"After 43 Years, I'm Hanging Up My Shears" — Camille (66) Tailors the Last of Her Two-Piece Sets
Camille Fontaine, 66, is making her last cuts — letting go of the tailored two-piece sets she's shaped beside Jarah's South Yarra shop for over four decades. As the shop closes after 43 years, she's clearing the last of them at up to 70% off while the doors are still open.
South Yarra, Melbourne. The workroom behind the shop smells of pressed wool and machine oil, and of the tea that's always going cold on the windowsill. Pinned above the cutting table is a yellowed pattern, soft as cloth from handling. "A tailor in Fitzroy taught me to cut a shoulder so it sits without a wrinkle," Camille says, running a tape measure through her fingers out of pure habit. "That was 1971. I've been cutting them ever since. Fifty years, near enough."
How It All Began
When Jarah opened her doors on Chapel Street in 1983, Camille was one of her first regulars — and before long, one of her quietest secrets. In the back room, between customers, Camille kept a cutting table and an old machine, and made a small run of tailored two-piece sets, sold only to the women who asked. "It was never really a business," she laughs. "It was just something my hands wouldn't stop doing." Each colour she named after a woman she knew — Vera, Ava, Rosie, and, in the end, one after herself.
Forty-Three Years at the Cutting Table
What makes a two-piece set is the cut — the line of the shoulder, the fall of the trouser, shaped by hand so it flatters a real body instead of fighting it. Camille learned to cut hers so the blazer holds a clean line without pinching, and the wide-leg trouser moves when you do. "People think it's the fabric," she says. "It's not. It's where you put the scissors. That takes years."
What Makes These Sets So Special
- Tailored, not mass-cut: Each set is cut and finished the old way — a structured shoulder, a pressed lapel, a trouser with a real crease.
- A true two-piece that fits real women: Blazer and wide-leg trouser cut for women who are done being squeezed — room to breathe, room to move.
- Structured, yet soft: Holds a sharp, put-together line all day, but feels closer to your favourite cardigan than to stiff office armour.
- Six colours, each named after a woman: Mallow, Vera, Elodie, Sienna, Ava and Rosie — from soft blue to blush pink, cut in sizes AU 8 to 24.
- Made to be handed down: Finished by hand to last for years, not a season — the kind of suit a daughter ends up borrowing and never gives back.
The Women Who Kept Coming Back
Camille keeps a tin of letters on the workroom shelf — notes and photographs from women who've worn her sets for years. She pulls out a card, postmarked 2019 from a customer in Ballarat:
"That's the whole reason I kept going," Camille says. "Not the selling. The letters."
Why Now, After 43 Years
"My hands aren't what they were," Camille says, setting down the shears. "The fine work — the collar, the buttonholes — I can manage an hour of it now, maybe two on a good day. It used to be a whole afternoon." Her eyes have gone the same way; the chalk lines are harder to hold in focus under the lamp.
And the shop itself is closing. After 43 years, the lease on Chapel Street is up, and Jarah has decided it's time. There's no drama in it — no scandal, no fire sale gone wrong — just the quiet end of a long chapter. Clearing out the last of Camille's sets is one small, personal way to close it well.
The Last of Camille's Colours
★★★★★Six colours, each named after a woman Camille knew — cut in sizes AU 8 to 24
★★★★★Join 2,300+ women across Australia who've already brought one of Camille's sets home
What Customers Are Saying
"It's the only thing I own that fits my shoulders and my hips at the same time. I feel pulled-together the second I put it on."
Margaret D., 61 — Geelong, VIC"I've worn mine to two weddings and a funeral and it looked right at all three. You can tell it's properly cut."
Christine W., 58 — Bendigo, VIC"Bought the blush one for my 60th. Silly to say a suit makes you happy, but here we are. My daughter wants one too."
Robyn T., 60 — Adelaide, SA
Where to Find Camille's Sets
Camille's two-piece sets are only available through Jarah Melbourne, from the same shop the two of them have shared for 43 years. Once the last of them are gone, this set won't be tailored again.
To be upfront: these aren't the cheapest two-piece sets you'll find. A mass-produced one from a chain store will always cost less — and if that's all you're after, that's a perfectly fair choice. This one is for women who want something actually tailored, small imperfections and all, and don't mind paying a little more for a suit that fits. If that's not you, no hard feelings.
Camille's Personal Guarantee
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee. "I only want these going to women who'll actually wear them," Camille says. Wear it for 30 days — if it isn't right, send it back for a full refund, no questions asked.
Up to 70% off — and the more you take home, the more you save
Every two-piece set is now $89.99, down from $295.95. Take more than one and the bundle discount comes off automatically at checkout — one for you, one already wrapped for someone you love.
Save up to 70% · 6 colours · Sizes AU 8–24 · While the shop's still open
The Internet Loves Camille's Sets
"Popped into the shop on Chapel Street before it closes — the little back room is like another era, patterns everywhere. Bought two on the spot."
Helen M., 64 — Melbourne, VIC"My mum saw mine on a video call and ordered the beige within the hour. Now I understand why."
Susan K., 55 — Hobart, TAS"I'm short and I never find trousers that hang right. These do. First suit I've owned that didn't need the hem taken up twice."
Denise P., 62 — Toowoomba, QLDOnly While the Doors Are Open — Then It's Over
Camille expects to hang up her shears for good within the next few weeks. There's no next batch coming, no restock in six months — once the last of the sets sell, this collection is done. Between the closing-sale price and the last of the winter interest, what's left is expected to go well before then.
Closing Thought
It's the kind of suit you don't just fold away in a drawer. Every one carries a bit of a back room off Chapel Street, a bit of chalk dust and pressed wool, and forty-three years of two women who kept something tailored by hand alive a little longer than anyone expected.
— Eleanor Fraser, for The Cutting Room Journal ✂️