Toronto Melbourne info please
- Thread starter Pretty Old Fashioned
- Start date
Circa Vintage Clothing
Alumni
I live in Melbourne (Australia) and have never heard of it so if it's an Australian company it's unlikely to be large.
If you can show photos of the garment, plus the other labels we can help with dating and other information. There's also a Melbourne in Florida. It will be hard to find information because of the use of the place name as the label. Going by the label alone, I think it will be an '80s or '90s company.
Where are you based? That will help narrow down whether the label is an Australian one or a US one, so then company name databases could be searched.
I searched for Toronto in Australian business names and there are a hundred - none sound like fashion labels but your company may have closed a long time ago. If we know a date range to look at, it will help.
If you can show photos of the garment, plus the other labels we can help with dating and other information. There's also a Melbourne in Florida. It will be hard to find information because of the use of the place name as the label. Going by the label alone, I think it will be an '80s or '90s company.
Where are you based? That will help narrow down whether the label is an Australian one or a US one, so then company name databases could be searched.
I searched for Toronto in Australian business names and there are a hundred - none sound like fashion labels but your company may have closed a long time ago. If we know a date range to look at, it will help.
Pretty Old Fashioned
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Pretty Old Fashioned
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thanks for your help
Is that the one through hotfrog.com? I tried that link and it doesn't seem to go anywhere, I think it may be picking up on the words fashion and melbourne and points to a whole lot of online fashion.
Chris
lkranieri
VFG Member
If you click on the word "THESE" in my prior post it will take you to a page with just a couple of references to the Toronto Fashion House. The first hit gives you very little information, but it does give you an address for the Toronto Fashion House, so there was a place by that name.
Circa Vintage Clothing
Alumni
Thanks for the info Lynne - it looks like Toronto was a fashion house located at 183 Flinders Lane in 1983 - that used to be the heart of the Melbourne fashion manufacturing world in the '50s and '60s and there are still a few businesses there but most have moved out to the suburbs.
Chris, glad you like my first book - I've heard the op shops in Tasmania are great! A friend picked up a leopard print House of Merivale '70s jacket last week from Hobart, I'm a little envious. Another found a pair of ladies shoes, circa 1803 - that predates almost all Australian settlement - and they were $3. I dream of such finds.
The size label and skirt look early '80s, so that tallies with the '83 registration. They look to me like the sort of mid-range label you'd find in Myer and high street boutiques in nice neighbourhoods.
Chris, glad you like my first book - I've heard the op shops in Tasmania are great! A friend picked up a leopard print House of Merivale '70s jacket last week from Hobart, I'm a little envious. Another found a pair of ladies shoes, circa 1803 - that predates almost all Australian settlement - and they were $3. I dream of such finds.
The size label and skirt look early '80s, so that tallies with the '83 registration. They look to me like the sort of mid-range label you'd find in Myer and high street boutiques in nice neighbourhoods.
Pretty Old Fashioned
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Pretty Old Fashioned
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Thanks to you both for your help.
sewingmachinegirl
VFG Member
Awesome! I will be in Hobart in late September, Op Shops here I come
lkranieri
VFG Member
Vikki, What does your hang tag say immediately under the word Toronto? Thanks.
Circa Vintage Clothing
Alumni
I opened a box in my stockroom and found a '60s skirt with the Toronto Melbourne label! Thanks to this thread - and Lynne's researching - I know about the company now. It's a cute skirt too.
I have a Toronto Melbourne brand tailored,
navy, pleated, mid-calf skirt, which I purchased second hand from a stall at the Vic market in the 1970s when I was wearing vintage clothing before we called it vintage. I would have said it is 1930s. I am now selling off my old clothes, which I thought I'd keep for daughters to dress up in, then had 3 sons instead. Now it's time to cull ! I would be interested to hear opinions on date of design, and would welcome purchase enquiries. Susan
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Circa Vintage Clothing
Alumni
Hi Smdav, and welcome to the forums.
Your skirt is a classic style that was popular in many eras but the label, listing centimetres rather than inches, suggest it was manufactured post 1970. The Australian sizing system changed in about 1967 and most labels feature both systems until the early '70s.
The size is also consistent with '70s, as you can see from the chart I created in this blog post: a '71 label had a size 12 as 66cm waist and a 97 hip, suggesting your skirt might be very early '70s, about 1970-72.
I hope that helps.
Your skirt is a classic style that was popular in many eras but the label, listing centimetres rather than inches, suggest it was manufactured post 1970. The Australian sizing system changed in about 1967 and most labels feature both systems until the early '70s.
The size is also consistent with '70s, as you can see from the chart I created in this blog post: a '71 label had a size 12 as 66cm waist and a 97 hip, suggesting your skirt might be very early '70s, about 1970-72.
I hope that helps.
I wondered about the cm labels. Also the polyester/ wool/ rayon mix. Polyester started being used in the 1940s and Rayon about the same time. It wasn't new when I purchased it and the length would be a bit weird for a 1970s made item. I wondered if it used cm as a European custom going back much earlier. Anyway, I'll put a question mark on the era. Thanks for your input. Susan
Chellzapoppin
Registered Guest
Hi all. I have woolen Toronto of Melbourne skirt which features the old embroidered logo on the tag. I believe it to be from the late 1950s to early 60s. Still has the SSW tag underneath as well.
