STYLE
T here’s no telling where you’ll spot an impeccably effortless ensemble. A striped maxi- dress in a coffee shop, a crisp white blouse in the office, a flirty cold-shoulder top one table over. There are great outfits all over the Island, and many share a source: Go 2 pieces from JEMS Boutique on Queen Street. JEMS’s house line, Go 2 Clothing, was created by boutique owners Julia and Maureen Campbell. For the mother-and-daughter designers, versatility remains a constant Go 2 touchstone. “You can style Go 2 pieces different ways, make them work for various aspects of your life: student, businesswoman, stay-at-home mom, retiree,” explains Julia. “They’re ‘go-to’ pieces you’ll wear again and again.” Julia and Maureen founded Go 2 about five years ago, and the brand is now offered in around a dozen Canadian boutiques, including JEMS. The Campbells personally choose every element used to craft Go 2 designs-- fabrics, zippers, buttons. To find perfect materials, Julia reveals, “We travel halfway around the globe, to Guangzhou, China-- the fabric hub of the world.” Fabrics sourced form Guangzhou, she says, make up a huge slice of international fashion. “No matter where they produce--Europe, Asia, South America--ninety-five per cent of people source fabric from that city.”
BEHIND THE SEAMS
JEMS Boutique’s house brand debuts its fall/winter line
Words by Rebecca Spinner Photos courtesy of Jems
▲ Maureen and Julia Campbell.
The Campbells’ annual Guangzhou trips are spent in a fashionable flurry. “In a single day, we’ll go around and feel thousands of different fabrics.” Julia credits Maureen with hunting down quality cloth for Go 2 designs, noting that her mother draws on three decades of retail experience. “She can feel fabric and know from the weight whether it’ll pill or not.” Choosing a suitable workshop for Go 2’s designs involved legwork, says Julia--but paid off in peace of mind. “We took extra steps to be comfortable with our manufacturers: what they stood for, how they ran their business,” she says of Go 2’s Guangzhou partners. “We’ve been to the factory several times. We’ve met the workers.”
Julia emphasizes that Go 2, and JEMS itself, are Island brands. “Our local demographic keeps us in business. We employ locally and give back locally,” she says, naming the Canadian Mental Health Association and Island Mothers Helping Mothers as two of JEMS’ chosen causes. This autumn, JEMS will debut its first fall/winter collection. While Go 2’s spring/summer’s offerings were athleisure-inspired, says Julia, the fall/winter collection is “cozy and chic,” featuring an array of tunics, sweaters, ponte pants and more in neutrals (white, charcoal, black), and jewel tones like cranberry and raspberry. One of the eight newly-designed fall/winter items--a leisure suit- -was directly inspired by the Campbells’ Guangzhou trips, Julia
notes. “I wanted a perfect leisure suit for the long haul to China; one that looked smart, and wouldn’t wrinkle,” she explains. “Something comfortable on a twelve-hour flight.” Whether you’re jetsetting this autumn or not, the Go 2 leisure suit--and the rest of the fall/ winter collection--might prove a perfect addition to a flexible, fashionable cold-weather wardrobe.
JEMS Boutique 102 Queen Street Charlottetown, PEI 902.894.1457 www.jemsboutique.ca
Although Go 2’s products are an international collaboration,
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www.pei-living.ca FALL 2018
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