My Mother's Wedding Dress

Everyone, male or female, has had a piece of clothing that they love. It could be an old rock t-shirt that's perfect for lazy afternoons or a pair of high heels that make you feel like a supermodel. Justine Picardie's My Mother's Wedding Dress explores the impact that certain items of clothing have had on her life. It may seem like a pretty shallow topic at first glance, but Picardie uses her memories to explore her family history and even to examine certain literary heroines.

I was afraid that this book might be "more style than substance" but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Picardie spent time working at Vogue and has interviewed some of the fashion industry's biggest stars. But instead of writing about the designs they created, she writes about the impressions that she had of the designers themselves. Helmut Lang, for example, tells her that he tries to add something "angelic" to every line of clothing he does. His face lights up when Picardie tells him that a jacket he designed reminds her of wings. And Donatella Versace, the woman who took over her brother's empire, has "a truly haunted look about her." For once, it's possible to see that the artists behind some of fashion's most flamboyant styles are actually human beings.

Clothes have always played an important part in literature, especially for heroines. In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre for example, Jane turns down a wardrobe of rich, luxurious gowns for the plain, simple dresses that she feels are more appropriate. Picardie explores even more examples in Daphne Dumaurier's Rebecca, Truman Capote's Breakfast At Tiffany's and even Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. (Everyone remembers Miss Havisham's rotting, yellowed wedding dress!) I'd never spent too much time analyzing the clothing in these novels, so it was fascinating to read Picardie's theories on the importance of certain outfits.

My Mother's Wedding Dress is a combination of memoir, literary criticism and celebrity gossip magazine. The book itself is a great example of how clothing can become a link between all sorts of different things, including book genres. While this book obviously isn't all that literary and it definitely won't be remembered as a classic, it's a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Michelle