The Paris Seamstress Quotes

“she could make women feel stronger and bolder and more courageous, as they would need to be through these dark times.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“The prospect of death changed everything, made all the ordinary rules of restraint and politeness fall away, made beautiful moments into precious keepsakes, made the future, once taken for granted, seem extraordinary.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“He always said it wasn’t love if you wouldn’t give up everything for the other. Otherwise it was just a flame, not worth the candle it was lit upon.” And every time he said that, he’d look at my grandmother and she would turn away and her eyes would be full of tears and I would think it was because he’d moved so far away from her but now I’m not so sure, Fabienne thought but didn’t say.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there, I did not die.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Young people never talk about what matters,” Estella scolded. “Everyone’s too busy protecting their own hearts to do what’s best for them. I sometimes think you all need to go back seventy years and see how we used to get along when we had no other way to communicate besides speaking to one another. To a time when courage was saved for things that mattered, rather than simply being open about your feelings. It might do you all a world of good.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“because I want to be; I”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Mothers were the gold light in a gray day, the gentle hum on an otherwise too-silent night, the scent of violets when all else was rank.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“next”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“The skill and ability to put together a collection of dresses doesn’t come without hard work.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“It wasn’t marriage that made a person knowable.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Nobody stands on a stage and receives an award because of what they alone did. It’s always because so many other people helped more than anyone will ever know.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Victory in battle isn’t one glorious fight. It’s a million tiny wins, wins that nobody notices.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Talking about oneself was generally a waste of time. You discovered more when you let others do the talking.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Ideas don’t like being forced.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Sell a bit more of your soul; it makes the bits you’re left with all the more precious.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Helping others for no reward whatsoever, but in the hope of achieving a greater good. I wonder if people like that exist anymore?”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Lucky you’re not a cat.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“subway ticket”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Seventh Avenue.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Just last week I saw a cattle train filled with Jewish children being taken to a camp.” He stopped abruptly. He’d said far too much. She let out a long breath. “And yet the world still turns indifferently. I still make dresses. We all stand around here and drink champagne.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Elizabeth Arden and her kind, in other words, are not professional women.’ Never forget those words. You have to be ten times as good at what you do than any man ever is at what he does.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“the words, wondering if she should keep it to herself. But it was so momentous, so large and terrifying and altogether peculiar that she had to say it. “There’s a house in Paris that is an exact copy of this one. And when I say exact, I mean like us. As in there’s no possible way the two houses aren’t somehow related.” “So you’ve conceded we must be related.” That same implacable tone. It gave nothing away. Estella had no idea how Lena felt about any of it. Whether she was as unsettled as Estella or if she didn’t care a bit. Instead of answering, Estella said, “This house must be a copy of the one in the Marais though because that was built in the seventeenth century.” “My uncle built it the year I was born,”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“Estella could tell she was good at her job. That she had an innate self-assurance that would give any dress a shot of confidence. She peeped into the showroom and watched Mr Greenberg jump from his chair as if Estella had stuck her pins into him rather than into the dress. ‘Excuse me,’ he said to the buyer, only just achieving politeness, as he grabbed Janie’s arm and walked her out the door. ‘What’s this?’ he barked. ‘A dress,’ Janie said, innocent as a lamb. ‘I fixed it,’ Estella said. ‘I don’t know who copied it for you but they need a pair of spectacles at the very least.’ ‘Skirts are not this short. Haven’t been for years,’ Mr Greenberg hissed. ‘But they’re moving that way,’ Estella said.”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress

“watching it kick up its heels and cancan across the worktable. She ran her hand over it, feeling both softness and sensuality, like rose petals and naked skin. ‘What’s your”
― Natasha Lester, The Paris Seamstress