Review: The Paris Gown

The Paris Gown by Christine Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 BE AWARE THAT THIS BOOK'S SYNOPSIS HERE ON GOODREADS IS INCORRECT FOR THE MOST PART - AMAZON AND BARNES  & NOBLE HAVE THE CORRECT ONE.

This book is about compromises and whether we should give up all we are for those we love.

Normally, I would be captivated by reading about strong women in the 1950s and would have found it even more fascinating to read about Paris in the '50s. I was born in the '50s, so I felt it would be even more interesting to read about my 'older' sisters-in-arms! For some reason, I did not find this book as captivating as I would have hoped, but I was able to finish it without any difficulty.

While this IS a book about strong women, these three question too much and rely on men too much. Yes, I realize this is the norm for the women of the time period, but this was almost too much truth for me!

The last 10 or 15 percent of the book certainly makes up for the anguish and sometimes anger I felt for these women. They manage to get what they want without any compromises!

This is a great, fast-reading book and the perfect beach read if you want to learn a lot about Paris during that time. Make sure you have a translator around! (What the heck is a brunch jacket, anyway?) I learned a lot about Parisian cooking and being an agent for writers. You will also learn a lot about Dior (one of the more interesting parts of this book. (in my opinion)

*ARC was supplied by the publisher William Morrow, the author, and NetGalley. 

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SYNOPSIS: "Paris, 1955

Three friends—Claire, Gina, and Margot—who parted as very young women with their whole lives ahead of them, reunite in Paris years later, determined to start life anew.

Parisian Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef one day, but ever since the heady time she spent in the company of socialites Gina and Margot, her dream has been to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric and wealthy Madame Vaughn, who lives above Claire’s family brasserie, abruptly leaves Paris, asking Claire to mind her apartment. More bafflingly, Madame Vaughn also makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown.

Meanwhile Gina, a cool American blue blood, lands on Claire’s doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement after her father lost all of the family money in a risky business venture. A journalist aspiring to be a novelist, Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball in the hopes of persuading Hal Sanders, her former fiancé, to invest in her father’s new business venture, she is torn. She wants to help her father, but seeing Hal again will be exquisitely painful. And what on earth is she going to wear?

Warm-hearted Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball, and after some hesitation, Gina accepts. At Dior for Gina’s fitting, who should assist them but Margot, the friend they thought had gone back to Australia to be married. But Margot is living in Paris and working at Dior under an assumed name, and clearly, she is not happy to have been found.

Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?

Gorgeous, perfectly fitted, lustrous and luxurious, the Dior gown has the power to change lives—as these three remarkable women are about to discover…"