Collection

This collection focusses on the fashion industry, the clothing aspect in particular, and the textile industry. It documents the creation of clothing and accessories, as well as the promotion and commercialization of various items. The collection also chronicles the activities of associations of weavers and fashion designers, and includes a number of theoretical and instructive works offered to the public.

Among the businesses documented in this collection, underwear manufacturer Canadelle has the most impressive corpus of documents. There are publications recounting its history and that of corset and undergarment manufacturer, Dominion Corset, several sketches of undergarments, and numerous catalogues illustrating the Wonderbra, Christina, Dici Nova and other collections marketed from the 1950s to the 2000s. Press clippings and various documents associated with a lawsuit brought by the diocese of Quebec City against Dominion Corset complete this voluminous series.

The collection also contains correspondence, order forms and photographs chronicling the activities of Montreal tailor Samuelsohn Ltd., as well as various documents tracing the career of a Woolworth Co. Ltd. employee. Numerous advertisements of all kinds illustrate the promotion of items, notably clothing, shoes, hats, undergarments and jewellery. Several invoices and receipts document the purchase of specific items from retailers in and outside Montreal. There is also a scrapbook devoted to the career of hat designer Claire Robert.

A significant share of this collection consists of works on the history of fashion, along with a variety of instructive works. For example, there are booklets published by weaver associations and the Macdonald College Handicrafts Division, sewing and knitting patterns, models and guides, and numerous specialized magazines about knitting and various types of needlework. Photographs illustrating underwear and bathing suit models produced by Canadelle and several snapshots depicting the facilities and employees of Samuelsohn Ltd. complete this collection.