My Mother's Wedding Dress

Fashion journalist Justine Picardie’s mother was married in ablack mohair cocktail dress, the garment now disappeared, just like her parents’marriage. But what we wear reflects much more than current fashion, saysPicardie. The narrative of our clothes is inexorably woven into the story of ourlives

In a memoir that is both smart and stylish, Picardie lets herown recollections lead into larger stories: there are the tight plastic pantsbought in a London market when she was a teenager, their tough but transitorilyrebellious exterior soon worn away; and the treasured black Gap jacket belongingto a sister who died of cancer. Many of the chapters are punctuated by oftenhilarious lists, from "Uniforms to Avoid" (Juicy Couture matchingsweats) to "Best-Dressed Heroines" (Pippi Longstocking finally getsher due), and Picardie turns a thoughtful eye to the fashion industry in aninsider’s look at the models, designers and philosophy of a fantasydrivenbusiness. A read that is by turns poignant, funny and extraordinarilycaptivating, My Mother’s Wedding Dress is a book for every woman whoknows her closet holds memories as well as clothes.

JUSTINE PICARDIE is a freelance fashion journalist who has written for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She is the author of several books, including If the Spirit Moves You, a chronicle of her journey to come to terms with her sister’s death. Justine Picardie lives in London, England, with her husband and two sons.