Ann Cole Lowe learned to sew at a young age because her mother owned a dressmaking business. When she was 16 her mother died and she had to take over the family business. What I would consider her motto was this, "Ann thought about what she could do, not what she couldn't change." In the story, she is faced with many hardships but she never stopped and wallowed she just got to work to fix the problem. She made all the gowns for JFK's wedding when a pipe burst and ruined all of them, but she called in for help and got them all finished in time. She was strong and confident and it made her an amazing fashion designer and advocate for women and black rights. She had to demand to be allowed to be let in the front door of the wedding venue because they said she needed to go in through the back since she was black. This story is truly inspiring and shows how much we can do if we work hard and have confidence. ( )

I loved this book. I am such a huge fan of women doing important things, and this book tells the rags to riches story of Ann Cole Lowe. Her great grandparents were slaves, she loses her mom at the young age of 16, she was segregated in design school, she took over her mothers sewing business at 16, her salon floods when she finally makes enough to get it, and yet the whole story she prevails on and doesn't think about the things she can't change. Her story holds such a powerful message and shows us that no matter who you are or where you come from, you can do it with hard work. She is an inspiration to all women and her story is so fascinating I am extremely interested in learning more. ( )

persistence; dresses ( )

This book tells the little-known story of Ann Cole Lowe, born in 1898, an African-American fashion designer who overcame a great deal of hardship and prejudice to become a leading star in the fashion world, even designing the wedding dress for Jacqueline Bouvier when she married John F. Kennedy.

Ann grew up in Alabama sewing alongside her mother, who, however, died when Ann was just 16. But Ann kept up with her mother's orders, and even attended design school in New York in 1917. But, as the author reports, she had to sit all alone in a separate room since she was black.

Eventually Ann was able to start her own business. One of the more memorable vignettes in the book is about the time Ann came to the Bouvier mansion in Newport, Rhode Island in 1953 to bring the wedding party dresses for soon-to-be Jacqueline Kennedy. The butler told her she would have to use the back entrance:

“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.”

Ann continued to design dresses for prominent women, but struggled financially, and in 1960 was forced to close her salon. She died in 1981 at the age of 82.

Illustrations by Laura Freeman are done in a style fashionistas will recognize known as “fashion illustration” or “fashion sketching.” They not only show a representation or design of a garment but are considered as a form of art. One sees less of it now with the greater use of photography, but designers still use this form of art for the initial representation of their ideas. [While Freeman's illustrations of some of Lowe’s finished gowns show women of color wearing them, Lowe’s designs were mostly purchased by wealthy white society women.]

Evaluation: I always loved beautiful gowns as a girl. I would have loved this book, as it combines an inspiring story with a “princess” element that will have broad appeal. ( )