Wearing it well
There's something kind of magical about the sense of camaraderie that a cozy school-branded hoodie hanging in your closet inspires. For 30 years, the students behind Oil Thigh Designs (OTD) have delivered that experience to fellow students and Queen’s alumni.
Touted as Queen’s Commerce Society’s longest-running business, OTD has been around since 1994. It designs and supplies custom Queen’s apparel for more than 180 student groups and the wider Queen’s community, and, just like the university anthem it is named after, has thrived through the decades.
Each year, the OTD team sets out to create new designs for shirts, hoodies, hats and more. A few iconic items continue to be offered year after year.
“It creates that sense of community within Commerce and represents your time in university. Having that connection to Queen’s; people take pride in that,” says Ariane Guyonnet, Comm’24, one of the retailer’s three outgoing managing directors.
One item that has remained an OTD staple is the Commerce leather jacket. Years ago, crest designs were painted on the sidewalk outside Dunning Hall. The designs were voted on, and the winning crest went on that year’s jacket. Today, OTD takes the lead on crest design.
The retailer has a store on the first floor of the Rideau Building but also hosts pop-up shops around campus. All its proceeds go to charity. “I believe we’ve donated over $500,000 throughout our history,” says managing director Davis Wilkie, Comm’24. A few charities OTD has supported include Martha’s Table, Kingston Interval House, SickKids and Big Brothers Big Sisters. “We’ve been invited to see how our profits are actually making an impact, and it’s really eye-opening.”
For its 40 team members, OTD is an opportunity to make a difference and leverage their skills working on a real business. Their talents span sales, marketing, design, logistics, finance and more.
“We leverage everyone’s strengths and what they are interested in and ensure that’s what they’re working on throughout the school year. We genuinely like what we do and enjoy giving back to the community,” says managing director Cooper Raposo, Comm’24. “We have fun.”