I just finished a first draft of a new short story and because I wanted to explore the intersection between two different institutions—haute couture and marriage—I set my story in 1915 Paris.

Mais oui, I choose Paris because it’s the birthplace of haute couture. And I choose 1915 because it’s just months into World War I, a terrifying time of rapid change that provoked even the best marriages to implode. And Reader, my story about Paris’ King of Fashion Paul Poirot and his wife Denise is definitely not about a best marriage.

My short story should be available for reading later this year. In the meantime, researching historical clothing was so much fun that I’m dedicating this month’s Links List to historical fiction focused on fashion. As always with our lists, all book descriptions are provided by the publishers.

1789 France ~ The Queen’s Dressmaker by Meghan Masterson. “Giselle always dreamed of making beautiful dresses, but never thought she would be chosen to attend to the elegant, but troubled, queen of France, Marie Antoinette. Within the glittering, mirrored walls of the palace, Giselle ensures the queen shines brighter than anyone, with not a single feather or ruffle out of place, no matter how she might feel inside.”

1861 Washington DC ~ Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini. “In a life that spanned nearly a century and witnessed some of the most momentous events in American history, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was born a slave. A gifted seamstress, she earned her freedom by the skill of her needle, and won the friendship of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln by her devotion.”

1876 San Francisco; present day ~ The Dressmaker’s Dowry by Meredith Jaeger. “Immigrant dressmakers Hannelore Schaeffer and Margaret O’Brien struggle to provide food for their siblings, while mending delicate clothing for the city’s most affluent ladies. When wealthy Lucas Havensworth enters the shop, Hanna’s future is altered forever.”

1879 New York City ~ Threadbare by Jane Loeb Rubin. Tenacious “Tillie turns her energy and intelligence to partnering with Abe as he builds a thriving button business while she and her neighbor Sadie launch a unique garment company. Pushing back against anti-Semitic Victorian values dominating the time, she acquires wealth only to have her life upended by a devastating, unforeseen challenge.”

1893 England+ ~ A Dress of Violet Taffetta by Tessa Arlen. Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her?

1900 New Orleans ~ The Seamstress of New Orleans by Diane C. McPhail. “Though the dawn of a new century promises social progress, there are few options for women like Alice Butterworth, pregnant and abandoned by her husband. In desperation, Alice leaves Chicago’s bitter cold and travels to New Orleans, where she offers sewing lessons at an orphanage.”

1924 Brooklyn ~ The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights by Kitty Zeldis. “As New York City enters the jazz age, the lives of three very different women are about to converge in unexpected ways. Recently arrived from New Orleans, Beatrice is working to establish a chic new dress shop with help from Alice, the orphaned teenage ward she brought north with her. Down the block, newlywed Catherine is restless in her elegant brownstone, longing for a baby she cannot conceive.”

1924 Seattle+ ~ The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar. “Poverty-stricken Zora Hough spends her days looking after her younger siblings while sewing up holes and fixing hems for clients to bring in extra money, working her fingers to the bone just to survive. But at night, as she lies in the bed she shares with one of her three sisters, she secretly dreams of becoming a designer like Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin.”

1938 Paris ~ The Last Collection by Jeanne Mackin.  “An American woman becomes entangled in the intense rivalry between iconic fashion designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli in this captivating novel from the acclaimed author of The Beautiful American.”

WW2 London ~ The Seamstress on Cider Lane by Jillianne Hamilton. “Gifted seamstress Nora Archer opens a sewing shop just as clothing becomes rationed and scarce in Britain. London’s fashionable elites soon discover her remarkable talent for giving garments new life and her skills are soon in high demand. The Seamstress on Cider Lane is a lighthearted and hopeful romance.”

1947 England ~The Gown by Jennifer Robson. Let’s go “inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory.”

1947 Verona ~ The Lost Dresses of Italy by M.A. McLaughlin. “Textile historian Marianne Baxter comes to post-war Italy with one thing on her mind: three pristine Victorian dresses, once owned by the famous poet Christina Rossetti.”

1950’s Australia ~ The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham. This is a “darkly satirical novel of love, revenge, and 1950s haute couture”. It’s also been made into a movie starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, and Liam Hemsworth.

1953 New York City; 1918, Tampa ~ By Her Own Design: The Story of Ann Lowe, Society’s Best-Kept Secret by Piper Huguley. “Less than a week before the society wedding of the year where Jacqueline Bouvier will marry John F. Kennedy, a pipe bursts at Ann Lowe’s dress shop and ruins eleven dresses, including the expensive wedding dress, a dress that will be judged by thousands. A Black designer who has fought every step of the way, Ann knows this is only one struggle after a lifetime of them. She and her seamstresses will find the way to re-create the dresses. It may take all day and all night for the next week to accomplish the task, but they will do it.”

That’s it for this month’s round-up of fashionable historical fiction! If you’ve got more suggestions, please add them to the comments.

~ FINIS ~