Dressing the Dearloves in Aussie Readers

Sep 26, 2018 Bree T rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, hist-contemp-blend

I absolutely adored this.

Despite the fact that I’m Australian and there probably isn’t a building here older than just over 200 years (or maybe because of?), I’m so into the whole crumbling manor houses that date back to the 1400s or whatever, that populate English novels. There’s something about those graceful old buildings, even as they’re falling into disrepair that’s so romantic and I just sort of long to live in one. Yes they come with crippling upkeep and taxes and whatever and there’s onl I absolutely adored this.

Despite the fact that I’m Australian and there probably isn’t a building here older than just over 200 years (or maybe because of?), I’m so into the whole crumbling manor houses that date back to the 1400s or whatever, that populate English novels. There’s something about those graceful old buildings, even as they’re falling into disrepair that’s so romantic and I just sort of long to live in one. Yes they come with crippling upkeep and taxes and whatever and there’s only so much Heritage Trust money to go around but just the idea of living in some 60+ room stone mansion with different wings and sculpted, stately gardens harks back to a completely different time. I love books that take these and give them modern day issues and contexts and this book does this so well.

Sylvie grew up in such a place, a manor that has been in her family for generations. Now she’s returning to it after her foray into New York fashion went horribly wrong, determined to regroup and rebuild her life. She’s surprised to discover that her parents are finally selling the manor as the debts mount and the money runs out and more and more needs replacing. Although Sylvie supported the idea, freeing up her parents to enjoy the later years of their life in comfort, when her mother asks for help clearing out the attic, Sylvie finds generations of clothes belonging to fashionable Dearlove women, most of them designer, all of them beautiful. It inspires her and although she’s suffering from crippling self-doubt, Sylvie slowly comes to understand the importance of the manor to their family, it’s history and the secrets it keeps and she suddenly decides that they must do anything they can to protect it.

I’m not hugely into couture myself but I enjoy reading books set in the fashion world. Sylvie was a hot designer, snapped up for big money in America after a hugely successful range. However she finds herself let go, burned out, struggling with self belief and inspiration until she finds the clothes in the attic. Her friend encourages her to use the clothes as a way to generate income but it takes Sylvie a little time to figure out what the right method of earning money from the clothes should be! I loved the descriptions of the outfits and the fact that the story took you back to some of the times where those outfits were worn, by the generations of Dearlove women who came before Sylvie.

Sylvie’s great grandmother Lizzie is a very strong character in this novel – she’s very elderly now, almost bedridden, which shocks Sylvie although it probably shouldn’t. I think it’s more because of the sort of character she was – a very opinionated, strong minded woman. The book takes you back in time to key moments in Lizzie’s life and how those shaped the woman she became – or perhaps how the woman she was actually shaped those moments! I can’t say that I liked Lizzie, in fact the more I found out about her, the less I liked her. She was very much a product of her privileged and wealthy upbringing and the family name and reputation were everything to her, so much so that she was willing to sacrifice her happiness and that of her sister in order to preserve it. Although I’m not sure Lizzie would’ve considered it a sacrifice for herself…..it was everything to her, seen as her ‘duty’, something she chose to do willingly and was super invested in making sure her sister played the role too. I really liked the character of Lizzie’s sister and her struggle with what Lizzie wanted her to do vs her own desire for a life she chose, a life that would make her happy.

This was a compelling story – well several compelling stories woven together! Loved the different generations and their individual struggles and just the whole manor house setting. I found myself completely invested in Sylvie’s change of heart and her desire to suddenly save it, preserve it and keep it in the family. When it was placed up for sale it was obvious that the only people or corporations likely to buy it would tear it down and build entire housing estates on the land, or something like that and at first Sylvie thought she was fine with it but when it comes to the actual reality, she’s not so keen to let it happen. And so she must find a way to save the house, secure the funds to restore it and work out a way to make it profitable. I really liked the way this played out and the way that Sylvie found purpose again in a place she had kind of avoided.

***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more

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Apr 25, 2019 Brenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-authors, family, read-on-kindle, historical-fiction, recommendation-gr-friend, own-read, 2018-release

Sylvie Dearlove was shattered when her fashion business failed, so she fled the US for her childhood home in England, leaving her boyfriend Ben behind. Heading back to Bledesford with her best friend from London, they were both shocked at the state of the beautiful old country house. Sylvie hadn’t seen her parents in years, so had no idea the home was in such a state of disrepair. With her great-grandmother, Lizzie – in her nineties and frail – plus her mother and father, living in Bledesford, a ...more

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Apr 06, 2019 Kathryn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, reading-list-2019, australian-authors, audiobooks, added-because-of-bwf

I’m in two minds about this one - there were aspects that irritated me although I did enjoy the story. Some of the characters irritated me as they seemed to fail to think their actions through (but then I guess where would the story be if they were all sensible and practical…?!), and I was disappointed that there wasn’t as much about the costumes and clothes up in the attic as I’d thought there would be - but there was a little more toward the end than there was in the beginning. The story was f ...more

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Feb 08, 2022 Rhoda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars

Sylvie is a failed fashion designer, who returns from what once seemed a promising career in New York, to her home in the English countryside, feeling like a failure. Her home - Bledesford - a once beautiful grand manor house is crumbling and in decline and her parents have plans to sell it as they can no longer keep up with the maintenance.

To distract herself, Sylvie takes to the attic to clean out generations of beautiful vintage garments and accessories in order to prepare the house ...more

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