It was 1998 and I was right in the middle of running my 3 year old (romantic) Western store (Way Out West), where there was men's and women's clothing that leaned heavily on the western vibe: Beaded leather jackets with fringe, long skirts that flared out at the hemline, fitted wool jackets and coats, military inspired jackets, broomstick skirts, frock coats for both men and women, suspenders and old west shirts for the men, etc.
Even though there was a lot of western, country girl in me, my taste in clothing was more closely aligned with the romance of the past. The 1910's to 1930's in particular, held a large part of my interest in clothing from the past.
Other factors at the time also contributed to my desire to have a shop that was more in tune with who I was as a woman who loved clothing since childhood. I didn't really dress "western", except for certain days that were aimed at promoting my western shop (Way Out West)
No, my taste in clothing was more aligned with the Victorian, Edwardian, and 1930's. I was also intrigued with antique clothing that was perhaps once grand and opulent but now had developed some tatters and fading. These clothes made me swoon!
And so, in 1999, the first Tattered Rose store opened it's doors in the same building as my western store, namely the Johnston Terminal in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I loved having both stores because they each provided different outlets for the eclectic styles I wanted to offer.
Anyway, all of this preamble was to say that since 1999, the name "Tattered Rose" has stood the test of time. To this day, we offer a very eclectic selection of women's clothing, which always includes a lot of tattered, urban romantic styles. I have always said that the name I chose for my store was directly influenced by both of my parents: "Rose" for my Mom who loved roses and "Tattered" for my Dad, who had grown up during the Depression and was used to wearing old, mended, sometimes tattered clothing. He didn't believe in throwing away clothing that had holes, when they could easily be mended.
I closed my Way Out West store in 2001. Life had changed but Tattered Rose remained with me. If you look closely, though, you can still see ghosts of the western shop where all this began.
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