Fancy Party Gowns

The Story of Fashion Designer
Ann Cole Lowe

little bee books
(Bonner Publishing)

(pub. 1.17.2017)

40 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Deborah Blumenthal
    and illustrator: Laura Freeman

C haracter: Ann Cole Lowe

O verview from the jacket flap: 

     "When Ann Cole Lowe was a little girl, her momma and grandma taught her how to sew. When her momma died suddenly, Ann took over her job sewing party gowns. It wasn't easy, especially when she went to design school and had to work alone, segregated from the rest of the class. But the work she did set her spirit soaring, as evidenced in the clothes she made.
      Today she is best known for designing the dress that Jacqueline Bouvier wore at her fairy-tale wedding to future president John F. Kennedy.  Rarely credited during her lifetime, Ann Cole Lowe was called society's best-kept secret. This beautiful picture book shines the spotlight on a little-known visionary designer who persevered in times of hardship, always doing what she was passionate about: making elegant gowns for the women who loved to wear them."

T antalizing taste: 
      

     "But when Ann brought the gowns to the mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, where the wedding reception [of JFK and Jackie] would take place, the butler who opened the door told her she'd have to use the back entrance that was meant for workers.
     Ann said that if she had to enter through the back door, the bride and bridesmaids wouldn't be wearing her dresses for the wedding.
     She entered through the front door."

 

and something more: I noticed that the "For Further Reading" section included many articles but few books that discuss Ann Cole Lowe. Of course, that's not surprising because even during her life, she was "society's best-kept secret" and didn't receive the credit she deserved. As Deborah Blumenthal states in her "Author's Note": "In her later years, Ann continued to design dresses for prominent women. She struggled financially though, and in 1960 was forced to close her salon in New York City... While researchers of Ann's life will find inconsistencies in her biography, what is never in dispute is the extent of her talent."