by A. Rianrhod

Got duds in your closet that you snagged at Fits to a T at 4573B Marine Avenue?

Go ahead: tell your friends a Club Med designer picks out unique fashions for you.

It’s true. Tanya Close was a Club Med bartender wowing the crowds with her costumes on Theme Nights when she was chosen as one of the Club’s costume designers. Given her diploma in fashion design, the job was a natural—but Tanya gave up the sunny, laidback lifestyle to join her mother in Powell River. Four years ago, opportunity knocked when the Fashion Emporium closed on Marine—“Downtown has such character!”—and Tanya found herself in “rags”, as clothiers affectionately dub their business.

Running rags in a small town has its pleasures as well as its difficulties. In cities so many customers sport the very latest that a competitive atmosphere is inevitable. In Powell River Tanya has found a tacit pact among clothiers not to encroach on others’ exclusive lines. There’s a camaraderie that promotes variety and unique styles while preventing crippling price wars.

That variety—formal, casual, and career clothes in sizes 4 to 18 chosen first and foremost for their fit—makes it hard to spend just a few minutes in Fits to a T. Tanya says there are many women like the writer, several sizes different up top from below. The prospect of finding, say, a Pure cotton sweater and one of those swiffy new skirt styles that would actually fit is tempting, especially since Tanya does her buying at Vancouver’s Fashion Xchange—aware that her customers like their clothes to be unique. Whatever I buy, I won’t see it all over town. Cotton sweater not quite the ticket? Try the cashmere. Or skip the sweater in favor of a soft Thai shawl.

Fits to a T is a must for the shoe freak. There’s a small mountain of the cute, the unusual, the comfortable, and the affordable for your feet, priced from $20 to $70. Boots will arrive for the fall, too. Likely the footwear will find compatible bags, hosiery, and accessories to round out a purchase. If you’re lucky, you’ll arrive just as the passing season’s offerings go on sale to make way for the next collection.

Fits to a T opens six days a week, 10 to 5:30. Come see Tanya’s painting, the background for her business card. There’s an eye for style here as well as fit.