The Secret Lives of Dresses [Paperback]

Erin McKean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2011

Dora has always taken the path of least resistance. She went to the college that offered her a scholarship, is majoring in "vagueness studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt. She falls into a job at the college coffee shop, and a crush on her flirty boss, Gary.

Just when she's about to test Gary's feelings, Mimi, the grandmother who raised her, suffers a stroke. Dora rushes back home to Forsyth, NC, and finds herself running her grandmother's vintage clothing store. The store has always been a fixture in Dora's life; though she grew up more of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl, before she even knew how to write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's spirit.

While working there, Dora befriends Mimi's adorable contractor, Conrad. Is he after Dora, or is working from a different blueprint? And why did Mimi start writing down--and giving away--stories of the dresses in her shop?

When Mimi dies, Dora can't get out of town fast enough and cedes control of the store to her money-hungry aunt who wants to turn it into a t-shirt shop for tourists. But ultimately, she returns to Forsyth, willing to battle whatever may stand in the way of her staying there. Dora can trade her boring clothes for vintage glamour, but can she trade her boring life for one she actually wants?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Blogger McKean's retro fashion-forward coming-of-age debut follows Dora Winston as she sashays toward a degree in "vagueness studies" while engaged in a fruitless flirtation with her coffee shop boss. She's got no idea what to do with her life, and then her adored grandmother, Mimi, has a stroke, and Dora is whisked back to Mimi's vintage clothing store, where she learns more about Mimi, thanks to the secret (and ploddingly overwritten) stories Mimi has stashed away on pieces of paper stuck in the pockets of her most intriguing inventory. Flashbacks flesh out Mimi's wisdom and wit, while store workers Gabby and Maux complete the trilogy of strong and funny women who run the business and help Dora find her way. The prose hovers somewhere below lackluster, however, and Dora's journey is as comfortable and unsurprising as a favorite sweater. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

College junior Dora drops everything, including her iPod, to rush home after hearing that the grandmother who raised her, her beloved Mimi, has had a stroke. Once there, she runs Mimi’s, a vintage clothing store, to honor her love for the hospitalized owner. Romance abounds in this fun novel set in western North Carolina. The story gets its suspense from Dora’s crushes, the dippy Gary she left back at college and the newly met Con. Whom will she choose? And, of course, there are the greedy relatives who try to take over the store. But she has wonderful friends to support her as well as a considerable amount of pluckiness of her own. This book originated on McKean’s blog,A Dress a Day, which is currently archiving volumes about the secret lives of 18 dresses from the dresses’ points of view. Those “biographies,” given to the new owners of vintage outfits, are amusing and intriguing additions to the plot. Romance readers and fans of small-town fiction will love this positive and enjoyable book. --Ellen Loughran

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: 5 Spot; 1 edition (February 10, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044655572X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446555722
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Erin McKean is the founder of Wordnik.com. Previously, she was the editor in chief for American Dictionaries at Oxford University Press, and the editor of the New Oxford American Dictionary, 2E.

Her books include Weird and Wonderful Words, More Weird and Wonderful Words, Totally Weird and Wonderful Words, and That's Amore (which is also a collection of words). The Secret Lives of Dresses is her first novel, and really, her first book where the words are arranged in something other than alphabetical order.

Erin lives in California south of San Francisco and spends her free time reading, sewing, blogging, roller-skating, and arguing about whether robots or zombies would win in a fight (lasers optional). She loves loud prints, quiet people, long books with happy endings, and McVitie's Milk Chocolate Hobnobs.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars there is more behind any facade February 15, 2011

By Mandy @ Living Peacefully with Children

Format:Paperback

Erin McKean's book, The Secret Lives of Dreses, is a book about love and embracing who you are. Her female characters transcend stereotypes, going beyond the typical catty females represented in the book, to include some interesting, believable women who have a bond of love and support not often seen in the literary world. Just as the women are more than what they appear, so too are the dresses in the story - a journey to finding one's self and embracing it.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage fashion treat January 28, 2011

By redside

Format:Paperback

In this engaging and uplifting book, a young woman finds her life's calling and identity by examining the power of clothing to change lives. This is a must-read for all of those interested in vintage fashion!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVED IT!!!! February 9, 2011

By Lori Caswell TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Dora was brought up by her grandmother, Mimi, after losing her parents when she was a child. After graduating high school she just seemed to be going through the motions, she attends the college that offered her a scholarship with a major of liberal studies, unsure of what she truly wanted to do in the future. Her planned summer job falls through, but then a job at a coffee shop with a hunky boss just falls into her lap. She is thinking of graduating early and attending grad school, but still is moving through life just day to day.

Then she receives a call, she has to return back home, her grandmother has suffered a stroke. Dora drops everything and returns to Forsyth, North Carolina with just the clothes on her back. This is't a problem though because she has a full closet at her grandmother's house, but it not your typical closet full of clothes, the closet is full of vintage dresses. Mimi runs a vintage dress shop and she has always brought home dresses she thinks would look great on Dora. As a child Dora played "dress up" with these clothes, but now with Mimi in the hospital, Dora must take over things at the dress shop and Mimi requires employees of the shop wear vintage clothing so she gets to wear the dresses out in public. Dora had been brought up being taught that a vintage dress can life a woman's spirit no matter the problem.

While working at the store she meets Mimi's friends and selfish relatives seem to appear out of the woodwork. But the best thing about working at the store was learning that some of the dresses came complete with their own story. Mimi had been writing the stories and giving them away to the customer who purchased the corresponding dress.

I LOVED IT!!!!!

This story had me running through the gambit of emotions, joy, sadness, hope, excitement, anger, amusement and even envy. This book is truly minor stories, those of the dresses, interspersed within the main story of Dora's life. She grows from an immature girl flying through life "by the seat of her pants", to a wonderful confident woman and we get the pleasure of tagging along through the pages of this brilliantly written book.

It is hard to believe this is the author's first novel. I haven't ever heard of the idea set forth in this book of a garment's history whether fictional or true following simple dresses around. You only see a snippet of that in museums of dresses worn my famous people and those stories basically don't go beyond, who wore it, who designed it and where was it worn. I bet after reading this book vintage shop owners will try to copy the idea, but it will take some special creative writing skills to pull off the level set by this story and the unique way that it started will be impossible to duplicate.

Have some tissues handy while ready both for tears of laughter and tears of melancholy. There is romance, friendship, greedy relatives and even a little suspense. Fans of small town or woman's fiction will love this book. I really did.

The author and this book have an interesting back story just like the dresses, so be sure to check out Erin's blog and her biography.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free Hachette Book Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."