The Prince and the Dressmaker

Chapter 4’s frontispiece is a pattern piece marked “front” with only the major measurements listed.

During a lavish dinner at the palace, royal families sit facing each other at a long table laden with roasted meats. Princess Juliana compliments the city of Paris and the palace’s gardens. Her brother, Prince Marcel, invites Sebastian to come shooting as a break from “looking at all these princesses” (79). Sebastian describes his summer activities as reading and eating. King Leroy suggests Sebastian take Juliana to tour the gardens, encouraging him toward a more romantic activity. The two royals discuss their parents’ expectations that they get married. Sebastian apologizes for his father’s pushiness. Juliana prefers Sebastian to the other princes she’s met, and proposes that they get to know each other and see where things go. Sebastian runs away after telling Juliana how to get back to the dining room.

In the dressing room, Frances finds a black and white photograph of Sebastian on his mother’s lap. The dress his mother wears in the photograph is in the closet, which makes Frances laugh. Sebastian bursts in. He wants to go out immediately, wearing Frances’s newest creation: silver armor from shoulders to bustle over a full pale pink skirt. They go to a cabaret hall, where a drunken man collides with Lady Crystallia, whom he mistakes for a performer. He harasses Crystallia, who slaps him. Enraged, the man threatens to get Crystallia and Frances thrown out. A well-dressed young man named Peter intervenes, calling the two his friends. Peter leads a nervous Frances and Crystallia upstairs past a table of older men including Peter’s father. At their own table, Peter compliments the tailoring of Lady Crystallia’s gown and explains that the drunk man is a jerk but a powerful investor. He suggests that Frances’s designs could take off “with a little editing” (94). Peter reveals that his father is George Trippley, who will soon open a giant department store in which clothing will be a primary focus. Peter invites Frances and Lady Crystallia to the store’s opening night show, promising to introduce them to fashion’s luminaries.

Crystallia and Frances sneak back into the palace dressing room through a window. They’re excited to have met Peter, although Crystallia points out that he was a little skeptical of Frances’s taste. Frances thinks she can win him over, and decides to design a collection that will make everyone want to resemble Lady Crystallia. As Frances sketches by the light of a lamp, Crystallia falls asleep on the table.

The frontispiece of Chapter 5 shows a pattern for a brace panel, a slim piece of triangular fabric that provides structure to a garment. A sequence of five nearly wordless pages opens the chapter. Frances cuts fabric for a cape, which Sebastian wears to meet another princess at a polo game. Sebastian gives Frances a pair of glasses, and she realizes she can see much better. She creates a blue, yellow, and pink gown with a feather motif for Lady Crystallia, who wears it to much attention. Frances sees a woman wearing a knockoff version of this dress in the city. While designing in the dressing room, Frances notices Crystallia brushing Crystallia’s wig and finds herself drawn to Crystallia. She catches herself and looks away, blushing. The following page has two same size panels: Crystallia in one, wearing a dress of red lace and playing cards among onlookers; Sebastian in the other, sleeping in a throne-like chair. At the bottom, the Queen pops out of a long narrow panel saying Sebastian’s name.

Sebastian starts awake. The Queen repeats her question: Does Sebastian want to meet Princess Lilian in the coming week? He apologizes and says, yes. King Leroy asks what is going on, as Sebastian keeps falling asleep at events. The Prince claims that he’s struggling under the pressure. The Queen sympathizes and suggests he take a weekend away at a resort town. Excited, Sebastian decides to bring Emile and Frances. The Queen silences King Leroy’s objections to the vacation, but the King insists on double the princess meetings when Sebastian returns. A series of images show Frances leaning out of a golden carriage, looking down at a beautiful town along a river.

Chapter 6’s frontispiece features a sleeve pattern, seemingly with a billow at the elbow.

Frances and Lady Crystallia walk along the idyllic riverbank. Frances is frustrated that she isn’t getting credit for all the copycats of her designs because no one is allowed to know who she is. The two run into a startled Princess Juliana, and Crystallia panics, thinking Juliana has recognized Sebastian, but instead Juliana is a fan of Lady Crystallia’s style. Prince Marcel interrupts to kiss Crystallia’s hand. Juliana invites Crystallia to join her at the town’s spa, where she’ll be seeing Madame Aurelia, the costume designer of the ballet that inspired Frances to design clothing. Marcel asks to join and Juliana brushes him off, saying the spa trip is for girls. Crystallia feels anxious, thinking that having a name derived from one of Madame Aurelia’s ballets will be strange and afraid to be in a state of undress at the spa. Frances tells Crystallia how important this is to her career, and Crystallia accepts the invitation.

At a Roman-inspired bathing pool, Juliana gossips with another woman. Crystallia arrives in a conservative bathing costume. Juliana notes her guest’s face is already red, which Crystallia blames on the warmth of the water. Juliana introduces Crystallia to Madame Aurelia, a severe-looking woman in a black swimsuit with round glasses and dark hair tied back. Aurelia recognizes the name “Crystallia” from the ballet she designed. Crystallia explains that the name originates from Frances’s love of that very ballet, “a fond nickname [Crystallia] decided to keep” (121). Madame Aurelia is gratified by the compliment to her work, since Juliana has told her Crystallia is a huge fashion influence in Paris. As the two go through rooms of the spa, Aurelia tells Crystallia about her journey as a designer, including dismantling her mother’s wedding dress and remaking it for herself at age four. At one point Aurelia asks for Crystallia’s real name, but lets it go when Crystallia doesn’t respond. Aurelia shares that she’s organizing the Trippley’s department store fashion show, and Crystallia mentions meeting Peter. Aurelia invites Crystallia and Frances to the Paris Opera Ballet, and offers to look at Frances’s portfolio to see if she has the talent to join the Trippley’s show. Crystallia is thrilled.

Back at the hotel, Sebastian tells Frances the good news. Frances can barely believe it and gets right to designing. Sebastian suggests they celebrate instead. Frances dresses in a gown and blushes looking in a mirror. Sebastian emerges in one of the princely outfits Frances has made. It surprises her to not see Crystallia, but Sebastian says this clothing feels comfortable and that his position as Prince is useful in maintaining their place in a carriage line. The two have dinner, visit an aviary, ride a carousel, go dancing, and watch fireworks from a barge on the river. Frances says their dreams are starting to come true, and Sebastian wonders what would have happened if she had never designed the scandalous dress for Lady Sophia. Though Frances thinks Sebastian would have identified another designer to help him create Lady Crystallia’s signature looks, he responds that “there’s no one else like [her]” (134) because she never gives up. Frances explains she’s afraid to stop sewing and lose what makes her special. Sebastian tells her she could never sew again and she’d still remain his closest friend. As the two say goodnight outside their rooms, they almost kiss. Sebastian presses Frances’s hand between his instead. Two mirroring panels at the end of the chapter show them both fallen back on their beds, blushing and staring into space.