The Prince and the Dressmaker

I was excited to read this (after thinking about buying it for months and then finally picking it up), but I just didn't connect to it in any way that I'd expected. The art is adorable and expressive and everything looks really beautiful, but overall I felt that it fell kind of flat.

I like the art, the comic style and the story. There's some little details I don't like, but all in all it was a great story.

This was the sweetest thing! And I am just absolutely drooling over the art style. I didn't love the forced outing but everything else, especially the ending, was chef's kiss

epic, v nice art. would reccomend :)

oooh the art is so lovely~ great short story about our characters ambitions and acceptance. I really enjoyed this story, this is a one shot book so it's easy to finish.

this was so cute and precious and !!!

This was absolutely the cutest book I've read in a long time! I don't normally read graphic novels, but so many people have been talking about this book. So when I saw it at the library I had to pick it up. I immediately sat down to read this when I got home and read it all in one sitting. Absolutely adorable!

This is a story about a prince who secretly likes to wear dresses at night and how he has to hide that from his family. He meets a dressmaker and asks her to make all of his dresses. It shows how their friendship evolves and how he finally has to come out to everyone and tell them who he really is. It's a story about how we shouldn't have to hide who we really are inside, which is something we all need to remember these days.

I'm definitely having my daughter, who's 11, read this. I think she'd enjoy the cute artwork, the story line and the overall message it portrays. I now want to read some more graphic novels like this since having read it!

I loved every second of this. I do not think it's historically plausible, but I loved it anyway.

This book follows the story of two main characters, Prince Sebastian as he comes to terms with who he is and what he enjoys doing and Francis the brilliant seamstress. Sebastian enjoys dressing up in beautiful woman's clothing. Francis is a talented dressmaker and Sebastian's best friend that creates works of art for him to wear. Together they explore friendship and navigate what it means to love someone unconditionally.

I fervently wish that books like this existed when I was a preteen/teenager. I think that if I have had access to literature of this quality and subject content, maybe the world would have not seemed so strange and foreign when I left my protective bubble as a child and became an adult. Not only is this book well written and beautifully executed, but it is also an important subject because people are people, no matter how small... how they want to dress, or how they see themselves.

This book primarily deals with being different and how people will love you an except you given half the chance. The prince is a crossdresser, he likes big and beautiful dresses, specifically those of a seamstress that he has befriended. Together they form a partnership based on friendship and eventually love. This story is the perfect blend of sweetness, authenticity, joy, sadness and ultimately love overlayed with Jen Wang's gorgeous illustrations.

A very cute story.

An adorable story about acceptance, from both yourself and others. Wang's illustrations are expressive and just pretty. Lots of characters are given opportunities to develop. The Prince and the Dressmaker is endearing and uplifting.

Everyone should read this. I literally started tearing up in happiness this book is adorable.

This was a cute, quick read. The illustrations are really pretty and fun and the story is sweet.

This was charming and adorable and the artwork was perfection. Loved it completely.

I liked this! However, I'm docking stars because I'm beyond done with the “trans/gnc person gets outed and humiliated” trope so prevalent in fiction with trans characters. It's super not necessary and strongly overrepresented right now.

Otherwise I enjoyed it. But that was a big deal to me.

I remember seeing this graphic novel a couple of months ago in my library but I hadn't heard about it then yet. However, after seeing some wonderful reviews and also it being nominated for the Goodreads Choice awards, I knew I had to read it. And wow was this such a pleasant surprise.

Sebastian is a nice soft boy who doesn't really find pleasure in all the princely things like hunting. He adores his parents but is scared to tell them that he isn't sure about marrying a princess or his truth about not feeling comfortable in his own skin. It's such a contrast to see him absolutely confident in his persona as Lady Chrystallia taking the Paris fashion scene by the storm. He is a delight when he is attending all the parties and being true to himself but insecurity about not being a good prince is difficult to read about because he is such a sweet person.

Frances is a lowly seamstress but when given an opportunity, she takes it up with both hands and is very eager to showcase her skills. She is not afraid of trying out some outrageous designs or colors and is very accepting of the prince's choices, making her his closest friend. However, despite this making her name quite popular in society, she is unhappy because she is Sebastian's secret keeper, which makes her name secret too.

I loved the way their friendship is written. Sebastian just wants acceptance – both within himself and from others – and Frances wants to be known for her talent and it is great that both of them find what they need with each other. Their stations in life also never come in between their friendship and they genuinely are fond of each other, which is very amusing to watch.

The King and Queen of Belgium are are also very good people, who just want their prince to do his duty. I was actually quite scared how they would react when the truth about Seb comes to their knowledge, but the ending was quite unexpected. It's obviously too convenient for the sake of a happy ending, but this whole graphic novel is sweet and fluffy and too cheerful to end any other way.

I can't say enough good things about the art in this book. True to the time period in Paris and with such importance given to fashion, the design and colors here are spectacular and very eye catching. I absolutely adored the dresses that Frances designs for Lady Chrystallia and I wish I could find something like those in real life. The author is also able to convey such beautiful emotions about friendship, love and acceptance through her words and art that it makes for a wonderful happy read and I would recommend this to anyone. You'll only end up smiling a lot.

Mini-reseña.

A ver, ¿por qué tan baja puntuación? Voy a explicar brevemente qué fue lo que no me gustó y lo que sí, pero antes, una pequeña explicación a sobre qué va la historia.

En simples palabras, trata sobre Frances, quien es una talentosa costurera con el sueño de fundar una línea de moda. Frances tiene ideas increíbles sobre vestidos, y se vuelve famosa luego de hacerle un excéntrico vestido a una dama de la nobleza que la hace ser contratada por el mismísimo príncipe Sebastian. Resulta que Sebastian le gusta vestirse como mujer, a pesar de ser varón y el heredero del reino, haciéndose pasar por Lady Crystallia. Entre el talento de Frances y el secreto de Sebastian va naciendo un amor entre ambos hasta que el desastre haga “¡KABOM!”.

LO QUE ME GUSTÓ
La historia. Venga, que esto de la chica plebeya y el chico rico o príncipe que se enamoran es un cliché que me encanta.Frances. Me gusta que haya tenido carácter para decidir entre si seguir con ‘Lady Crystallia' a costa de ocultar su talento, o finalmente ir tras su sueño y abandonar a Sebastian. Porque hay que admitir que el joven príncipe fue muy egoísta en ese momento.
El diseño. Y ojo al pez: me gustó, más no me encantó. Me pareció sencillo, adorable-tierno, y quedaba bien con el estilo de la historia.Los vestidos. No se de dónde carajos Jen sacaba la inspiración de los vestidos, pero amé casi todos, en especial uno negro que usó Lady Crystallia, ¡qué belleza!

LO QUE NO ME GUSTÓ y fijaos que esto ya es cosa mía.
Aquí voy a sonar horriblemente a la petarra de Kika Nieto pero... el travestismo de Sebastian. En verdad, os juro, no tengo nada, NADA, en contra de los travestis, los respeto y todo (no voy a decir que “los tolero” porque no es así, los acepto y es parte de ellos) pero como no soy así (a pesar de que a veces actúo como macho y prefiero MIL veces el pantalón que el vestido... En verdad, en mi armario no hay vestidos cortos ni faldas, los odio) no me gustó ese detalle de Sebastian. Ay, dios, ni siquiera sé explicarlo. O sea, me causa mucha confusión porque “toleré” la condición de Sebastian pero acepto y apoyo la diversidad de género y este gusto de las personas... Creo que es algo que poco a poco voy cambiando en mi manera de pensar, tomando en cuenta la mentalidad de la familia en la que crecí, pero aspiro a que en un futuro próximo no tener este tipo de confusión o pensamiento de mierda contra ellos. Porque son personas como nosotros, simples y maravillosas...Y es algo, hago un apartado aquí, que este libro quiso mostrarnos. No importa cómo te vistas, cómo te veas, ni siquiera lo que piensen los demás, sino que seas tú mismo y si no tienes a alguien que te apoye, no te preocupes, siempre encontrarás a alguien que te entienda y lo haga. Eso es algo que amé del libro, Sebastian tenía miedo de contarles a sus padres que amaba vestirse como una princesa, con vaporoso vestidos hermosos, y ver que al final... su padre, ¡su padre, el rey! usó vestido... orgulloso por su hijo, fue la escena más conmovedora y más inspiradora que he visto en mi vida.El instalove. Sí, odié el instalove del libro. En verdad me hubiera gustado que Frances y Sebastian quedaran como amigos, peeeero... como la autora quiso mostrar romance, ‘pos ya que.

En resumen, sí me gustó el libro, lo disfruté y fue muy bonito, pero hubo partes en los que me causó cierto conflicto y otros que ya me pareció completamente innecesario. Aún con eso, lo recomiendo encarecidamente. Merece la pena, no os dejéis llevar mucho por mi opinión, cada cabeza es un mundo.

For the 2018 Read Harder Challenge: a comic written and drawn by the same person. A clever story told well.

5 stars 😍😍😍 this book is so wonderful! And heartwarming! The ending had me tearing up. Read it! Read it!

Very sweet and charming, touches on some big ideas but never gets too deep which you may or may not like. The art is very simple and expressive, and serves the story well. There's really not a lot to it, but what it lacks in weight and depth it makes up for with style and warmth.

Third read for BooktubeAthon 2018. Such a lovely graphic novel, with a nice message and a beautiful design

very cute

So cute and unexpected! Great turn of the century Paris setting, beautiful art and a compelling story.

The cutest fucking thing. And the king? At the climax of the story? Magnificent, dang it.

Very sweet and empowering. Read once for the story, then a second time more slowly for the graphics.