ABOUT

My name is Pamela and sewing and textiles have always been a part of my life — it's in my blood.

My mother was a home economics teacher and taught me to sew when I was eight. Growing up on the Canadian prairie, all the women (and some men, too) of my parents' and grandparents' generations were savvy seamstresses and/or knitters. They had to be. Most were immigrants with little money and often made things rather than buying them.

I loved to sew rather than had to, and have been collecting vintage textiles since I was a teenager. I made puppets and plush creatures as a kid, imitations of the clothes I saw in British fashion and music magazines as a young adult, and then items for my own daughter when she was born.

She's studying at university now, but there was a time when we collected big-eyed Blythe and Dal dolls together, designing and dressing them in cute retro styles. When she left the dolls behind, I did not. Instead, I started cutting into my giant fabric stash to create vintage-inspired garments for Blythe.

I opened an Etsy shop, moved from Flickr to Instagram, and eventually learned to knit so I could add colourful, fluffy things to my crafting repertoire.

Now I'm embarking on a new adventure with this standalone shop. In addition to retro style fashion for Blythe, I'm hoping to expand the Endangered Sissy range to include vintage-focused haberdashery, and bring my real-world work as a professional writer and photographer into the mix.

I am also committed to continuing to listen, learn and educate myself on matters of social justice and anti-racism. All sales of Secret Styles will be donated to organizations that support Indigenous Canadian youth and support a clear anti-racist agenda.

So stay tuned, there's lots more to come!