

Fabric backed red vinyl.

SUMMER (Red & White)

Red and white fabric was the theme. It was an exciting assignment, quite a flurry in the classroom because we were getting free fabric donated by a fabric manufacturer! Everyone received the same amount of yardage. It was either two or three prints. We were to create anything we wanted but had to work within the limits assigned. No more fabric could be added.

Janice's sketch, red and white floral skirts and camisole

left: friend Sally’s garments, right: layered skirts and camisole

GARDEN PARTY

The descriptions are sumptuous, just to list them is enough: white blouson lace dress, yellow handkerchief print dress, blue floral dress, white ruffled dress, cotton strapless dress, beige chiffon covered dress, blue chiffon covered dress. See what I mean?

The blue chiffon covered dress was mine. Elastic thread was used to sew all those lines, to create a tube-top bodice on an ankle-length knit dress. The hem was finished with a narrow zigzag stitch.

chiffon cover, one-shoulder asymmetric neckline, starting over the right shoulder and extending diagonally to under the left arm

chiffon cover, one-shoulder asymmetric neckline, starting over the right shoulder and extending diagonally to tie under the left arm ©Janice Colbert 2020

(detail) ankle length dress, elastic-shirred bodice, polyester knit, zigzag stitched hem

(front detail) blue chiffon cover for ankle length dress, extending diagonally to tie under the left arm

SWIMWEAR

Swimwear was mostly described by colour for the show, copper, blue green, blue and print, peach and turquoise, a Tankini and another fashion-forward cowboy swimsuit.

Janice sketch, Tankini made in 1977, before Tankini became a fashion item in 1988

Janice’s sketch, turquoise nylon/spandex Tankini made in 1977, before Tankini became a fashion item in 1988 ©Janice Colbert 2020

TAILORED WOOLS

Tailored wool . . . I can’t believe I made this complex suit as a second year student. But to a great extent, some of the students that were in my year came to college already well versed in design and had been sewing and drawing for years. There were things that we learned like pattern making and draping. But the point was made by the instructors that when an early interest is demonstrated, some students have ‘an inherent design sense’ something special that can’t be taught. It’s just there.

The line up for the show included a man’s charcoal coat, knickers and vest, blue and grey stripe suit, brown gauchos, burgundy suit, cape and kilt, tailored suit.

Janice's sketch, wool bomber jacket, shawl collar, raglan sleeves, hand knit waist band and cuffs, double breasted, leather buttons; slim skirt, with centre front pleat; welt detail on pocket and sleeves

Janice’s sketch, burgundy wool suit; bomber jacket, shawl collar, raglan sleeves, hand-knit waist band and cuffs, double breasted, woven leather buttons, slot seam detail on pocket and sleeves; slim skirt, with centre front pleat ©Janice Colbert 2020

hand knit waist band, leather buttons

slot seam detail on centre back and raglan sleeve

FANTASY

Fantasy was an under-the-sea assignment. We had an octopus, jelly fish, fish, turtle, nymph, shell and of course a mermaid! I has a lot of fun creating my design. I still have all the patterns pieces. There was a great deal of them for the knapsack “turtle-shell”.