Jennifer Ryan’s books are truly some of my favorites. This book focuses on a sewing group who come together to help Grace to save her mothers wedding dress so she can wear it at her own wedding. This was important because during WWII you could not buy a white wedding dress due to supply issues. So there were groups all over England who would repair and coordinate wedding dress borrowing for women to have a special day. Through the book we also meet Violet and Cressida who both have important roles in Grace’s life. The book is told in the three women’s perspectives. My only wish was that we would have had chapter numbers instead of just alternating points of view.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

9780593158838

411 Pages
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballatine Books
Release Date: May 31, 2022

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Friendships, World War II, England

The story is centered around three very different women during World War II, England.

Grace Carlisle is the vicar’s daughter. She is planning her wedding to Lawrence when her father hands her an old box containing her mother’s wedding gown. Unfortunately, the moths have been feasting on it and it is in bad shape. She hopes the women’s sewing circle will be able to help her restore it.

Cressida Wescott is a well-known fashion designer in London. When her fashion house and home are destroyed in a bomb raid, she is forced to move back to the country and her family estate.

Violet Westcott, Cressida’s niece, is privileged and narcissistic. Just barely out of her teens, she wants to marry and have a title. When circumstances suddenly change, she is forced out of her comfort zone.

This is a beautiful story of a women’s circle. It shows that no matter who you are or where you are from, friendships can be formed. The story is written in third person point of view with multiple perspectives. Each woman brings her own personality to the story and shows inner strength. I absolutely loved this book and wish I could give it more than five stars. If you like historical fiction with strong female characters, you will enjoy reading this book.

I love a cozy, British, historical fiction novel. Give me a group of lovely characters, coming together in the face of adversity, and enjoying a spot of tea while they’re at it. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle had those exact vibes and I was here for it.

The book follows three women, a fashion designer, a society maiden, and the vicar’s daughter as they work with the other women in the town to form a wedding dress exchange program. Due to fabric shortages, it was nearly impossible for women to get a new wedding dress during WWII. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle collected donations of wedding dresses and lent them out to brides on their wedding day.

I enjoyed learning about fashion during the war, and the Mend and Make Do movement. I also really enjoyed the characters in this book and their accompanying love stories. I have now read 3 Jennifer Ryan books and I’ve liked them all! Thank you to Ballantine Books for the early copy, which I read on my Kindle!

What a beautiful story!
A story about coming together, helping each other and others.
Three women, Cressida, Violet and Grace end up together during World War II. Together they help redesign wedding dresses from old or cast off wedding dresses. In the beginning, the three women really do not have anything in common. As the story progresses, their friendship brings them together as they work with other women in the village. This is how they become to be known as the Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. Along the way they each discover heartwarming friendships and beautiful romance.
A truly enjoyable read!
Jennifer Ryan has based this story on actual events. Reading the authors notes about clothing rations was eye opening,.
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a heartfelt story about community, friendship and family.

I loved this incredible historical romance novel.

There was a large cast of characters in this book. There was quite a few different personality types and I had fun getting to know each one of them. I take that back, there was one woman that I truly couldn’t stand. Every book has to have at least one like that though.

Cressida, Violet, and Grace were the main characters in this book. They alternated having chapters from their view points. The journeys that they each took growing and developing throughout the story were vastly different even though they were interconnected. I loved seeing how they stepped up to help each other and the whole community. They were truly resilient along with the whole county of England.

The plot of this book really demonstrated the strength of nation. I enjoyed finding out how they were able to gather the number of wedding dresses that were needed to meet the demands. The women of England still wanted to have the white weddings to celebrate the start of their new lives. Yet they were stuck with all the restrictions of the clothes rationing that had to be implemented to meet the needs of the military.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

I liked this book. I have an interest in wedding fashion and found the premise of this story to be very interesting. I was not previously familiar with wedding dress exchanges that occurred in England during WWII. I found the research that went into the novel more interesting than the set of romances and characters that formed the plot. The aristocratic young woman who had to join the service was a particularly unlikable character as was the aristocratic fiance of one of the men. The woman who joined the service turned into a different person too quickly and easily to be believable.
Overall, the romances felt ordinary, but they were placed in a unique setting. The author created atmosphere and gave me a feeling for WWII on the British homefront. There has been a huge number of WWII novels published in the last few years, and I am rather tired of them, but this author found something new to create an enjoyable setting and fresh perspective.
At about 60%, the romances became a little more engaging, though they all remained predictable. People who read sweet romantic stories will certainly enjoy this one.
I recommend this book to romance lovers, people who enjoy homefront WWII fiction, and anyone who wants a light, fun read with a bit of a twist.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Could not stop reading this novel of female resilience, courage and friendship set in WWII Britain. Romance also played a big part. Would make a great movie. Now I want to go back and read Jennifer Ryan’s earlier historical fiction. Thanks to #NetGalley and #TheWeddingDressSewingCircle for advanced digital copy.

LOVED this book. Jennifer Ryan’s The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle was such a great story of three extraordinary women who paved their own way during a time when women had such a hard time doing so.

Violet, Cressida, and Grace all found a way to make their lives meaningful by taking a chance on something unexpected and unconventional. I admired each woman’s courage in their unique situations. I enjoyed how each woman found a loving partner to share in life’s adventures with. Their path to live sure was meandering, but they got there.

The idea of sharing a wedding dress and the close bond of the sewing circle was just so cool to me. I loved this aspect of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan is a WWII-era historical fiction that tells the story of a Sewing group in a little village in England. You will enjoy all the various characters and their adventures. Happy Reading!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest and personal review.

I received a complimentary ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, Jennifer Ryan, and at the invitation of Kathleen Quinlan at publisher Penguin Randomhouse. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

Jennifer Ryan writes a fine historical novel, this one set in Aldhurst Village, England, during World War II, beginning in 1942 with the severe restrictions experienced by the British public. We share with these three women the isolation, comradery, and generosity that was prompted by those hardships and see the ability of the human mind to find compensation in sharing life's ups and downs during times of woe. This is a novel I am happy to recommend to friends and family. This story is told by three very different women.

Cressida Westcott is a well-known and in-demand couturier in London before the bombing of her Chelsea home and her downtown London design house sent her reeling back to collect herself at her childhood home of Aldhurst Manor. Cressida had a strained relationship with her father, and then with her brother before his death, so she has had little contact with his young adult children.

Violet Westcott is Cressida's niece, pretty and smart, but spoiled and self-centered. Violet is a lovely girl, but for her, the war is a minor inconvenience - until the German bombers begin coming out her way.

Grace Carlisle is the daughter of the pastor of the Aldhurst village church. Reverend Ben Carlisle has been immersed in a state of debilitating mourning since the death of his wife several years ago and Grace has taken over a lot of the 'chores' carried out by the church - visiting the ill, helping parents and siblings bury and mourn the deaths of their soldiers, collecting clothing and food for the destitute, raising the money needed for medicine and arranging clothing swaps for children who need larger clothes or need smaller clothes passed down. She has been raised to be the helpmate of the church head - her mother was an excellent church wife to model her own life on - and is currently affianced with Lawrence. a staid man twice her age and the reverend of a church several trains stops away. Feeling herself waltzing into spinsterhood, Grace is grateful that Lawrence proposed to her. Her main concern is if her father will rally and take back those chores she has covered for him for so long, and she hopes that Lawrence will mellow out, smile more, and that love will grow between them over time.

It is for Grace's wedding that the attic searching begins, as she would like to wear her mother's wedding dress next month when she marries Lawrence. She proposes altering her best suit at the weekly meeting of the local sewing circle where old clothes are mended or re-fashioned to meet the growing need for simple outfits as time and work-worn garments cannot be replaced because there is no cloth to be found in England. Cloth and wool are earmarked for the soldiers. If she can't find her mother's dress, her best suit will have to do. And she is far from alone in her wish for a white wedding - many women in England wish for the same, but enough fabric to make a traditional wedding dress in the fashion wanted by her generation would take about two years of ration points to make - if the material could be found.

This was a very readable and interesting story. Kind of a live story, but also a story about friendship and surviving tough times. Enjoyed learning that this was lightly based on truths about fashion during WWII. Thank you Netgalley and Bantam Books for opportunity to read this book pre-release for honest review.

This was such a wonderful historical fiction! I enjoyed the female-centric story. The characters were great. I liked them, and I was invested in their stories. I really enjoyed the story of wedding dresses, and the history within the story!

This was a unique WWII Historical Fiction with no battle aspects or major immediate moments of devastating loss. It was a refreshing account of lives lived in and around London and how everyone played a pivotal role in the war effort. The author also did an excellent job at shining a light on the difference in social classes back then and how the war affected each person no matter what their station in life.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a sweet and heartwarming historical fiction set in England during WWII. After renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott's home and design business is bombed in the London Blitz, she leaves London and returns to her familial home in a small village. Hoping that her niece and nephew are more welcoming than her deceased, estranged brother, she appears on their doorstep with nothing but the clothes on her back. She wonders how she will handle living in a small village while she tries to rebuild her business and life back in London.

I loved seeing Cressida's growth in going from a driven businesswoman working tirelessly on her business to the exclusion of friends or a love life, to opening herself up to a friendship with a group of women and even possibly love with an old acquaintance she knew as a young woman. Her growth was the biggest of the trio because she was determined to not allow circumstances, or the possibility of love, detract her from her passion for designing clothes or the hard-fought independence she earned while following her dreams and being her own person. The secret was finding balance, and allowing for the possibility that you can, in fact, have it all.

Her niece Violet is thrilled to have her aunt Cressida live with them and hopes that she will help liven up the village, and help build her trousseau, as she searches for an aristocratic husband. But just as Cressida arrives, Violet gets her conscription letter and finds herself marching off to military boot camp, and then working as a driver for a brash American officer at the new military base set up outside her home village. How is she supposed to find a proper English husband wearing a frumpy uniform surrounded by Americans? This storyline was predictable, but it was still enjoyable to see Violet grow up and learn that her sheltered, frivolous, privileged life was limiting her and that she was smarter, more capable and stronger than she ever thought she was.

Lastly, the vicar's daughter Grace is trying to mend her mother's wedding dress for her own wedding to an older vicar so she can settle into a dutiful, vicar's wife, and takes the dress to the town's sewing circle in the hopes that Cressida can provide her with some ideas and help. Before long, Cressida is helping the sewing group hone their skills and come up with creative ways give new life to old clothes. As the growing need for white wedding dresses for brides becomes apparent, the group undertakes an effort to gather donated wedding dresses, update them and loan them out to brides-to-be so that they can have a true white wedding experience. While working tirelessly toward this effort, Grace blossoms from a meek and shy wallflower to a confidant and strong woman going after what she wants in life instead of doing what's expected.

I really enjoyed learning about the clothing shortage during WWII, which I guess I never really heard of, nor the huge lack of wedding dresses for brides. It's based on a true story, which is crazy to believe, and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt even got in on the action. It was wonderful to read about the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the women and wonder if women today would have the strength of character to do the same.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend you read it. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Ballantine Books. All opinions are my own.

What a wonderful feel-good book. Despite the ravages of war, we are introduced to three amazing women each evolving in their own way despite the devastating blanket of war. Regardless of the brutality of war these women along with their community and nation pull together with patriotism, love, support, and growth. A credible read pulling you into heartwarming characters and a tempestuous time in history.

I loved ALL the characters and their individuality. Each woman brought something special to the story. Witnessing their growth was heartwarming and emotional. Blossoming with every turn of the page, their flourishing unveiled with grace and poise.

“Sometimes we just need someone with a fresh perspective to hold up a mirror and show us who we are—who we could become if we put our minds to it,”

Fans of historical fiction with an affinity towards WWII will devour this lovely story Ryan crafted, especially those with a propensity supporting fashion. A lovely read, with an emotional fulfilling reward from beginning to end.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle was a well-written, but sometimes repetitive, WWII historical fiction/romance set in England. It follows 3 narrators, Violet, Grace and Cressida through 1942 in London and the countryside. The characters show a lot of growth throughout the book, but I found it to be somewhat predictable. This is my 3rd Jennifer Ryan book and I give it 3.5/5 stars. She researched thoroughly and I learned a lot around the clothing rations and the concepts of sharing wedding dresses, which I loved. There were fast paced parts of the books, particularly the bombing and military settings, but the sewing settings tended to drag and be a bit repetitive. Personally I am not a big fan of romance, so that aspect of the story did not hold my attention as well as it may others. Overall I appreciated the research and the story told through the dresses and fashion challenges of the time and helps put in perspective our present day shortages and how we have had much worse shortages in the past and we would just "mend and make do."

My copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story of three women and how their lives during World War II changed.

Cressida Westcott is a fashion designer who loses her home, designs and possessions during the Blitz. She leaves the big city and decides to return home to Aldhurst Manor which is in a small town. She needs to stay until she can find another place and build her design business. Also at the manor is her n niece Violet.
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Violet Westcott is thrilled to see her aunt return, because all the men are off to war. Violet receives a letter where she has to go to basic training. After she completes training her bother Hugh finds her a job close to home.
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The local vicar’s daughter, Grace Carlisle has been helping her father in his parish. Her mom died when she was young, and makes it her mission to help out. Grace is currently engaged to Lawrence and she wants to wear her mother’s wedding gown, which is damaged. Can the gown be saved?
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The Alhurst Sewing Circle mends and alters clothing. There is a huge demand for second-hand clothing for the local children since ration cards are limited for clothing. Silk fabric and other fabric is hard to find during the war, so refurbishing clothes and gowns gives them a purpose. Cressida decides to help her niece and joins the circle, to repair the gown. This begins a trend to refurbish wedding gowns so brides can borrow the gowns.
The ladies become very close and their efforts give them a purpose and they begin to send gowns all over England. This accomplishment has Vogue magazine wanting to interview them. Love and friendship build as they realize how strong they are, while supporting their community.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a lovely book by Jennifer Ryan. Told from three viewpoints, the story will enthrall you from the start. Violet is a self centered young woman who is worried that the war is taking all of her chances for marrying a duke away. When she is conscripted and has to work for the army, her entire outlook on the war and life changes. Grace is a young woman with a desperate desire for marriage and family; it is so desperate that she is wiling to wed someone she doesn't love just for the chance to hope for love. When she meets Cressida, Violet's aunt, she starts to see that life may have more for her than she could have ever imagined. Cressida herself is a fashion designer in London. When her entire business and her home are bombed, she must return to the country where she was raised and hope that her niece Violet and her nephew Hugh will take her in. As these three women spend time together, along with a circle of women from the village, they discover new hopes and dreams. They discover that together they can do anything, even create wedding dresses for the women they know and love. Based on a true story, this book is definitely five stars for me. I could have kept on reading about them all! Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This novel will take you right to England during WWII. It focuses on Cressida, a fashion designer who is forced to leave London when her home and her design shop are bombed. She goes to the town where her family estate is until her life in London can be rebuilt. While at her family estate she finds a group of women and together they help the women of England keep one thing sacred, their wedding dress.

I related to the characters right away. While I’ve not gone through what they have their daily life and how they managed was very well written. It’s a piece of WWII I was not familiar with and it shows again the strength of people and how resourceful they can be. I throughly enjoyed reading about the time period and the woman. This is a wonderfully written book that you will have a hard time putting down.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a lovely women’s fiction WWII book by Jennifer Ryan. The characters are engaging, remaking their lives as well as wedding dresses. Grace wishes to use her damaged mother’s wedding dress. Cressida Westcott loses her home and livelihood due to the German bombing of London. Violet Westcott, feels her life is on hold because of the war. This does not stop the three from encouraging others and changing how they reaction to the difficult times.

An uplifting story of the many who were part of what is now called the greatest generation. Rationing, loneliness, and uncertainty could cause many to give up but these dig in to do their part to lift spirits and carry on. An enchanting story of determination while do the best that you can with what you have.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.