Who Are We?
In 1978, Lynda Kemp purchased a single rack of clothes from a movie she had worked on. She kept that rack in the garage of her rented apartment in Toronto. When she showed her younger brother what she had in the garage, and he asked her, “But Lynda, what are you going to do with it?” she had her answer ready….
…. “I’m going to build a costume company.”
And so Thunder Thighs was born.
Canada’s premier costume company – renting to movies, television, commercial, and theatrical productions across the country and around the world – started small. Lynda built on that original rack of costumes, purchasing from movie sets she’d worked on, or from auctions around the globe. As Wardrobe Designer from iconic movies like A Christmas Story, Mrs. Soffel, Police Academy and thousands more, she also created many of the clothes that fill the warehouse.
A gifted seamstress, and a phenomenal knitter, Lynda learned her craft early, from her grandmother, Rose Kemp. Rose was a seamstress in the furrier industry on Spadina in Toronto during the 1930s and 40s, and taught Lynda to sew and knit at an early age. Lynda wanted to be an actress (and did acting stints on stage and on TVO’s The Polka Dot Door), but her talents as a seamstress called her to make a living as a costume designer.
From that single rack of clothes, Lynda moved her growing inventory into a Toronto warehouse at Bathurst and Queen Street, but it was soon too small. In 1984, she and her husband Otta Hanus, moved the business to 16 Busy Street in Toronto, where it remains today. Their son, Doane Hanus, now runs the business with his father.
Since that first rack of clothes, the family has built Thunder Thighs into Canada’s premier costume company, serving the movie, television, commercial and theatrical industry now for over 40 years. From rare period pieces, to iconic character and set styles, to hard-to-find or unusual modern costumes – and pretty much anything else you need — Thunder Thighs has film-quality costumes for every production, large and small.
With 7 million pieces under our roof, you’ll find it at Thunder Thighs.