The Dressmaker

I gave up on Moral Disorder. This light and whimsical novel sucked me in with its first few pages.

Here's my review for book club:
This debut novel, The Dressmaker by Elizabeth Birkelund Oberbeck, tells the tale of Claude Reynaud: an old-fashioned dressmaker working in a cluttered studio outside of Paris. Every spring, brides descended upon his studio, where he measures them, and listens to their design requests. It becomes evident, that one of his greatest strengths is colour. He can identify a bride’s ideal colour and the corresponding fabric using a litany of creative descriptors. His simple life is shattered one day when a young woman arrives who consigns him to design her a wedding dress. This charming, beautiful, lady of society, gives Reynaud complete freedom in the dresses design. He was inspired by her lithe figure, a long, graceful neck, and simple, elegant style. The forty-six years old tailor, who was deserted by his wife eight years earlier, finds himself infatuated. His life is redirected his creative energies to his new muse and joins a Paris design house. He quickly goes from being a small town tailor with a growing client base to a celebrated “couturier.”

This was an enjoyable and whimsical read. Oberbeck’s description of colour and fabric is entrancing as the reader experiences the creative process of fashion design. This could be considered a companion piece to “The Devil Wears Prada” where the designer side of the fashion business is explored.

Now I'm reading Virgin Blue. I'm not enjoying it as much as Chevalier's earlier two works, but I have just nicely started. I'll write more about it at another time.