Taxi ride led to start of family-run store now celebrating 50 years in Toronto

One taxi ride not only changed the lives of the Carman family, but it also changed the scope of fashion in the city for generations to come. Over the Rainbow, a family-owned and operated premium denim store in Toronto, marks 50 years in business in 2025.

What started as a chance encounter has grown into a Toronto fashion institution, and stepping into Over the Rainbow today, the Carman family’s passion for denim and community remains at the heart of what they’ve grown.

Upon walking into the store at 55 Bloor Street West, I was greeted by two vast jean walls filled with hundreds of pieces of denim and other gorgeous pieces of clothing, and Daniel Carman, the son of the store’s two founders, Jinni and Joel Carman.

As we walked past the racks and displays, Carman started telling the story of their secret to success. “Family and good taste.”

Forever In Blue Jeans

“My father, Joel, was a part of the arts community, and he was also a cab driver. What he wore was jeans, but back then, jeans, unlike now, which are very mainstream, were different and not an everyday piece of clothing you’d wear,” Daniel Carman, who considers his job title “jack of all trades” at Over the Rainbow, tells me.

“So he met a tailor in his cab, and the tailor was looking for a salesperson to start a retail store that catered to the arts and music community, people that were working outside of, like, your typical sort of white- and blue-collar jobs.”

Joel’s wife Jinni joined her husband’s venture after he told her about that fateful cab ride and in 1975, the two opened Over the Rainbow’s first location in Yorkville at 96 Bloor Street West. Standing at only 450 square feet, the second-floor shop at the Lothian Mews retail complex would eventually need an upgrade.

“As fashion grew, and as jeans and denim became more mainstream, that’s where the size of the store and the selection of what we carried started to evolve naturally over time,” shares Carman.

“We were the only place that was even really doing denim before we started to develop. We started with Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. We were first to all of those brands, and we were there from the ground level on a lot of these big fashion houses, both past and present.”

Daniel and his sister joined the family business within the last twenty years, but Daniel explains that even those who aren’t blood-related are still considered family at Over the Rainbow.

“The whole family is here and also we have many people that have worked here for like, 20 to 30 years so they’re like family to us too. They’ve literally watched me grow up and watched my whole career.”

“We’ve all kind of grown up together. So there are the four members of the Carman family, and then there are extended family members of our management team that have contributed significantly to the last 50 years,” he smiles.

While it hasn’t always been easy, Daniel says the family aspect is truly what keeps it all together.

“Change is the biggest challenge for a company that has so much history. That goes across a lot of aspects of what we do, in the store, back in the office, and online. We’ve really had to pivot the way that we do things and refine the old ways over the years. Preservation versus evolution. But we’ve always worked as a team and a family to navigate those changes.”

Sticking To The Classics

As Daniel describes all the denim trends that have come and gone in the store (wide leg, acid wash, flare, high-waisted, you name it), he says that a few things have always remained the same. From the 70s to today, Over the Rainbow has always kept the tradition of having a tailor in store so that every piece is made to fit anyone.

“The reason why we have a tailor shop in-store is because of the foundation on which Over the Rainbow was started. It started with just a salesperson and a tailor. So those two components have been present always,” Carman says.

Over the Rainbow has also always stuck with focusing on all customers, from celebrities to everyday people.

“I mean, I could name you a whole bunch of athletes and actresses and famous people that have been here, and as much as I could name drop, it’s always been about regular people and regular customers wearing jeans,” Carman adds.

What’s In a Name?

After hearing all about the history and the funky fashion trends that have come through the doors, I had one last question: where does the name Over the Rainbow come from? Apparently, Judy Garland.

“So my father, Joel, he just liked the song Over the Rainbow. He was a hippie in the ’70s, and, you know, rainbows represented peace,” Daniel grins. “So he said to himself, any company I start, I don’t care if it’s gonna be a clothing store or chicken farm or whatever, it will be named Over the Rainbow. I think it ties it right back to its history.”

Generations of denim lovers are definitely happy he didn’t go with the chicken farm.

Over the Rainbow is located at 55 Bloor St W.