My Mother’s Wedding Dress: The Life and Afterlife of Clothes

In this absolutely unique treasure trove of fashion, family memoir and literature, Justine Picardie tells a sequence of stories that reveal the fabric of the past, and how a family has fashioned itself through the clothes that they have worn: from her mother’s black wedding dress to her first party frock, a translucent winged fairy outfit that provided an early lesson in what we uncover, and what we cover up. She also tells of her encounters with fashion designers - Karl Lagerfeld and Donatella Versace, among others; conversations with supermodels, and her search for Charlotte Bronte’s ring.

My Mother’s Wedding Dress unravels why we care so much about clothes - the white satin and feathers and little black dresses with which we armour ourselves; the material of our lives. Above all, it is Justine Picardie’s inimitable voice and thought-provoking quest for answers to her own past that make this book so special.

‘An enticing combination of autobiography, biography, memoir, discourse, interviews, fashion notes, and dreams… a sparky and original book’

Daily Mail

‘Highly stylish and unusual, a selection of swatches that works as a whole’

Sunday Telegraph