Nine Women, One Dress

Finished April 10
Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen

This lighthearted novel follows a designer dress through nine different women, each of them wearing it for a period of time, and each of them having their life influenced by that wearing.
The dress is the last dress made by Morris Siegel, a 90-year-old NYC garment district pattern maker, and one he knew was special as he was making it. He hopes that it will bring him one thing he has never yet achieved, the experience of creating the dress of the season. And it does.
The first woman to wear the dress is a model. She is new to the modelling business, and to New York. She is from Alabama, afraid to open her mouth to reveal her origins. She's pretty sure she doesn't want to be the model to be photographed wearing the dress of the season, but she is.
We learn Morris' story of how he came to be where and what he is, and as we get to know each dress wearer and the people around them, we learn their stories, the public ones and the private ones.
From a Bloomingdale's saleswoman to a movie actor to an executive assistant to a fine arts grad looking for work, these people all have a story.
The book is fast-moving, with a lot of characters, with many of the stories touching each other beyond the dress. It is funny, romantic, and a definite feel-good read.
I loved it and read it in one sitting, enjoying the experience thoroughly. Now if only I could get my hands on this dress, maybe it would change my life for the better too.