address: 3963 & 3971 Saint Laurent
phone number: 514-985-1196
hours of operation: Mon-Wed:10am - 6pm/Thurs-Fri:10am - 7pm/Sat: 10am- 5pm/Sun: 12pm-5pm
payment methods:Cash,MasterCard,Visa,Amex, Interac

When I step into Rush, Claudette Floyd, the store’s owner and designer, is shimmying her tall frame into a dress the colour of lemon meringue. “I think this is a small,” she tells her assistant, who stands sewing handfuls of colourful silk next to shelves loaded with rolls of fabric. Claudette’s daughter is perched on a stool by the work table, just watching.

I began to covet Claudette’s designs after too many late nights on Saint Laurent — the store is on Saint Laurent just below Duluth (across from the Copacabana, right beside Moishes). The windows of Rush flaunt colour (some past designs have included an electric blue cocktail dress and a gown made of Tibetan-monk orange) but they’ve got more to offer than straight out flash. Claudette also makes toned-down jackets and coats with belted, fanned out hems that one-up the classics.

The goods don’t come cheap, though, so be prepared. Jackets start at $350; you can find a little bolero for about $250. Cocktail dresses start at $280, evening gowns can go up to $1500. There is always a rack of discounts for those of us with blessed with naturally slim pocketbooks — last season’s offerings are reduced 30%. Rush collections are appropriate for women of all ages. Designs cover day and evening, work, and even tripping down the aisle, or dancing on a rooftop of some foreign city. And if you don’t have an event lined that demands a pretty dress or sharp tweed, Claudette suggests you buy what you love and create your own occasion.
profile by Melissa Bull
photography by Heather Utah