The Last Dress from Paris by Jade Beer

Following a dual time line of the early 1950’s and present day. Lucille and her grandma Sylvie are very close and Sylvie asks Lucille to collect a couture dress that she owns from Paris but when she gets to Paris she discovers that there are 8 dresses and we follow Lucille’s journey to find out the story about the dresses and the person owning them and how they are linked to the current day.

An extremely well written book. Although I felt it was a little slow to get going for me but once it gets really started it just draws you in and you just want to devour every page.

An extremely enjoyable read that just sucks you in and you are in 50’s Paris.

I devoured this book. Started one day while relaxing at the hairdressers and then next morning woke up early and lay reading in bed until it was finished. Loved the characters - the plot was not entirely predictable but I just loved it and will be now looking for other titles by the same author.

Wow, escape to Paris with this delicious story of fashion, secrets and forbidden love An utterly enchanting and emotional novel about love and romance……

Lucille adores her grandmother and is happy to indulge her by journeying to Paris to collect her couture dress from the 50s. Only, when she gets there, she learns there should be ten dresses, not one, and two are missing. They each have a dress card- a note suggesting a great romance for the wearer; between A & A.

Alice is a devoted ambassador's wife. She perfectly fits her brief: see and be seen. Her husband is focused only on his work leaving her to revel in her Dior dresses. That is until a new arrival disrupts the calm.

This is far more a story for those interested in the fashion than the historical. The formality of the era is lacking, which is more noticeable as they are supposed to be among the highest members of Parisian society.

The writing initially strikes as being fun and light, but as it progressed, felt prosaic. It's the small moments that cause this, like putting the name of the person they're addressing in a text.

Much of the story follows sweet but naïve Lucille. As the reader, it feels like you're waiting for her to catch up with realisations or understanding you've already formed.

If you're interested in dress-making or fashion with a side of romance but no major shocks, this is ideal. For a story that is true to other aspects of the decade, you'll be disappointed.

A heady combination of Paris in the fifties and the present day, with fashion taking a prominent place in the novel. The author's description of Paris, in both eras is colourful and well written. I would recommend this book and thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of it.

I loved this combination of love story, fashion, and secrets set across two timelines. Both are set in Paris: in 2012 Lucille is sent by her grandmother to retrieve a dress from Paris, one she wore in the 1950’s. It comes at the right time for Lucille, as she wants to escape her own life for a while. However, there are secrets buried here and the answers lie in a priceless set of Dior gowns. In 1950’s Paris, the post-war years become characterised by glamour and privilege. We meet the wife of the British ambassador, Alice Ainsley. Her whirlwind social lfe and glittering clothes are a smokescreen that cover up an empty life and a loveless marriage. She’s lonely and ripe for an adventure, so a new face could easily catch her eye.
The background, from the fashion houses of Paris to our very own V and A Museum, is so beautiful I didn’t want to leave. I’m the first at the V and A’s fashion exhibitions. I’m not so much a wearer of fashion, but I see it as an art form. So this book was made for me and my love of the Dior dresses from the 50’s is famous amongst my friends. Paris is beautiful and the ateliers are a rich seam of inspiration for a reader like me. Added to that is the mystery element, Lucille following the clues to unearth the story from decades before. I also loved the thread of true female friendship that runs through the novel. This is evocative, beautifully put together and seamlessly woven from one timeline to the other. I looked forward to reading this book every day and will be checking out her other work.

The Last Dress from Paris was inspired by an international exhibition of Christian Dior dresses and from this the author has woven two love stories set in Paris, the first set in 1952 and the second in 2017.

Grandma Sylvie sends her granddaughter Lucille to Paris to locate a precious Dior gown she left behind when she moved to London many years before. But it turns out there is more than one dress associated with Sylvie and while searching for them Lucille learns a few life lessons along the way.

The Last Dress In Paris is an ideal summer story especially for readers interested in fashion. I enjoyed reading about Sylvie's life in Paris in the 1950s and Lucille's quest to find the dresses that meant so much to her grandmother.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this book.