Historical Notes on Inn-Skin
Inn-Skin was a Canadian company manufacturing latex rubber sheeting and clothing, mainly for fashion use, from about 1969 to 1978.  The company started in Toronto and later on moved to Kitchener-Waterloo (a smaller town west of Toronto), i.e., to the Canadian capital of rubber industry.  Their clothing designs had the usual fashionable appeal and style of 1960s and 1970s, see attached scanned pictures of their rubber garments for ladies and men, from the Inn Skin company’s catalog/newsletter, kindly shown to us by a local historian:     inskin4 inskin5 inskin2 inskin1 inskin3    (please do not copy and do not distribute).  If the photographs would appear small and their text illegible on your computer screen, please try clicking on the lower right hand corner of each photograph, an icon may appear that allows you to increase the size of the picture.
The company also sold incontinence pants for disabled persons and this shows the benevolent concern for the sick or disadvantaged.  Furthermore, the company was administrated by a very noble gentleman who had earned the respect of the multitude by his participation in raising money for the Crippled Children Centre in Toronto.  The money was raised via TV Telethon involving auction sales of rubber dresses (generously donated by Inn Skin company) on a public television channel in Ontario.
The company had numerous staff (e.g., four full time secretaries, and various other technical workers), used professional models and photographers, and advertized on television channels in Toronto and in London (Ontario).  They also organized a fashion show of their rubber garments in a large hotel in Ontario (Trail’s End Hotel in Conestoga, Kitchener, Ontario, on May 13, 1976).  Although the rented premises had the capacity of 250 seats and although the show was repeated twice on the same evening (a double shift), and although many of the visitors had to stand as there were no longer any seats available, the premises were soon so crowded that about 100 persons had to be turned away at the door for lack of space.  The fashion show was also broadcasted on local TV station, on the evening news.  The photographs from the fashion show:
inskin7 inskin8    (please do not copy and do not distribute).
The organization of the company required an enormous effort, patience, persistence, and intelligence.  It took very long to develop a suitable type of latex sheeting as well as suitable adhesives, and the machinery for making certain garments.  For example, with respect to adhesives, one of the first products sold were rubber bathing suits for ladies.  Unfortunately, on some of the first products, the adhesive dissolved in water, the bathing suit fell apart, leaving the bathing lady without any attire.  The quality has improved over the years and the number of customers grew rapidly.  Unfortunately, the owners had to endure hardships such as fire on the premises (caused by workers in another part of the building), a criminal break-in (theft of more than 100 rubber garments from the show room, as well as of the photographic documentation), and the Canadian postal strike (a major drawback for the company that sold mainly by mail-order).  The history of that company is described in their newsletter (available to their customers, at that time, with various photographs of new garments).  The founders were inspired by the historical precedents, e.g., by the various rubber bathing suits sold in 1930s, reviewed in prestigious magazines and included in various upper socio-economic class shopping catalogs, see the scanned picture of an advertising from 1935:   inskin6    (please do not copy and do not distribute).
Unfortunately, the Inn Skin company had always operated with a financial loss.  As most customers were in the USA, the company eventually moved to Vermont in the last effort to recover financially, however, it was thereafter soon terminated in 1978.  The accumulated financial loss, in today’s value, could be estimated to be in excess of several millions.
Although located in the same geographical area, we have never heard any complaints about the Inn Skin company.  We still hear only praise about Inn Skin and also regrets about the termination of that company.  The owner is a generous person who set example to others by his noble acts, as exemplified in his participation in the charitable fund raising for the benefit of crippled children.