Principessa Collection

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that's how Gina Tersigni's Principessa line of jeans "for real women" was born in Woodbridge in 2003. The curvy, stay-at-home mom simply couldn't find jeans to suit her busy lifestyle, taste and changing body. What started as Just Gina Designs and a small line of denim has since become Principessa, a complete collection of tops, trousers, denim, jackets and skirts.

As a teen and young adult, Tersigni often designed and sketched her own outfits and had them made. "While I was at home with my kids, I had kept up my interest in fashion, and I had a lot of retail background and a degree in business." She took a few additional night courses, and her husband and two boys, now 14 and 17, encouraged her to take the plunge. "Real women have curves," the designer laughs, but all she found in the marketplace at a reasonable price was denim that was "too low-cut or snug or else the opposite-- the butt is too big, too high, like mom-jeans. So, I emphasized comfort; everything is a stretch fabric, and on the jeans, no pockets, so you don't see any lumps.

"I design for myself, and women like myself -- women having children, going through body changes," says the 45-year-old Tersigni. "We want jeans that looked good, but don't want to wear the tiny little jeans. I know what women my age are looking for. It's different, and it's true what they say, that 40 is the new 30."

Principessa is a full-blown collection of well-priced, chic, European-inspired separates ($100 for a top, up to $375 for a jacket). There's a black jacket and skirt ensemble with deconstructed-looking taupe contrast seams that can be mixed in, dressed up or down, with existing favourites ("I think it makes it easier for any occasion and you get more use out of clothes -- what woman goes out and buys a whole new wardrobe every season?"), and an elegant and very comfortable draped top and matching skirt in slinky Italian knit jersey (brown, winter white or black). Although a few select pieces from the Principessa line are manufactured at boutique factories in Italy, most of Tersigni's manufacturing is done in Canada.

"I think that it's going the route where people are getting tired of the overseas market, too."

Emerging independent lines like Principessa are a boutique-driven business. "To find your customer, it's got to be special, not just something that Mexx and Zara carries," says Tersigni. Popcorn Boutique in Thornhill was one of the first shops to give Principessa a chance, taking garments on consignment, and now the customers come in asking for them and they're her best customers. Tersigni is also excited that the collection was picked up by Denise & Company at Bayview Village this season. And if that goes well? "My idea is to move on to the American market, to Montreal and the rest of Canada. But I wanted to start in this market that I knew, because it was my home base. It's quite a challenge to get the bigger stores with the bigger names!" - The Principessa Collection, at Popcorn in Thornhill, Denise & Co. at Bayview Village, La Duchessa on St. Clair and Garbo's in Ajax, principessacollection.com.