For more than five decades, Canadian women of all ages have trusted Milli Gould as their luxury retailer and as someone they could confide in.
“The first thing about Milli was that she wasn’t just selling you a dress off the rack – she would tweak it and make it into something very special,” said long time client Sandy Waldman.
“Second of all, I think it was chemistry.”
A former model known for her fashion sense, Gould was one of the first boutique owners to bring high fashion retail to Ontario when she opened Milli in Hamilton back in 1964.
“When she started her business, there weren’t many women. Yes, there were women sales people and what not, but owners of stores, and dynamic as she was – it was still a man’s world … and she forged her own business and her own reputation through that,” said Mark Gould, Milli’s son.
At 83 years old, this iconic retailer continues to work six days a week running two stores – one in Hamilton and one in Toronto – with the sons Ben and Mark by her side.
“My mother is driven, dynamic, focused,” said Mark.
“She is a woman that you could say she has an iron fist with a velvet glove.”
Gould said she has been through a lot.
“Having lost a husband and daughter and (being) pregnant with my youngest son, we went through a lot together … then I married a wonderful man who really believed in me, and because of that I am here today.”