Ann Lowe strives for the best in every gown she designs, from her first one as a child to when she finally has her own fancy shop in New York City selling to high society.

This is a nice introduction to an unfortunately lesser known person who nevertheless has a very important place in fashion history. I was lucky enough to attend the recent exhibition on Ann Lowe at Winterthur Museum, which was an exhibit originally envisioned by one of the authors of this book (Margaret E. Powell). Reading this book was a lovely follow-up to that experience. There were some details left out of this book (like Lowe's later life struggles with glaucoma) but it manages to touch on a lot of tough topics in a child-friendly way -- namely the biases that faced Lowe as a Black woman in the 20th century trying to make a name for herself.

The illustrator is apparently an artist and fashion designer herself and does an absolutely beautiful job with this book. Every page is gorgeous and the one dress that I saw in the exhibit that is also in here looks exactly like the one pictured. Recurring motifs of flowers in both the illustrations and the text are a nice touch for a designer known for using these often in her work. ( )

Great story of determination, fashion design, skill, learning ... great to read ( )