Biba boutique
Biba Boutique Celebrates 50 Years of Style Excellence
“I’ve always loved beautiful clothes and making women look and feel spectacular,”
says Joan Ibbotson, owner of Biba Boutique. Joan seems to have been born with an innate sense of knowing exactly what will suit any woman, regardless of age, shape or size. As a young girl Joan taught herself how to sew, and at the tender age of 15, was working in a posh boutique in Sheffield, England. There the customers were served tea and talked about what they were looking for, as the sales ladies presented outfits for their approval. It was this attention to detail and exemplary level of customer service that would become the foundation of Biba’s success.
Journey to the Corner of King and Madison
In 1966 Joan and her soon-to-be husband John moved to Kitchener. She worked in a couple of local shops before opening her own little boutique in 1967, a9’ x 12’ space with red velvet drapes and about 20 artfully chosen garments. “I went to a supplier in Montreal who told me I wouldn’t last 18 months. Of course, that just made me more determined,” says Joan with a smile. Her shop’s unmitigated success led to a larger downtown location offering psychedelic apparel and a mood more suggestive of swinging London than conservative Kitchener. The business continued to thrive as she added a second store in UptownWaterloo and a third in Fairview Park Mall.