Patch Work Palace
By Nathalie Atkinson
A hand-painted 1940s mannequin with wide, blue eyes has pride of place at Shopgirls (1342 Queen St. W., shopgirls.ca). From her spot on a vintage rotating cigarette display case (now filled with handmade flower corsages), the pretty bust presides over 1,800 square feet of made-in-Canada fashion, furniture and accessories. The Shopgirls concept may be grassroots, but what it sells is more polished than other style-based coops, thanks to owner Michelle Germain, who has spent half her retail career to date at Holt Renfrew, the other half at the Bay. “Everything in here is handmade, but don’t say it’s crafty!” Germain is quick to add, laughing, “I don’t want people to think it looks DIY!” It’s the handmade aspect that customers really connect with, Germain says, the idea of there being a native behind each item. For 27years, this retail space was a dark, crusty hardware store; years before, at the turn of the l!!St century, it was Elle’s menswear. As a nod to both, the copper ceiling remains and clothes hang on racks made from old plumbing pipeline. The storefront’s original terrazzo doorstep is now inside and the line where the previously recessed front entrance was flanked by traditional long display windows is still visible.
”.A.lot of artists still live here,” Germain says of her prime Parkdale location (it’s past the train tracks, directly across the street from the local library branch and near Designer Fabrics). “The neighbourhood has a very non-corporate, non-commercial feel to it:• In the spirit of Nuit Blanche and the neighbourhood, Shopgirls is hosting an exhibition by Toronto fashion illustrator and artist Frederick Watson. Watson’s dramatic original fashion paintings line the store – they’re Art Deco-style and clearly influenced by Tamara de Lempicka.
Germain stocks everything from handmade greeting cards ($6.95) to up to size 16 in Lousje & Bean’s funky dresses ($215). A black tailored, boiled wool coat by Maresca from Quebec City has several layers of wool ruffles cascading down the front ($360), while alpaca shrugs, cardigans and jackets by Pricila Gomes are homespun crochet. Vendors such as I Heart Cake and Erin Vincent rework vintage and found fabrics from old garments and Paris flea markets into clothes and cushions, while Rub Redux’s “kilt coats” – unlined toppers made from reworked wool kilts – are flying out the door ($170). As befits Park.dale’s laid-back vibe, one of Shopgirls’ bestsellers is the Snuggie by Ottawa’s Sweet Shrug. It’s a cozy but chic wraparound fleece jersey top with a huge shawl collar that doubles as a hood; the longer version is the Snuggalicious ($149-$229 in mocha or black). There’s also furniture: a trim leather handbag by Mirjana Scepanovic sits on Graham McNally’s sculptural woven-look “bubble chair” ($950) and two can speak in hushed tones on James Wright’s conjoined “conversation bench.”
For adornment, there are redglazed ceramic poppy pins by Julie Moon ($20-$40) or striking necklaces made from found objects such as rusted washers that have been glazed and enamelled by Ashley Winnington-Ball (who is also the store manager). Lori-Anne Krausewitz’s feathered fascinato, headbands and hair decoration$ have just arrived ($49) and are popular for fall. But my favoun find? The quirky accessory Petit Beret by Danielle Suppa ($50, petitberet.com). It’s a petite, flat wool beret sized for a doll’s head (about five inches) and lined in colourful twill, designed to be secured with bobby pins and worn perched decoratively on the head: (And yes, Prince, it comes in raspberry.) For the would-be pop artist, I recommend a pair of outrageously handpainted pantaloons from Babu et Moi, paired with a Campbell’s Soup fabric print clutch ($100). I Shopgirls is open 7 p.m.. until midnight for Nuit Blanche with artist Frederick Watson on hand from 8 to 10 p.m.; his art exhibit runs until the end of the month.