Evelyn Shirley Silverman née Borenstein1 designed under the name Eve Lyn in Montreal. Having studied Fine Arts at Sir George Williams College, she became inspired to create the clothing she drew in her sketches. In the mid-1950s, she created a fashionable felt skirt with appliqués for her four-year old niece, who wore it on a shopping trip. When a department store buyer expressed her admiration, Eve Lyn found herself with an order for 50 more.
“I buckled down to work and filled the order and haven’t looked back since,” she said in 1958.2
As a designer, she initially built a reputation for separates, but then won acclaim for high-end ensembles, ball gowns and evening gowns for private clients.
She was invited to join the Association of Canadian Couturiers, and was one of its few Canadian-born members.
She took part in her first Association show early in 1958, where she surprised the audience with a blue and white cotton piqué summer dress that was actually an overdress, revealing a strapless bodice and pants beneath. A tangerine Arnel wrap jersey coat also drew much attention.3 The sportswear garments she showed with the Association were consistently remarked upon by the press in the years that followed. By 1964, she was one of only seven remaining members of the group;4 she showed for the last time in fall 1965.
Her couture salon was located in the apartment she shared with her first husband, Teddy Silverman. (He was also in the garment trade, working as a merchandising manager in his family’s business, Packard Clothes Ltd.) The living room was transformed into a workspace the moment he left for work, with everything put away for his return at the end of the day.5 Eve Lyn worked with three assistants and received clients in the space. Her couture clients numbered about 275, and each purchased between one and three gowns a season.6 In 1958, her prices ranged from $125 to $150 for an afternoon dress, $225 for a suit, $200 to $225 for a cocktail dress, and $1000 for a wedding dress.7
Eve Lyn also created designs for Courtauld, Du Pont, and Rainmaster.8 A 1963 Du Pont advertisement featured an Antron nylon double-knit blouson sheath evening dress by Eve Lyn.9 In 1964, Rainmaster publicized the “couturier styling” she brought to a blossom pink Terylene and cotton raincoat.10
In 1965, she was commissioned to create an outfit for Miss America, which the winner wore on her tour of the United States.1
The same year she was invited to participate in Israel’s fashion week.12 Soon afterward, she married Israeli Zvi Gilon and moved to California, where she worked as a designer and coordinator for several fashion houses.13 By 1966, she was being identified as an Israeli couturier.14 The pair returned to Israel in 1970.15 Once she was established, she set up a studio and designed for manufacturers.
Eve Lyn was described as a petite platinum blonde with green eyes, who was a good model for her own clothes at 5 feet 3 ½ inches and 110 pounds.16
Sources
1. Evelyn Shirley Bornstein (sic), birth record, ancestry.ca. Engagement announcement to Theodore Howard (Teddy) Silverman, Montreal Gazette, August 23, 1944.
2. Capreol, Joan. “Eve Lyn Made Start with Felt Skirts.” Globe and Mail, June 28, 1958.
3. Globe and Mail, January 28, 1958.
4. Montreal Gazette, September 18, 1964.
5. Capreol, Joan. “Eve Lyn Made Start with Felt Skirts.” Globe and Mail, June 28, 1958.
6. Capreol, Joan. “Eve Lyn Made Start with Felt Skirts.” Globe and Mail, June 28, 1958.
7. Capreol, Joan. “Eve Lyn Made Start with Felt Skirts.” Globe and Mail, June 28, 1958.
8. Yehiel, Joanna. “Miss America Designer tries her luck in Israel.” Jerusalem Post, April 26, 1972, 9.
9. La Tribune, December 21, 1963; Ottawa Citizen, September 4, 1963.
10. Sherbrooke Record, February 15, 1964; L’avenir du Nord, March 25, 1964.
11. Yehiel, Joanna. “Miss America Designer tries her luck in Israel.” Jerusalem Post, April 26, 1972, 9.
12. Yehiel, Joanna. “Miss America Designer tries her luck in Israel.” Jerusalem Post, April 26, 1972, 9.
13. Yehiel, Joanna. “Miss America Designer tries her luck in Israel.” Jerusalem Post, April 26, 1972, 9.
14. Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1966.
15. Women’s Wear Daily, September 9, 1970.
16. Capreol, Joan. “Eve Lyn Made Start with Felt Skirts.” Globe and Mail, June 28, 1958.
