Vicky’s Hair Styling celebrates decades of serving East York, upcoming change of ownership

By NATASHA JACKSON

Spanning more than 50 years on Pape and Cosburn, Vicky’s Hair Styling has been a staple in the East York community.

The salon will be celebrating this commemorative milestone on Sunday, Nov. 9, with an open house for customers and community members that afternoon. Food and drinks will be provided.

Vicky Simone, the owner of the salon, started her hair journey back on July 17, 1959, after graduating from Charles of the Ritz School of Advanced Hair Fashions in New York.

After she graduated, she came back to Toronto and opened her first business in the West End at the age of 21. Later, Simone got married and moved to East York with her husband, where she started her beloved salon at Pape and Cosburn.

“I could have worked downtown, but it attracted me to work, to give, to serve the community,” said Vicky. “It’s been a place where everybody comes, and I have served mothers, grandmothers and children and it’s been a joy serving this community.”

Vicky has created a special place that many hold close to their hearts in East York. Since the salon first opened, she has aimed to make it feel like home, creating a safe and relaxing space where people can get their hair done.

With its old-fashioned charm and classic salon style, Vicky’s salon has always been about the people first.

They offer a variety of hair styling options at affordable prices that are harder to find at newer salons, such as chemical perms with hair rods and curlers, and backcombing sections of hair while adding mousse and hairspray to give it volume and height. This is one of the reasons why they have a large, older clientele who have stayed since the salon opened.

One of their oldest clients, Edith Woodly, lived to 106. Vicky held a birthday party for her 103rd birthday at the salon. She was a patron of the salon for more than 40 years, “faithfully every week,” said Vicky.

“The people were important … I didn’t chase the money. I treated people like a family,” said Vicky.

Vicky believes that in order to be a successful hairdresser, you must always listen to your clientele first and know what they want. It is all about the people and the service you provide to them.

“It’s not about what you want to show, but what they interpret … sometimes a client that doesn’t quite know what they want. But they don’t know how to describe how, so it’s up to you to interpret,” said Vicky.

Beach Metro Community News recently spoke with some of the hairdressers who have worked with Vicky for many years, reaching past decades.

Patricia Emmens is a close friend and a hairdresser who has worked at Vicky’s for more than 21 years. She began her career as a shampoo girl in England at the age of 14 and has continued to work in hairdressing ever since.

Emmens shared what it means to her to be a part of this salon and give back to the community.

“You get to know all the personal lives, you know, like families and all those kinds of things…it’s more or less they confide in you lots of things, you know, but the memories, I just love it. I love my job, I’ve always loved it,” said Emmens.

“That was also something I enjoyed here, because it was like a family situation, too. With the seniors and everybody, we’d laugh … Vicky’s very sociable and you’d have coffee and cookies. It was very laid back that way,” said Eleanor Houston, also a hairdresser and close friend of Vicky’s for more than 21 years.

Houston talked about the camaraderie she shares with Vicky and the others at the salon. How even in times when they’re stressed, they can come together and support one another as good friends.

Charlie Nucifora has worked alongside Vicky over the last 21 years. He first started a hairdressing business in 1984 on Coxwell Avenue and joined Vicky three years later.

As a child, Nucifora was inspired to become a hairdresser after visiting a salon with his mother in the 1970s.

He talked about how wonderful it has been being a part of an establishment that has “been around forever”, and how great it has been making a positive impact on so many people’s lives.

“So when people come in here, you know everybody knows each other. Everybody talks to each other. It’s quite familiar. So it’s quite like a family. And there’s a sense of security here and a sense of belonging,” said Nucifora.

The salon will undergo some changes in the new year. On Jan. 1, 2026, Mery (Mehri) Ataei will be taking over Vicky’s position as the salon’s owner and head manager.

Vicky, however, will still be working at the salon part-time to mentor.

“She’s a lovely girl. She’s going to be taking over, and she has asked me to stay … she wants to learn what made me successful here,” said Vicky. “So I will stay on, and I have no plans yet to retire.”

Vicky has not set a retirement date, but mentioned that “eventually” she will.

She believes the salon will continue to serve the East York community well, preserving classic hair-styling traditions for long-time clients while also embracing modern trends.