The Paris Gown is an interesting historical fiction novel with a nice amount of romance included. Telling the story of three female friends in 1950's Paris, a single Dior gown links their sisterhood together. Each character is coming to terms with their unrealized dreams and the friends stand by each other to support and commiserate with each other.

In my opinion, Wells' themes of sisterhood, different types of romance & marriage and female empowerment overshadow the more "commercial" aspects of Paris fashion and socialite behaviors of the time. This novel is far deeper than the frothy fashion shot on the front cover. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this story, but I would also recommend it to general women's fictions aficionados as well.

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

The premise of The Paris Gown by Christine Wells was so interesting to me, as I personally am a huge fan of historical fiction books, especially ones that take place in the 1940s to the 1950s. This novel centers around the friendship between three young women named Margot, Gina, and Charlotte in 1950s Paris while the three of them are sharing an apartment. They all end up sharing a Christian Dior gown during important events in their lives and are always around to support each other through good times and bad. I liked the pacing of the novel and was drawn in by the author’s writing during the first few chapters of the book. I enjoyed reading about each woman in the book, as well as what they were each going through in their lives at the time, and how they could lean on each other in tough times. I also really enjoyed the fashion aspect of the novel and how important the Christian Dior gown became to each woman. I think a lot of people who enjoy reading light hearted historical fiction novels that revolve around female friendships will enjoy this one as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

In this fun and incredibly detailed historical fiction novel, Claire, Gina, and Margot reunite in Paris in 1955 after life has placed some major obstacles in their way. Claire, working to become a Michelin-starred chef, keeps dreaming of a Dior gown -- which she receives after agreeing to mind Madame Vaughn’s apartment during her absence. When American blue blood socialite Gina returns to Paris and Claire’s apartment with a broken heart and a broken engagement, she wants nothing more to become a novelist, not a journalist, and sees Paris as the perfect place to pursue her dream (and hopefully avoid her ex-fiance Hal Sanders). When at the Dior showroom for the dress fitting, both Gina and Claire are shocked that Margot is assisting them when they had thought she was back in Australia and happily married, not working in Paris under an assumed name. With three brilliant characters alternating perspectives throughout the novel, readers really get to live a life of work for future success in the City of Lights alongside Claire, Gina, and Margot, whose different struggles, stories, and perspectives are incredibly detailed and well-written. With a great bond of sisterly friendship and hope for the future anchoring this brilliant historical fiction novel, fans of the genre are sure to love Christine Wells’ new book.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The girls’ friendship was really special to me, and honestly, when the two were worried about what had happened to the third, I was very alarmed that it was immediately going to be like, she was murdered in Australia!!!!!! Before I realized the author was Australian haha oops. But generally speaking, I liked each girl’s storyline individually a lot, and I felt each of the storylines fit their personalities. The dress kind of reminded me of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but maybe a little less iconic since they each only wore it once. However - pretty cool that Dior was a character in the book and that these girls were running around Paris in OG couture when they were rich, and then sharing a knocked up lady’s apartment and one couture gown when they weren’t. It was good, I thought each girl seemed both sweet and relatable and their conflicts were realistic.

I really was rooting for these three women the whole novel! It feels great to cheer for such wonderful characters and to want the best for them. This book was a great escape in a great city with women that I wanted to befriend. I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend to anyone!

This was a pretty quick read, albeit some what predictable and not particularly realistic for the times. The characters were interesting, the references in Paris, fun, and basically another fairly tale version in triplicate of modern day Cinderellas.

Set in Paris, we meet three different women: Claire who steps in to run the family brasserie, leaving behind a promising career. Gina who runs back to Paris from America when a relationship ends badly. Finally Margot, from Australia, who runs from a bad marriage. They all are in a bad place in their lives, when a Dior gown brings them together and their lives turn around. A bit slow to get going, this is a well crafted story and the characters are likable although they are not as well-developed as I had hoped. The pacing could be better - the happy ending felt very rushed, but was satisfactory.

This book transported me back to the glitz and glam of Paris in the 1950s. It follows a group of three friends (Claire, Gina and Margot) and how Dior brought them back together. As a lover of couture and designer brands, this book really resonated with me. I loved how the book talked about Monsieur Dior and what he must’ve been like. Out of all the designers, you can really tell that Dior loved women with how he made them look and how they made them feel. As the reader, I can feel myself putting on the gown and having those feelings. I also loved how Claire is a chef and as a patron of fine dining establishments, I can hear and smell what was going on in her brasserie. This book came alive in my hands and I am still processing the emotions I felt reading about love, fashion, food and most of friendship. This book was a delight and it’s meant to be savored. .

The Paris gown is a beautiful, heartwarming story of how 3 women are connected through their lives and the impact a Dior gown has on each of them in their own individual major life events. The love, humor, heartache and sisterhood of these women is engaging and so thoughtfully rolled out throughout the story. Following the 3 main characters on their journey through life and how they were able to reconnect after a lot of time enhances and reinforces that tight bond that sisterhood can encompass. The history of Dior and Paris woven throughout is also informative and well thought out.

Thank you to William Morrow books and to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review. As someone who doesn’t read a ton of historical fiction, the subject and time period of this book caught my eye. Set in 1950s Paris, three women reunite after half a decade apart and navigate post war Europe and the changing role of women at this time. The author does a great job of framing this story around one vintage Dior gown, and how each of the characters needs/uses it.

I really enjoyed this novel and found myself connecting well with each of the three main characters. Each of their stories was well thought out and allowed them to stay true to themselves and what they wanted. I’d recommend this one for any historical fiction fans.

A Dior gown means something special to three best friends - Gina, Claire and Margot. Claire, her family owns Le Chat, a brassiere in Paris. Gina, a socialite from the states, an aspiring novelist engaged to marry an up and coming politician, and Margot, a free spirited socialite from Australia. They met at cooking school, where Claire was the only one who actually wants to be a chef. A few years later, Gina winds up on Claire's doorstep having run away from her life back home. How does this Dior gown keep these three friends connected through life changes, relationships and aspirations?

I love a feel good almost sisterly friendship story. Set in gorgeous Paris at the height of Dior fashion.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

3.75 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this as an ARC. If you’re in the mood for a charming historical novel set in a gorgeous city, then this is the book for you. Three women, good friends but had grown distant, are reunited by circumstance and fate in Paris, 1955.
One is a chef in her family restaurant but longs for more, one is hiding away, working at the House of Dior, and the last is running away from NYC and her father’s disgrace.
I really enjoyed the friendship amongst the three women. They are strong women, in an era in which strong women weren’t welcomed by society. They are loyal to each other and have each other’s backs. They are all trying to live life on their own terms. It was nice to read a book about female friendship and how it changed each character’s lives. This was an entertaining fast read.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. The Paris Gown is a fast read about 3 women in 1950's Paris. It gives a little bit of "Emily in Paris" vibes. Because it is a quick read, the plot lacks complexity and the story is predictable. If you are a light reader, like cooking and fashion, then you will like this book.

Paris - 1950

Claire, Gina, and Margot loved to walk the Paris streets looking in the atelier windows admiring couture gowns. Dior is their favorite. Claire is an apprentice chef from a middle class French family. Gina is from a rich Connecticut family. Margot’s family made money in the Australian wool trade. They met when they were taking classes at the Cordon Bleu. Gina and Margot were taking them as they were part of finishing them before they married. Claire has dreams of running a Michelin star restaurant. Another big dream is for her to own a Dior gown.

Paris - 1956

The three friends are back in their homes and Claire is working at her father’s brasserie. After her mother’s death, her father has just faded and cannot run the restaurant without her help. She has not heard much from her Gina and Margot so when a wedding invitation arrives from Gina, she is thrilled but knows she cannot afford to go to her wedding but Gina says she will be honeymooning in Paris and will see her then.

Things have changed for Gina and with the loss of her father’s money, her engagement is off. She has fled to Paris and she and Claire luckily are able to use the apartment of an American woman they have known for a while. The woman was to have a Dior gown made but now wants Claire to have it. Gina gets a job at a bookstore and writes her book in the early hours. It’s when they both see Margot working in Dior and hiding from here past which she doesn’t want to reveal to her friends. But eventually the three gals are staying together and working through their individual problems.

This is a delightful book of close friendships that can span a lifetime. The trials that these women faced were difficult and only exacerbated by the fact that this took place in the 1950s where there were still a lot of restrictions put on women. Do read and enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book, set in Paris in the mid-1950's, was full of French food, friendships, and fashion! The story follows Claire, Gina, and Margot in their separate (yet woven together) stories as they all are trying to pursue their dreams when life doesn't always end up the ways they had hoped - and navigate their love lives as well. And of course as the title suggests, there is an important Dior gown that plays a part in all of their lives.

The author did a great job of creating characters who you could really imagine being friends and being with each other through ups and downs of life. I also loved the author's note at the end that added to the history of this time period, connecting to events in the story. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover and found a really enjoyable story of three young friends. They are reunited in Paris year later. Claire is toiling away trying to become a Michelin starred chef. Her dream is to own a Dior gown. Madame Vaughn, who lives above Claire's family restaurant suddenly leaves Paris and leaves Gina her apartment and a gift of Dior gown.. Gina arrives in Paris nursing a broken heart and engagement.. Not giving away the plot, let me say that Claire is not the first to wear the beautiful gown. The characters are well developed an easily relatable. This book really shows the true value of friendship

The Paris Gown
By: Christine Wells
Review Score: 4 Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints
•Historical Fiction
•Couture: Dior
•Multiple POVs
•Family Dynamics
•Women’s struggles after World War 2

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The Paris Gown was kindly provided as an ARC by NetGalley and William Morrow. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

In The Paris Gown, we meet 3 women who were best friends, but lost touch after World War 2. Some time passes, and these 3 women are reunited, all with their own secrets.

Wells does such an amazing job of weaving their friendship, family dynamics, and of course, fashion, into this story.


If you want a historical fiction read that isnt based solely on a war, then check this one out!

It’s a beautifully rich story of three friends and the turns their lives take. It dips into the world of French cooking, fashion design, and publishing. There are hard situations, life changes, and long distances that are handled well by the author. Towards the end it put on a weird anti-men vibe that felt forced and out of place, but the rest of the story really focused on the women & their relationship with each other. The characters were like-able, relatable, and overall a nice light read.

Three friends in 1950’s Paris experience life and love, as well as a beautiful Dior gown. They had previously gone to school together in Paris, went their separate ways, and have now reunited in 1957.

Claire is trying to make it as a chef in the male dominated world of Parisian cuisine. She works at her family’s brasserie, Let Chet, but dreams of working for a fancier sit-down restaurant. When her father sells the family business to her old nemesis, what will she do? Will she be able to move on to a new restaurant where she can shine?

Margot is hiding out in Paris disguised and working at Dior. She had an abusive marriage and has fled from Australia to Paris, where she had her happiest memories. Will her husband find her? Will she realize her dream of becoming an editor?

Gina’s father has lost her family’s fortune, and she has broken her engagement to the love of her life to protect his political career. She has escaped to Paris to realize her dream of writing the great American novel. Will she reunite with her love? Will she finish and publish her novel?

My thoughts on this novel:
• I loved the relationship between the three women and how they are all able to support each other.

• The Dior dress was fabulous. It was give to Claire by a friend who had to leave Paris suddenly. Claire shares it with her friends for their special occasions. The descriptions of Margot working for Dior gave me “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” vibes. I loved it!

• The beautiful cover of this book shows a real Dior gown.

• The descriptions of the food were exquisite as well. It gave me a glimpse of what eating in Paris would be like.

• The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that I felt like the storyline with Margot’s husband was left unresolved.

• The book was an interesting look into compromises. What would you give up for who you love? Should you give up your dreams?

• The storyline was very engaging and pleasant. I enjoyed this book.

Overall, The Paris Gown was a great story of friendship, dreams, fashion, and food all set in 1950’s Paris. It was a very enjoyable read.

STUNNING COVER!!! I learned that it is a real DIOR! I couldn't wait to dive into this book! While I did enjoy each of the storylines, I wish each chapter focused on a single character instead of 2 or 3 stories within (but that is just me!!). It's not that the book fell flat for me, but something was off about it that I was ok putting it down and not stopping my entire life to read (if that makes sense :)).

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. I am not a reviewer who will retell the plot, just my feelings towards the book as the reader can look up the plot themselves.