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FASHION HISTORY MUSEUM

Where 300 Years of History is Always in Fashion

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DRESSING TORONTO

Dressing Toronto Exhibit: Text

Dressing Toronto

Dressing Toronto

Black Wool Tailcoat, labelled 'D. Stevenson, Toronto' c. 1870

Wool Dress, c. 1876

The Great Department Stores: Eaton's and Simpson's

By 1920, the T. Eaton company complex of stores and factories in downtown Toronto employed over 11,000 people. By 1940, they had become the 8th largest retailer in the world.

Simpson’s was founded by Scottish-born Robert Simpson in 1872 with its flagship store, at the corner of Queen and Yonge streets in Toronto, opening in 1896.

In 1952 the American mail order giant Sears Roebuck entered into a joint venture to build retail stores under the name ‘Simpsons-Sears’. The Hudson’s Bay Company acquired Simpsons in 1978 and merged operations in 1991, ending over a century of the Simpson’s name in Toronto retail fashion history.

Black Silk Suit, 1958

Pink Sheer Nylon Evening Dress, 1969

Silk Taffeta Cocktail Dress, 1986

Green Wool Coat, 1986

Red Wool Coat, 1994

Shoe Print Cocktail Dress, 1995

Beginning of the End

Dressing Toronto Exhibit: Pro Gallery

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