When fashion designers Melanie Hadfield and Jill Pemberton sell a piece, it’s never just clothes. It’s a story.
For Hadfield and Pemberton, the two women behind Tatum and Olivia, 2493B Beacon Ave. now in it’s third year in Sidney, every piece, like every story, comes with an introduction, a plot, characters and finally the conclusion, when it’s donned by the client.
“It’s the difference between buying ‘a piece’ and buying ‘stuff,’ ” said Pemberton.
“We will tell our customers the stories of how a piece was made, how we selected the fabric, how the stitching was done or about the changes in the lining,” she said.
The two women, both mothers and both in their 40s, created Tatum and Olivia three years ago. The name was selected on a whim. As young women, Hadfield was often likened to actress Tatum O’Neal and Pemberton to singer Olivia Newton-John.
Hadfield and Pemberton design the pieces themselves. And they spend the equivalent of two months of the year in Asia selecting fabrics and watching while items are being constructed.
“It’s a full circle, a complete full circle, from where we land there to where the clothes land here,” said Pemberton.
The two have always envisioned Tatum and Olivia would be a pride-fuelled story of their own making. So it’s one where the two women admire every element of the line and story, inspiration, development, the characters and the climax.
It begins with each other and their ideas talked out at weekly meetings, usually at Hadfield’s Saanichton home.
Later, they select the fabric, looking and touching every piece of cloth in fabric markets in Asia where they now often know the sellers personally.
After making sure the fabrics and their patterns can accommodate their designs, it’s off to the old French colonial building in Hanoi, Vietnam, where their production factory is located.
Even the factory was selected and chosen after face-to-face meetings with another character in the Tatum and Olivia story — the Vietnamese woman who is production manager of the factory’s 35-odd seamstresses and embroiders. That woman is now a dear friend and colleague, offering advice and assistance on details like types of stitching and what material will work well with particular folds and sewing.
Also, as authors of their own story, Hadfield and Pemberton were always determined to not play exploitive villains. That’s especially true after April 2013 news horrors like Rana Plaza factory collapse that killed more than 1,100 people in Bangladesh.
So between knowing the staff and spending two months of the year with them Hadfield and Pemberton are comfortable. They eat lunch together, swap photos of families, homes, and celebrate birthdays and babies in the lunchroom.
Now, during the twice-monthly Skype meetings between the production manager in Hanoi and the shop in Sidney, the seamstresses stroll by and wave at the screen in the background.
“We’ve been building relationships,” said Hadfield. “We work beside the women in the factory and we are comfortable in their environment and we are very proud of our production there.”
“We are definitely not Bangladesh,” she said.
The Tatum and Olivia story even has a prologue. It’s where Hadfield and Pemberton came together as two women in their 40s who felt they were squeezed out of the clothing market.
They both liked to dress with elegance, wit and even fun. But they didn’t want to look like they were raiding the closets of their teenage daughters. But neither were they ready for non-stop, sensible woolens and flat-heeled shoes.
“We are designing and creating with real women in mind,” said Pemberton. “They are active, they are dropping off the kids, going to work for a couple of hours, meeting somebody for coffee in the afternoon and walking dogs when they get home.”
“They are doing a lot in their day,” she said.
So Tatum and Olivia pieces are comfortable. But they shouldn’t be as shapeless as fleece sweat pants.
“We have a lot of pieces that will make you feel like you are wearing yoga pants but you don’t look like you are wearing yoga pants,” said Hadfield.
Thinking of themselves as customers, a blouse might be hip and upbeat in its cut and material but still offer a little extra room across the bust. Skirts might be short, but still have with an extra inch or two in length over what’s found in stores for teens.
Tatum and Olivia went for designs, colors and patterns to be versatile and interchangeable. Their designs are classic but are not afraid to have some fun.
Hadfield likes to say a Tatum and Olivia dress can carry off a gala opening over a pair of elegant heels one night. But there should be nothing to stop a woman from wearing the same dress the following night over a pair of leggings with motorcycle boots and a jean jacket.
The moral of this story is: Just because a piece is nicely made, with attention to details like stitching and linings it should never stop the wearer having some fun with it.
“Don’t just wear it to one gala event because you probably won’t attend another gala any time soon,” said Hadfield. “Take it out of your closet and wear it a different way.”
Pemberton said she often tells the customer who might hesitate over a jacket because it seems too dressy to just try it on with a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. “We want women to wear our pieces.”
“You can always make your own style and that’s what we tell women who are a little nervous about buying a unique piece,” she said. “Everybody can wear something a little differently.”
For details and more pictures on Tatum and Olivia, including the chance to shop online, go to tatumandolivia.com.