The Prince & the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

The Prince & the Dressmaker

by Jen Wang

Paris, at the dawn of the modern age:

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride--or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia--the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!

Sebastian's secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances--one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone's secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.

This title has Common Core connections.

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

5 of 5 stars

Share
Art: Delightful. The dresses full of detail, color, and imagination.

The Prince: Adorable. Anxious. Hearts in the right place, he just has to listen to it and get there.

The Dressmaker: Sweet. Fierce. Creative. Love her standing up for herself, other young women, and living her dream.

The story is a roller coaster of family drama, fashion, and finding yourself during turn of the century France. The time period is important as so far as there are royals, the fashion sense, and the opening of the first department store.

Only two points detract from the loveliness of The Prince and The Dressmaker and they are both admittedly on the nitpickey side. The awesome and adorable climax just…a tad unbelievable given the constraints, measurements, and timing.

And it’s never explicit said that The Prince is gender fluid. That’s what it sounds and feels like from his dialogue and actions, but I can’t help but wish something more concrete language was used. I’m all for representation, but you can’t make it wishy-washy maybe-so. Of course, I could just be hypersensitive given the numerous fails of other media.

Like it’s perfect but my mind won’t let the devil in the details go.

After the totes adorbs happily ever after, there’s about 12-15 pages of behind the scenes drawings and information that is fascinating. I love that kind of information!

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • Finished reading
  • 9 January, 2018: Reviewed