If you like: Disney movies, dreamy period pieces, defying gender norms, Vogue, Noelle Stevenson.
There’s a lot to love about the graphic novel The Prince and the Dressmaker. It’s one of the few books I’ve read with a genderqueer protagonist. While it’s not clear whether Prince Sebastian is trans or a cis male who enjoys expressing his feminine side (or maybe, something in-between), he struggles with having to live a double life: what his parents and kingdom expect, and who he is.
The setting of The Prince and the Dressmaker is in Paris, but Jen Wang has created a time period of her own with the design of the city. All of the extravagant dresses and costumes hop across 18th and 19th Century silhouettes, while still maintaining a dreamy, Disney feel. I haven’t counted how many dresses she had to design over the course of the book, but they are all interesting, pleasing confections that pop out from the page. The clothing is almost a character of its own, as important to the storytelling as the two main characters.
Frances, a protagonist who is a talented, virtually unknown seamstress, sews the most beautiful dresses of them all. I love that from the beginning, Frances never questions Prince Sebastian’s propensity for wearing gowns and a fiery red wig. It’s what he likes, it’s what he feels comfortable in, and she’s happy when he’s happy. The two of them give each other the strength and encouragement that no one else had given them before.
But Prince Sebastian isn’t the only person on a journey. This story could have easily only focused on him, but Frances isn’t a sidekick on someone else’s adventures. She finds that her own passion and dreams are being buried, as she has to be the nameless, faceless designer behind Prince Sebastian’s famous socialite pseudonym, Lady Crystallia. Frances is kind, hard working, and has made many sacrifices, but recognizes when too much has been asked of her.
After the first night Prince Sebastian goes out as Lady Crystallia, Frances tells him, “It was you, but you were more. Bigger. More amazing.”
I love that Frances wants to be more, too, and has the strength to make difficult decisions, even when it may hurt the person she loves the most.
The Prince and the Dressmaker is about learning if it’s possible to be true and love ourselves, without burning the people around us. This graphic novel reads fast, even if you take your time and go over every intricate detail of every dress, but it packs transformative realizations between the characters that everyone can relate to. If you’re looking for a heartwarming book with a Disney-esque ending, then The Prince and the Dressmaker is for you.
"The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang; First Second; Feb. 2018.
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