When is a dress more than just a dress? When it represents one's aspirations, memories, sorrows, and secrets of the heart.

Deceptively packaged as a fairy tale-like story about a simple woman and her quest for a very special dress, [b:My Mrs. Brown|25814234|My Mrs. Brown|William Norwich|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1460304780s/25814234.jpg|45670942] addresses very deep issues and literally left me in tears.

Emilia Brown is a simple, quiet, plain, and austere woman "of a certain age" who has lived her entire life in the tiny town of Asheville, Rhode Island. Though life hasn't given her much, she's managed with a smile, a kind heart, and a solid work ethic. When Asheville's wealthy doyenne passes away, Emilia helps the estate planners go though the house. While taking an inventory of the closet, Emilia discovers "a sleeveless black dress and a single button jacket made of the finest quality wool crepe. It's correctness was its allure, suggesting endless possibilities and the certainty of positive outcomes if one wore this dress. The richness of this dress -- its elegance and poise was the work of a master."

Seized by a feeling she's never experienced, Emilia decides she *must* own a dress like this -- even when she discovers the dress is an Oscar de la Renta, and the cost will be $7,000. Even more, Emilia decides she must make the trip to the Oscar de la Renta flagship store in midtown Manhattan to purchase the dress, though she's barely set foot outside of Asheville.

While scrimping and saving Emilia is derided by those she works with. Who does she think she is to buy such an expensive dress? And if she's buying such an outrageously expensive dress why is she buying such a boring one? She has no need for an expensive dress in any circumstance, so why not get one for the red carpet, rather than one that looks like she's going to a court room?

As the story progresses the reader follows Emilia as she saves and during her trip to NYC. We learn her back story, and piece by piece her reason for wanting the dress. In this narrative, author William Norwich (who has a background in fashion) thinks about deep longings and aches of the heart, while also thinking about the role our clothes play in our lives. He also takes the fashion industry to task. Emilia, speaking of her generation, says, "We'd give anything to be accepted in a boardroom, if the fashion industry would only understand that. We don't all want to be sexpots, or cougars, or just covered up in droopy blouses and trousers. There also something alluring, very, very, alluring about a dress that is perfectly correct. But in an effort to make my generation disappear no one sells clothing that empowers us. There's only ridicule, condescension, or dismissal."

In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, Norwich was asked what he hoped readers would take away from the book. He answered: “that being an American grown-up is actually an honorable thing, that balance is OK, that loneliness is inevitable and that underneath the superficial there is a life for all people. And it’s not going to be what you see or what they say. Quiet people are the ones you want to love and know. Quietude is good after all the noise we’ve gone through culturally.”

This could have actually been a 5 star book for me, but a few completely ridiculous plot points knocked it down a notch. (yes, it's a fairy tale of sorts, but it still had to be at least somewhat believable).

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review (note, even though I had a galley I listened to the audio, which was quite good). ( )

A very short book and reading other reviews 'charming' is how I too would describe it. It would be a great book club book, especially for a group with different age women in it. I suspect it might be seen differently by different people. It was interesting to me that it was written by a man in the fashion industry as it referred to some things about the industry that are so true to me... like there is so little good fashion for more mature women instead of just for young thin twenty-somethings. The author seemed to have some idea how silly some of 'high fashion' is and also what the big city of New York would look like to a newcomer. When I read about the author I was afraid the book would treat a non-New Yorker well. The character development is thin and the story jumps ahead quickly to move it along when I was wishing for more. It does have a fairy tale quality but also some deeper issues. Read it! ( )

This feels like a novel out of 1950 except for the anachronistic references to cell phones, ipads, and f-bombs. Emilia Brown is a simple, plain woman in her 60s who supports herself with sewing, cleaning, and other odd jobs -- her current position is cleaning up at the local beauty salon in her small town of Ashville RI. She lives by an antiquated code of hard work, routine, and meeting basic needs without a lot of frills. "...if she was a scent she was tea with honey, but if she was a color, she was a study in gray.....[which] isn't to say she was sad or threadbare. It's just that in a world where status is measure in how much space one takes up and how much noise one makes....a quiet person like Mrs. Brown falls invisible." (2) She and her cat Santo live in a tiny two-flat next to her best friend Mrs. Fox, both widows. When Mrs. Brown has the opportunity to help catalog possessions of the late Mrs. Groton, a local society matron she has long admired, her life changes drastically. There in her closet is a classic, gorgeous Oscar de la Renta suit in black. It is the exact dignified, simple, timeless outfit that would suit Mrs. Brown perfectly. But it is destined for auction in NY and costs $7,000. Mrs. Brown's life now becomes a quest to acquire the dress and takes her out of her comfort zone in many different ways. With the help of Alice, Mrs. Fox's 20-something granddaughter, an unexpected encounter with a super-model who rooms with her for a short time, and some unexpected kindness from strangers, she acquires the money and heads to NYC for a 48-hour adventure the likes of which she has never had in her simple sheltered life. Hurrah for Mrs. Brown and her late-life courage! The best part is learning why she wanted the dress so badly in the first place. Definitely a feel-good read. ( )

The beginning of this book was frustratingly not my taste AT ALL, and I almost gave up but it was for book club. The second act in NYC was quite sweet. I just will never be sympathetic to narratives that paint people who like kale or use swear words or are young-ish as less good versions of older, more sedate people. It's a stupid narrative that implies a value judgment, and while there are plenty of insufferable millennials, dear lord are there also olds whose polite manners area facade for a whole host of -isms. No. It makes me grumpy.

I did really love her whole day in the city and the fairy-tale feel to the ending, I just would have liked it more if it didn't feel like a morality tale scolding anyone who uses a cell phone and likes Beyoncé more than Queen Victoria. Like, I get that enough from EVERYWHERE ELSE, book. Ugh. ( )

This is a fast read with a lot going for it. Mrs. Brown comes out of her quiet, brown life when she comes in contact with a timeless Oscar de la Renta dress while she is helping pack up the wardrobe of a local society grand dame. The author has been part of the fashion industry and comments critically on mistakes he feels designers make in ignoring important segments of the buying public. There are feel-good messages and experiences throughout the book. ( )