Not only did Lena Dunham wear it, she wore it in an adorably hoser-ish way. And not only did she wear it well, she avoided using the American term "beanie" to describe the Canadian garment now slouched upon her head."Too-kuh," she enunciated, when presented with the cap on CTV's eTalk.
"Do you think anyone is going to be irritated if I just wear this hat all day?" Her appearance in a City of Neighbourhoods tuque manufactured by Tuck Shop Trading Co. capped off a crazy month for the year-old Toronto clothing company.
During the Toronto International Film Festival, hip hop artist Method Man and supermodel Cara Delevingne were seen sporting the company's distinctive "Toronto" tuque. Then came Hilary Duff and, faster than you can scorch a s'more, the fledgling designer of cottage-inspired gear had itself a hit.
"We received a ton of orders," says Tuck founder Lyndsay Borschke. "It's a simple idea and those are the ones that take."
"For now," she says, "I just tell them it's a beanie."
Tuck now sells tuques representing 28 neighbourhoods in Toronto; it is expanding to Montreal, New York, L.A. and Ottawa, with plans for major North American ski towns next year—even if her new U.S. clientele can't tell a tuque from a two-four.
The tuque is made entirely in Toronto, as are most of the company's other woodsy wears. The only non-Canadian elements come from an elderly Scottish cashmere spinner based in Texas.
"Our goal is to source and manufacture as close as possible," says Borschke. "There just are not a ton of mills left in North America that will knit cashmere."
Patrick White