Dreaming of Dior: Author Charlotte Smith at Perrot

Dreaming of Dior: Every Dress Tells a Story
Author Charlotte Smith to speak at Perrot

Monday, April 26th, 2010, 7:00 PM

Perrot Memorial Library, Radcliffe Children’s Wing

Doris Darnell had always loved to dress up and spent a lifetime collecting over 3,000 items of vintage clothes and accessories from three centuries of fashion history. So when fashion curator Charlotte Smith inherited her godmother’s exquisite collection, not only did she uncover a magnificent range of garments, but she was delighted to find a catalogue of notes containing a record of the dresses and the occasions at which they were worn. Revealed in these pages is a chronicle of lives and times as we are given a peek into a glamorous world of which most of us could only dream. Additional to the royal encounters and meetings with the rich and famous, what evolves is a fascinating history of fashion designers and couture throughout the ages. Each story is brought to life by Grant Cowan’s attractive illustrations, giving readers a true sense of the garment in all its beauty. Dreaming of Dior is the ultimate Cinderella story, complete with dazzling gowns, handsome princes and a real-life fairy godmother. This is a gorgeous gift book which will find its market with lovers of fashion and women who have always dreamed of making a grand entrance draped in Chanel or Dior.

[ This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine (November 2009, Vol 89, No. 4) is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2009, Thorpe-Bowker. ]

The author is bringing some pieces of the Darnell Collection with her, so she will be able to demonstrate the clothing. It should be a lively and fun fashion event!

For a video of the author and the collection, be sure to view:
http://media.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/the-woman-with-3000-dresses-836798.html