Jan 8, 2021
If anyone has their work cut out for them during the pandemic it’s suit tailors and dress designers.
With weddings, galas and corporate events cancelled, put on hold or severely restricted, the demand for glamorous gowns and sophisticated suits is hanging by a thread, leaving Ottawa’s formalwear sector in search of new ways to do business.
For
Sonia Fisher, president of E.R. Fisher Menswear, 2020 was “the most challenging year” in the history of her venerable business, located at 199 Richmond Rd. in Westboro.
“There’s never been anything like this before.” Not in recent memory, anyway.
The menswear store, founded on Sparks Street in 1905 by Fisher’s great-grandfather, has a reputation for its tailored and made-to-measure suits, custom shirts and formalwear. Fisher, who’s the fourth generation in her family to own E.R. Fisher, purchased the retail store from her uncle, aunt and father in 2009.