This novel is about the Belle Epoque icon Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon who was a talented clothing designer in late 1800s England. Forced to find a way to take care of her daughter and her mother after she divorces her husband who was a ne'er do well. Unfaithful and an alcoholic. Married life with him was not what she hoped it would be. Divorce was frowned upon back then but it didn't matter to her.

She loved making dresses for her dolls as a child and thought to pursue that talent that she had. She became well known for her designs, particularly her tea gowns, and evening wear, and went on to design lingerie which was considered to be risque for some. She also was credited for training her professional models and having the 'catwalk'. Her clients were among the wealthiest in England and America. She also dressed actresses and dancers including Ziegfield Follies. Her company, Lucile Ltd, was one of the elite fashion houses and flourished from the turn of the century to the 1920s.

She was the sister of Elinor Glyn who was a novelist and scriptwriter, very famous in her own right. Lucy married Sir Cosmos Duff-Gordon. They traveled quite a bit and were passengers on the fateful day the Titanic sunk. They survived but later were questioned in the inquiry in Britain. He was accused of paying bribes to get on a lifeboat which was not true as he wanted to help out the seven crew members that shared the lifeboat with him and his wife. He gave them each some money so they could replace what they lost. He was eventually exonerated but was depressed for the rest of his life because of it.

I really enjoyed this book, I love stories about strong women, especially women from this time period. Written with superb research, I think that the author definitely did Lucy justice.

A Dress of Violet Taffeta is a historical novel based on the life or Lucy Duff Gordon. Lucy divorced her cruel husband in the late 1800's and needed to find a way to support herself and her young daughter Esme. She had a gift for design and slowly built a business as a fashion designer. Over the years her business expanded to a design house with a ballroom and models. She met a wonderful man, Cosmo Duff Gordon, and found personal happiness again ... before a fateful trip on the Titanic.

I wanted to read this novel because I love historical fiction and enjoyed the Poppy Redfern mysteries by Tessa Arlen. I also am interested in the Titanic (and long ago ship travel in general), so that added to my interest.

This was a fascinating novel! I loved the glimpse of fashion design in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The descriptions of embroidery, beading, and especially colors, was so evocative -- I could picture the fashions described so vividly. It was also interesting how Lucy worked toward a more natural (and comfortable!) silhouette for women, away from the rigid corsets of the 1800's.

Lucy was a wonderful protagonist. She was strong and caring and looked out always for her daughter and mother. I enjoyed her relationship with her often outrageous sister, Elinor Glyn (who created the idea of the "It Girl"). I also liked the way Lucy treated her employees, including a close friendship with her shop assistant, and assuring good work conditions and a positive shop experience for all the other employees.

I also enjoyed the story of Lucy's slow moving romance with Cosmo. He was a unique man for the time in his loving support of his wife's career goals.

The Titanic story was vividly evoked, and the story of the lifeboat escape was harrowing -- especially as the survivors witnessed the devastation of the ship at such close range.

I found A Dress of Violet Taffeta fascinating, and recommend it for other fans of historical fiction. Readers with an interest in fashion history or the Titanic will especially enjoy it.

Well, wow. This was a fantastic story! It’s got a strong female lead trying to make it on her own, a mother who holds her back, and a sister who wants to enable her. Let’s mix in some fashion, a husband who bails, a tragic ticket on the Titanic, and we’ve got an amazing story to dig into!

This story is such a win for historical fiction fans. The descriptive writing immediately draws you into the story, and the characters will keep you invested through the last page!

I love that Lucy is a woman who has no problem doing what she needs to achieve her goals. She follows her dreams and makes them happen! Her story is inspiring and absolutely worth reading!

After Lucy's husband wastes their fortune on drinking and runs off with a showgirl, Lucy does the unthinkable to keep herself and her daughter Esme safe, she divorces from her husband. This is unheard of in polite society during Victorian Era London. Lucy has a plan to make money. She has always loved fashion and begins to design dresses. With the help of her one remaining staff, Celia, Lucy designs and makes a dress that is the envy of everyone. From there, Lucy begins taking orders. With Lucy's eye for color and cut on specific women and Celia's management skills, business takes off. Lucy meets Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon and finds love as well as a business party. Lucile Ltd is now successful and thriving with clients around the world and a second shop in New York. Lucy, Cosmo and Celia make their way to New York with new dresses on the Titanic. When the unthinkable happens, all three manage to escape with their lives. However, the aftermath of the escape and the trauma will affect them forever.

Lady Lucy Duff Gordon is known not only for her elegant fashion design, but for creating fashion shows and modernizing women's underwear. Despite this, most of what I knew about Lady Lucy was from the movie Titanic. While A Dress of Violet Taffeta is a fictional version of Lady Lucy's life, the author has done a lot of research and used Lady Lucy's memoir as well as her design books and a viewing of her fashion collection. I was in love with Lucy's character and temperament from the start as she decides that she will support herself and Esme after her husband leaves. Lucy's determination to fulfill her dream now that she is divorced is even more significant in Victorian society. There are absolutely wonderful descriptions of color and the process of how Lucy made her gowns and built her business from nothing. Her ideas for women's fashion were able to move women forward in society. As Lucy said, " I truly believe that what women choose to wear will dictate the sort of lives we lead in the decades to come." In addition to Lucy, the other female characters were also amazingly written. I was intrigued the most by Celia who began as an unpaid helper and rose to managing Lucile Ltd. I think it's a shame that we don't know more about the real Celia, although I would have loved more chapters from her point of view. Lucy's sister, Elinor Glyn is also a force in her own right and became a well-known romance author. The Duff-Gordon's experience on the Titanic seems to have been twisted and they were made to look like villains for not going back to rescue more people in their lifeboat. The survivor's guilt seems to have affected Lucy and Cosmo as well as their relationship. Overall, A Dress of Violet Taffeta is an amazing story of a self-made woman of history.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
A Dress of Violet Taffeta is a fictional account of the life of Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, and her rise to fame as a fashion icon. It’s a fabulous story of grit and determination.

The story follows Lucy, from the betrayal of her first husband and subsequent divorce to her rise to fame as the owner of one of the finest fashion houses in London. After Lucy’s husband deserts her, she is left to raise her daughter, Esme, with only one scullery maid, Celia for help running the house. Lucy must find a way to support them all, and with Celia’s help, she uses her talents as a seamstress and designer to start making and designing dresses for friends, family, and the high society of London. Lucy has an eye for fabrics and fashion and her designs are unique and become coveted by high society immediately and her empire grows fast.

Lucy’s life changes when she meets Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, Lucy is reluctant to have a relationship after her previous husband deserted her, but Cosmo is very persistent. Later her life changes again when she embarks on a fateful trip to New York on the Titanic.

I enjoyed this look inside the life of a strong, successful woman in a time when men dominated the fashion world in London. She overcame a lot of obstacles and I enjoyed reading about her struggles and her eventual success. I loved all the descriptions of the beautiful dresses, as well as how she creates them.

I liked the alternating POVs between Lucy and her scullery maid Celia, who eventually becomes her business partner. I learned a lot more about Lucy, by reading Celia's chapters as she described her life working for Lucy.

The author did a lot of research, and I appreciated her descriptions of Lucy’s journey on The Titanic and the aftermath of the disastrous sinking of the ship. I liked the way she described the elegance of the Titanic as seen through Lucy’s eyes, and she made sure to highlight the differences between the separate class accommodations. Make sure you read the author's notes at the end of the book as the author describes her research.

I highly recommend A Dress of Violet Taffeta to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A historical fiction about a woman whose wealthy and abusive husband leaves her destitute, Lucy Wallace must find a way to survive in a world created and run by men. She does the unthinkable, files for a divorce and finds work as a tradesperson.

We see across the first half of the novel a woman coming into her own. Finding her footing, trying her best to stay afloat as she begins her trade as a fashion designer. I love how Arlen blends together the emotions the main character faces while she creates these beautiful gowns. Giving them names that match her creation. Dressmaking, like other art forms, is a craft where the artist expresses a feeling. And in this case it is in layers of fabric. Splashing in colors, bold and bright, to define women on their own terms and in their own bodies. Slowly chiseling away at the patriarchy one garment at a time.

An interesting story set in the gilded age, A DRESS OF VIOLET TAFFETA gives voice to an acclaimed designer who was determined in making a name and legend for herself.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her?
When she is deserted by her wealthy husband, Lucy is left penniless with an aging mother and her five-year-old daughter to support. Desperate to survive, Lucy turns to her one true talent to make a living. As a little girl, the dresses she made for her dolls were the envy of her group of playmates. Now, she uses her creative designs and her remarkable eye for color to take her place in the fashion world—failure is not an option.
Then, on a frigid night in 1912, Lucy’s life changes once more, when she becomes one of 706 people to survive the sinking of the Titanic. She could never have imagined the effects the disaster would have on her fashion label Lucile, her marriage to her second husband, and her legacy. But no matter what life throws at her, Lucy will live on as a trailblazing and innovative fashion icon, never letting go of what she worked so hard to earn. This is her story.
This is a book that is more of the life and times of Lucy Duff Gordon than a novel Lucy was innovative in dress design.
This book was overly long.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley.
This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Dresses, dresses, dresses...who can pass up a book about a famous dress designer.

Lucy married a drinker and a philanderer. To her surprise and relief he left her.

Divorce isn't something women did in the 1800’s, but it happened.

Her mother was horrified because she said Lucy would be ostracized.

That didn't stop Lucy....she started her own dressmaking business and created gowns for famous Americans and Europeans.

A DRESS OF VIOLET TAFFETA is about a real person Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon.

She is famous not only for her designs, but that she was a survivor of the Titanic.

Facts about investigations into the wealthy who survived was something I didn’t know.

We get to join the workers in the designing houses and learn how they works and also how some design houses would steal designs by only changing a very tiny detail and call it their own.

I do have to say it did drag on a bit, but I enjoyed it.

Fashion fans and fans of this era will love this book. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

"A sumptuous novel based on the fascinating true story of La Belle Époque icon Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, who shattered the boundaries of fashion with her magnificently sensual and enchantingly unique designs.

Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her?

When she is deserted by her wealthy husband, Lucy is left penniless with an aging mother and her five-year-old daughter to support. Desperate to survive, Lucy turns to her one true talent to make a living. As a little girl, the dresses she made for her dolls were the envy of her group of playmates. Now, she uses her creative designs and her remarkable eye for color to take her place in the fashion world—failure is not an option.

Then, on a frigid night in 1912, Lucy’s life changes once more, when she becomes one of 706 people to survive the sinking of the Titanic. She could never have imagined the effects the disaster would have on her fashion label Lucile, her marriage to her second husband, and her legacy. But no matter what life throws at her, Lucy will live on as a trailblazing and innovative fashion icon, never letting go of what she worked so hard to earn. This is her story."

The interesting intersection of a Belle Époque icon AND the Titanic!

In 1893, this story jumps into Lucy Wallace’s dire situation: abandoned by her alcoholic husband, out of money, down to one mediocre maid, about to divorce, and living with a difficult mother. But Lucy has a plan to design and sell gowns, and she has the determination to pull it off.

The POV also includes her maid Celia, raised in a workhouse and who begins to yearn for more after helping Lucy with her sewing ambitions.

Lucy has a discerning eye and a gift for colors and fabrics. She begins to design and secretly sew gowns for her and her sister’s wealthy friends. Celia with her business acumen quickly becomes her devoted assistant.

A lot of Lucy’s character comes through in Celia’s observations. I wish we saw more of Lucy’s reflections because her life was full of fascinating experiences. Her sister Elinor was a successful and scandalous playwright but their friendship and rivalry wasn’t highlighted. Nor was her relationship with the man who would eventually become her second husband and greatest supporter until it all fell apart—an element we don’t see in the book.

There wasn’t a character arc to Celia or Lucy. We watched their steady progress from afar as it’s more of a name dropping and event-reviewing walk through the 1880s-1910s than an in-depth look at Lucy herself. There was no narrative thread to connect the string of events, so by the time the Titanic sank I had lost interest and then the book just stopped.

Too much telling and not enough hats yet development for me, but the setting comes alive and this is a well-researched gilded age fictionalized account of an acclaimed designer.

I absolutely love the time period of the setting! This has fantastic characters and I love the women supporting women aspect of this book. I enjoyed this so much!

A Dress of Violet Taffeta

A sumptuous novel based on the fascinating true story of La Belle Époque icon Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, who shattered the boundaries of fashion with her magnificently sensual and enchantingly unique designs.

Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her?

When she is deserted by her wealthy husband, Lucy is left penniless with an aging mother and her five-year-old daughter to support. Desperate to survive, Lucy turns to her one true talent to make a living. As a little girl, the dresses she made for her dolls were the envy of her group of playmates. Now, she uses her creative designs and her remarkable eye for color to take her place in the fashion world—failure is not an option.

Then, on a frigid night in 1912, Lucy’s life changes once more, when she becomes one of 706 people to survive the sinking of the Titanic. She could never have imagined the effects the disaster would have on her fashion label Lucile, her marriage to her second husband, and her legacy. But no matter what life throws at her, Lucy will live on as a trailblazing and innovative fashion icon, never letting go of what she worked so hard to earn. This is her story.

This is a well-researched historical novel of fashion icon Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon. After a disastrous first marriage, Lucy was left to support her mother and child. Through her love of color and flair for fashion and with a faithful maid and aide, she was able to convince London's elite of her talent for haute couture. Her second husband recognized her abilities and was supportive of her work. You will want to read this to see what happens next.

England - 1893

Lucy Wallace is finally free of her husband, James. True, he left her, but after struggling with financial woes, and his many indiscretions, Lucy is more relieved than grief-stricken. Now, she must find a way to support herself, her daughter, and her mother. But Lucy also feels that she can finally do something that she's loved to do since she was a child. Designing and sewing lovely dresses and gowns is a talent Lucy knows she can use to move forward. First, however, she must convince London Society that her designs are unique.

After James left, Lucy dismissed most of her servants, but kept a young kitchen maid who seemed ready to help. Celia Franklin was instrumental in finding seamstresses for Lucy's new business. Using a beautiful, violet colored taffeta gown that she designed as a example of her work, Lucy rapidly began to acquire well-off clients who appreciated Lucy's eye to design clothing that fit a woman's coloring, as well as demeanor. Eventually, Lucy's business burgeoned as the ladies of Society wore her designs and passed on her name to all who inquired.

As her fame grew, Lucy took on more work, and eventually remarried. Cosmo Duff-Gordon understood his new wife's talent, and the couple made a potent team. Celia remained as Lucy's right hand, and soon there was an expansion to other cities around the world.

A DRESS OF VIOLET TAFFETA is the well-researched true story of Lady Duff-Gordon who set the fashion world on fire in the late eighteenth century, and well into the nineteenth. Rather that give away much more of her story, I will, instead, recommend that readers pick up this excellent, well-written book, and find a cozy place to read.