Frances is a lowly seamstress, who is hidden in the background with several others. Frances is given an opportunity to shine, when she is tasked with creating a ball gown for a local young woman, who hopes to land the prince's hand in marriage. Surprisingly, Frances gains the attentions of Prince Sebastian, who has a secret life as Lady Crystallia. Frances begins creating dresses for Lady Crystallia and gaining the notice of all other well to-do ladies. As Frances's popularity grows, Prince Sebastian begins worrying about the kingdom finding out about his secret. Is there a way for both Prince Sebastian and Frances to remain true to themselves without hurting the other?

I love that the main character is gender fluid. There are not many gender fluid characters found in graphic novels, who are accepted instead of being the butt of a farce. I loved the illustrations. I totally want to own a Frances creation. I would even enjoy spending more time in this world.

The illustrator of the Cory Doctorow graphic novel "In Real Life" shines with this debut. Sure to appeal to fans of "Nimona," this graphic novel tackles the subject of cross-dressing in an overwhelmingly positive but realistic tone. It acknowledges the nuance of identity, gender roles, societal expectations, and fear of coming out to family. Intense stuff, but handled in such a way that younger readers can comprehend. A magnificent achievement that deserves to be included in readers advisory.
Sebastian is a dynamic and sympathetic character, dealing with his fierce desire for dresses and the huge demands on him as prince and sole royal heir of Belgium. Francis is strong and fearless in her pursuit of what is right for the achievement of her own dreams. I doubt I could be as stalwart as her, given her position as a seamstress who wants to become a designer (but on her own terms). She's also a tremendously hard worker.
The smooth storytelling and wonderful artwork disguise a surprisingly nuanced situation. The conclusion may be far-fetched, but leaves the reader satisfied.
This title is slated to be published in February 2018, just in time for Valentine's Day. I predict it will be one of the hottest middle-grade titles of 2018.
Note: I was provided an advance reading copy by Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a lovely story. It says important things about gender and identity in a way that I know kids will really have fun with. The art is fun and beautiful, the characters are well-rounded and complex. In my opinion, it struck the perfect balance between being nuanced enough that kids will think about it after they've finished reading, and straightforward enough that the main themes won't be lost on anyone. I'm looking forward to ordering a copy for the library I work at.

The Prince and the Dressmaker was an amazing, uplifting story about acceptance. Frances is a junior apprentice in a dress shop. Her design catches the eye of a fashionista, who just happens to be the prince or Belgium, whose family is visiting Paris for the summer. Prince Sebastian desires nothing more than to wear dresses of the highest fashion. He hides this from his sport-loving father and mother, fearing they would reject their only son for his desire to wear dresses. Once Frances learns he is to be her new client, she does not judge but gets to work creating masterpieces for him to wear as his alter-ego “Lady Crystallia.” So during the day, Prince Sebastian must adhere to royal protocol, but at night he parades around Paris as Layd Crystallia, who becomes the toast of the fashion world. Forced to keep the prince’s secret, Frances soon finds her designs copied as she cannot expose the prince as Lady Crystallia. When Sebastian is exposed, he believes his life is over, but soon finds that those who truly love him, will accept all of him – Sebastian and Lady Crystallia.
This graphic novel was heart-warming and left me with a smile on my face. I hope we are able to visit with Frances and Sebastian again, as I feel there is more their stories. Wang’s art fits seamlessly with the storyline. I love that the beauty of the backdrop did not overpower the characters or the story. Each character was uniquely drawn and identifiable. I feel this is a timely story and one that can open an honest discussion on what defines gender identity. It today’s society, women wear pants, so why can’t men wear dresses?

When Frances, a dressmaker working in Paris, designs a daring and scandalous dress for a client, she catches the eye of a member of the royal family who hires her on the spot. However, when she arrives at the palace, she realizes that she’ll be designing dresses not for the Queen or a princess, but for the royal prince! Wearing these new creations (and an orange wig), Prince Sebastian, along with Frances, explore the city and night and become close friends. But Frances isn’t content to keep her work a secret and soon the Prince must choose between the two lives he’s created. Wang seamlessly (pun intended!) pairs a wonderful story with incredible art in this graphic novel about self-discovery, relationships, and really rad fashion.

I like reading graphic novels because they’re short. I’m a terrible person, I know. I’m also terribly impatient and I like things with pictures.

I also love clothes. I love pretty clothes. I love wearing them, looking at them, shopping for them, designing them…everything but actually making them, that’s where my skills fail. I’ve got imagination, but no practical skills outside of a nack for assembling furniture. I can darn my own socks, hem a curtain and fix a ripped seam and that’s the extent of my sewing skills. I wish I had the time, the skills, and the resources to be an expert seamstress. I’d make clothes all the time. But I just can’t do it. I can dream, though. And look at clothes from all eras on pinterest, my favorite place to go when I’m sad and just want to look at pretty clothes.

Anyhow! The Prince and the Dressmaker revolves around a young seamstress, Frances, and the fictional crown-prince of Belgium, Sebastian. Sebastian arrives in alt-turn-of-the-twentieth-century Paris and, since he’s a 16-year-old single prince, of course there’s a ball and all the eligible ladies are invited. Frances, a poor seamstress, gets a rush order from a Lady Sophia the day before the ball. Lady Sophia is 100% uninterested in going to the ball, so she requests that Frances make something to make her look like “the devil’s wench.” And boy does Frances deliver. Lady Sophia’s dress is awesome, badass and original and causes a huge ruckus at the ball. The next day, Frances’s boss is in the process of firing her when a guy named Emile shows up and offers Frances an outrageous salary to become the private seamstress to an anonymous lady. Frances accepts…only to find that she’s brought to the palace, and the “lady” she’s to work for is none other than Prince Sebastian himself. In secret, Sebastian is a cross-dresser - he just loves to wear dresses (understandable, dresses are gorgeous and amazing, especially some of the gilded age fashions featured here and dude fashions are just so booooring…). Rather than being weirded out, Frances takes a liking to the prince and they become friends. With Frances’s help, Sebastian develops an alter-ego as the popular and fashionable Lady Crystallia. Frances starts falling in love with Sebastian/Crystallia…except the problem is Sebastian is a prince and has a whole host of responsibilities. Lady Crystallia must remain secret.

This graphic novel is short and super sweet, and I absolutely loved it. I love anything that revolves around designing clothes, really, but the relationship between Frances and Sebastian/Crystallia was beautifully drawn and believable- there’s not a whole ton of them hashing out what their relationship is - it’s conveyed more with looks and images. Jen Wang’s illustrations manage to convey more heart and emotion than any monologue ever could. I really loved The Prince and the Dressmaker - it made me smile and managed to warm my cold, dead heart. Quite a feat since I’d spent most of my day in a foul mood because dentists are the worst, aren’t they? Ugh.

I’m going to go re-read Prince and the Dressmaker to purge my dentist experience from my brain. Or maybe spend the next thousand years looking at haute couture gowns on Pinterest…

A prince with a secret and a seamstress who is only too happy to help him keep it - what could possibly go wrong? A lot, it turns out, when the prince isn't totally honest about himself with anyone but his faithful tailor. This is a very sweet story about the difficulty of discovering - and revealing - one's true identity -- and how rewarding such a thing can ultimately be.

This was a lovely story (with gorgeous fashion) about love, family and learning to live one’s truth. Prince Sebastian and Frances need each other to move forward with their dreams, both wanting to stand out in the fashion world. Sebastian comes alive dressed in Frances daring couture gowns as Lady Crystallia, but his fears of his family finding out force Frances to make hard decisions about her own dreams. I enjoyed this and can’t wait to have a physical copy in hand.

I wasn't able to read this because unfortunately the file was not compatible. This is unfortunate because it seems really cute and wonderful. I wish I could read it.

I enjoyed this book. The story is cute and the illustrations are beautiful. I would recommend this to younger readers who are looking for diverse characters.

I’m usually not a fan of graphic novels. I can count the graphic novels I’ve read on one hand, but when I saw the summary of THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER, I knew this was one that I definitely wanted to read… and I was not disappointed.

The art is beautiful in this book. Not just the characters and scenery, but also the dresses that Frances creates for Lady Crystallia. I spent a ton of time just looking at each panel, admiring the art.

This does have romance in it, which was something I did not expect. Generally when you have a character that is genderfluid but was deemed male at birth, their creator has them be attracted to people who were also deemed male at birth. It was AMAZING to see Frances and Sebastian slowly fall for each other, and I think it’s a good reminder for people who are not apart of the Queer community (and even some that are) that “dressing as a woman” doesn’t equal “gay”.

There is a lot of self exploration in this book. Not just from Sebastian/Crystallia, but also from Frances. It was great to see Frances stick up for herself. She wanted to protect Sebastian and understood why they did what they did, but still knew that it wasn’t fair to her. It was a good commentary on how we can understand that something may be good for our friends, but it isn’t good for us and we’re allowed to leave situations that hurt us.

The ending was spectacular! I think I screamed during the fashion show scene and I can’t wait until this comes out so I can make the king my profile picture.

If you’re a fan of gender noncomformity, friends turned something more, and people discovering who they are, this cute graphic novel is for you!

This graphic novel is so cute! Friendship! Love! Royalty! Pretty dresses!

In essence, this is a story about two teens discovering who they are and what they want and the hardships along the way. But it's more than that because it takes place in the past (year not specified though it seems like the late 1900s), so the traditions and expectations of the characters are different than today and yet the same social constructions weigh on us as a society: that to be different is to be shameful. When obviously that's not the case at all.

Prince Sebastian just wants to be himself, but he's a teenage boy who likes wearing dresses and being feminine and yet isn't gay. It's something I've not seen too much and it was a refreshing story to experience.

Frances is a young woman who just wants to make pretty, avant-garde dresses and see people wearing her designs. She's strong and stands by her principles and I love the friendship that develops between her and Sebastian.

The art is colorful and fun and just adorable! The characters faces are so expressive! Love this story!

This was absolutely adorable. Such a wonderful story about how liberating it is to be yourself. I loved it all - the dresses, the humor, the friendship. When I was an awkward little girl, I could have really used a book like this to encourage me to be who I am and be that person fearlessly.

A sweet, big-hearted graphic novel with adorable characters, fabulous gowns, and a charming story about two teenagers discovering who they are and what they want from life. I've been looking forward to this story ever since Jen Wang announced it a few years ago, and I am so happy to finally have read a graphic novel so full of acceptance, love, and fantastic fashion.

This stunning book sadly isn't out until February, and so today I'm only sharing a few of my thoughts about it with you guys. My full review will be posted closer to the release date, around January, I think. I have written it down, so it's ready to go. But yeah. I couldn't resist writing a smaller preview review as well.

Just to let you know that you guys need to pre-order this one. Or request it via Netgalley too. Because this graphic novel was adorable. And a bit heartbreaking. I'm giving it four stars, for a few reasons, more about that in my full review. But oh, I liked this book so much. I'm thrilled that I got to read it early.

I'm going to be buying the finished hardcover and paperback edition of this one. Simply can't resist owning all the versions of it. Only feel sad that this book wasn't longer. I wanted more about all the characters. Not going to say much more than that about the plot and such, lol. There is a prince. And there is a dressmaker. And reading their story was all kinds of incredible. I really think you should get this book. The artwork inside is in full color and it's so beautiful. I loved every page. So much. I cannot wait to see the final version as well; though this eARC felt pretty final too. So gorgeous. Huge thank you to First Second for the approval to read this one via Netgalley. I loved it lots. My full review will be up closer to the release; in the mean time, go pre-order this stunning thing. The Prince and the Dressmaker is a book worth reading. Amazing story.

The Prince and the Dressmaker is a graphic novel of a sort. It has beautiful illustrations. I do not know for whom it is written, however, because the subject matter is about sexual roles and identity as well as acceptance. It could be considered a Cinderella story told with a twist. That twist will make it unpalatable to many. I do think, though, that the LBGTQ community might look at it as a way to open discussion.

An absolutely charming story with lovely art, and a wonderful introduction to the concept of genderfluidity for children and teens who may not be familiar with the concept. Bravo.

4/5 Stars

This is a beautiful graphic novel that deals with being different.

The book is about a seamstress and a prince, who has a secret - he likes to wear dresses. So he hires her to make him dresses while he pretends to be a woman. The story of their growing friendship and the struggles of being a cross-dresser is incredibly touching. This book, not only shows what it is like to be one, but also talks about how to deal with a cross dresser as a parent. It was sweet, touching and beautiful. And the fact that the illustrations are so gorgeous does not hurt.

I also loved that the author gave the reader a glimpse into what it was like to create the graphic novel.

This graphic novel is like a delicious pastry: pretty, fulfilling, and not too heavy. It manages to address an important subject without weighing the reader down with too much text. The ending is a hoot! This sweet book was a joy to read. I know this it will be a hit in my library system next February (and beyond).

Gosh, this was so cute. The artwork was charming, and the story was just lovely.