The Dress by Kate Kerrigan

3:20 pm 25 October 2016

Lily Fitzpatrick loves vintage clothes - made all the more precious because they were once owned and loved by another woman. Thousands follow her vintage fashion blog and her daily Instagram feed. But this passion for the beautiful clothes of the past is about to have unforeseen consequences, when Lily stumbles upon the story of a 1950s New York beauty, who was not only everything Lily longs to be, but also shares Lily's surname.

Joy Fitzpatrick was a legend. But what was the famous dress which she once commissioned - said to be so original that nothing in couture would ever match it again? What happened to it - and why did Joy suddenly disappear from New York high society?

Kate Kerrigan's enthralling novel interweaves the dramatic story of Joy, the beautiful but tortured socialite and that of Lily - determined to uncover the truth and, if possible, bring back to life the legendary dress itself.

I felt it was a little odd that the dress was a way of earning or maintaining love which Lily already seemed to have even though she didn't seem to think so.

The Dress could have used a little more development in the character area which felt a little incomplete but I enjoyed the past flash backs which were fantastic and I liked the exploration of the different time periods that Kerrigan described.

The Dress was well written, it just needed a tiny pinch more closing the gaps which she began building in the beginning of the story.