Relaxed styles that look great on are a mainstay of Yorkville’s Motion

RITA ZEKAS
Special to the Star

Nancy Moore, owner of Motion Clothing Company Ltd. on Cumberland St., says store’s mission is to help women feel good about themselves.
VINCE TALOTTA / TORSTAR

The lesson: Don’t judge a dress by the way it looks on a hanger.

We have Motion sickness.
We are guilty of substance abuse at Motion Clothing Company Ltd. at 106 Cumberland St.

We’d pass by the shop many times but thought they were old-lady clothes because they have no hanger appeal. They are unstructured: owner Nancy Moore is a big fan of maverick Japanese and Belgian designers.

But once you try them on, you are hooked. Last fall, Store Gazing interviewed an unconstructed, grey boiled wool coat from the German line Oska that would be perfect for a trip to Italy. Coincidentally, a petite woman was trying on the same coat but in our size: giant economy.

We happily swapped and the coat worked for both body types.

Not only that, it could be rolled up and used as a pillow on train/plane journeys.

“We can find something for most people and we make them feel good about themselves,” Moore says.

“It is comfortable to shop with us. I have a great staff”

Motion’s stock is not as oversized or outrageously pricey as Eskander and is much hipper than Eileen Fisher. Moore carries European and American lines including Hebbeding, Oska, Mes Soeurs et Moi, A.B., Black Label, Lilith, Cynthia Ashby, Pure, Lunn, Peter O. Mahler, Skif and Mycra Pac, a line of reversible rainwear that folds into its own bag.

“Cynthia Ashby is from $200 to $500 but you get a wonderful jacket that you won’t see anywhere,” Moore says.

“She’s like Oska; they don’t manufacture that many pieces. I get people from Texas to England emailing asking ‘Do you have these pieces?’”
Moore is wearing four-year-old black jumper from Black Label under an oversized sweater from Skif.

“I am not into disposable clothes,” she explains. “Skif is from Missouri and their sweaters run from $295 to $435. They are known for their imaginative use of yarn. The sweaters don’t come sized and a lot of them you can wear upside down.”

Motion also has its own house line with jackets coming in at $295 and pants in the $175 to $275 range.

“Usually one of us (on staff) is wearing these pants,” Moore says.

The emphasis is on all-season dresses, jumpers, shirts, jackets and vests ideal for layering. They don’t cling to your nasty bits; they camouflage problematic parts.

They never go out of fashion because they are fashion forward without being trendy, and the palette won’t startle the horses.

“Our colours are more muted than bright because they are easy to mix and match,” says Moore, who studied fashion at Ryerson, graduating in 1982, and has been in the biz for 25 years. Motion has been in this location for 17 years.

Previously, it was at Queens Quay Terminal in the Design Zone.

“I was sewing my own stuff and selling it on Queen St. W. It was the same stuff I carry now; relaxed, with interesting texture. I sell linen all year round. Cut Loose form California has great oversized shirts.

“The lines I buy aren’t going to change in the next season. It is a more European way to buy. You buy one or two pieces to add to your wardrobe and accessorize.

“My clientele has a certain sense of style. They are professional women over 35 – I have a client who is 90 and a painter.

“There is a lot of beautiful fashion int he marketplace but it won’t cater to a woman who is 50. We carry forgiving lines that won’t hit in the wrong places.

“Younger women who like our lines are into fashion and appreciate the cloth and how it is stitched.

“I don’t like clothing that is precious. I like baggy but, if the volume is on top, you keep the bottom slim and vice versa.

“You can’t do big over big over big,”

Not unless you’re going for the dirigible look.