Marie Dooley

As soon as you set foot in one of Marie Dooley’s stores, in the Montcalm district, you enter a universe of colour, texture and beautiful exclusive clothes that will leave you breathless.   This great Québec designer lives and breathes ready-to-wear clothes. 

From an early age, Ms. Dooley loved making clothes for herself, though it was only in 1986 that she started her designing career as she was making her first line while working in a local store.  Seeing how successful her creations became, she left and started her own workshop in the Old Harbour.  In 1990, she teamed with a Montreal agency that would distribute her clothes and make her name a houselhold one throughout Québec and Ontario. 

A few years later, she would open a shop on René-Levesque Boulevard, followed by the founding of Couloir, which would later become Marie Dooley Signature.  In 2002, Marie Dooley, le Salon opened, just a few shorts steps from the first store.  This boutique is dedicated exclusively to wedding gowns as well as, gala and evening dresses.

Her workshop is located on the second floor, between the two stores, and employs 9 people, including seamstresses.  Ms. Dooley imagines, designs and creates her own clothing lines which are sold in the ground floor shops.

Her talent, creativity and passion allowed her to work on costumes for plays, such as Albert Camus’ La Peste, presented in 2002 at La Caserne Dalhousie.  She also designed the uniform and hat collection for Chef Jean Soulard at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, the employees’ uniforms at the Loews Le Concorde as well as the uniforms for the waiters at L’Initiale, the restaurant of the Relais & Châteaux chain, the greeting staff at the Musée national des beaux-arts, the event personnel at the Québec Convention Center and those of the greeting personnel at the Palais Montcalm.

Young women, businesswomen rank among her clientele, along with Canada’s governor general, Mrs. Michaëlle Jean.

You can see her new clothing line on her web site at www.mariedooley.com

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