Real talk: I don’t know why I finished reading Margaret’s New Look. I should have stopped but I just kept hoping Katherine Ashenburg’s novel would get better. Reader, I regret to inform you that it did not, in fact, get better. But there was just the teeniest nugget of something that compelled me to finish skimming and I wish I had ignored it and moved on with my reading life!

Here’s the book’s description:

At work, Margaret is the well-regarded curator of fashion for a big-city museum. At home, she is the mother of lively twin girls, the spouse of a successful mystery-book author, and a daughter still grieving the recent death of her beloved father. Now, as she prepares to launch a career-defining exhibition on the haute couture of legendary French designer Christian Dior, she faces fierce internal politics from her peers alongside unsettling questions from younger colleagues. And to make matters more worrying, as the exhibition's opening night approaches, items in the Dior collection mysteriously begin to disappear.

Meanwhile, Margaret must deal with revelations that have surfaced after her father's death—secrets that force her to confront her family's long-suppressed Jewish heritage. Struggles and mysteries at work and home soon entwine in the unlikely figure of an elderly collector of couture—one who may have had a fascinating, long-ago connection to Dior himself.

Margaret was a completely forgettable character. One who was so adamantly against finding out more about her father’s background and the whole thing was SO weird. I could not for the life of me get a handle on why she felt the way she did. Actually…I don’t think I even know how she felt because it was so convoluted. She didn’t know why it mattered that her father might have been Jewish. She seemed to think that was a black mark on the family but also had no bearing on anything? Then by the end she was all about reclaiming her Jewish heritage? And she didn’t seem to consider the fact that maybe he wanted to ignore the religion he grew up with because people are still anti-Semitic. She was so ignorant of that. There’s one quote at the end of the book that really irked me, that seemed to imply that Margaret had no idea why someone would choose to assimilate and her ignorance is baffling. And also - I have no idea why the author had to mention so many times that Margaret was clumsy and walked into things all the time. Zero point to the story.

And the writing was just…convoluted and unnecessarily complex. It was like the author wanted to show off all the big words she knew and it was just too much. She described one character who “pushed her lips forward, as if to kiss.” That’s pursing your lips. There’s no need to over complicate things.

I hate to say it so bluntly and rudely but: the mystery sucked. It was hardly a mystery! And when the publisher says, “Fashion, mystery, and politics combine…”, well, I needed more from the mystery. I wasn’t satisfied at all by the resolution, though I could maybe admit that it was because I had given up on the story so long before it was solved.

Speaking of fashion. Some people might have found the Dior and New Look information interesting but I already knew most of what was presented from other (better) novels I’ve read as well as a biography on Catherine Dior (she is absolutely worth looking up - she had a terrible war and is an absolute hero).

As I carry on in my quest to read even more Canadian authors, I find myself questioning why some of their books are set in, well, anywhere but Canada. This book could have easily taken place in Toronto. The spelling was even all Canadian! There were so many glorious Us to be found! This is not a thing that should really matter but when the rest of the book irked me? Well, I was just downright annoyed every time there was a reference to the book being set in New York state.

This is a much longer review than Margaret’s New Look deserves and I’m so sad that I didn’t enjoy Katherine Ashenburg’s novel. It should have been a winner for me but so much of it just completely did not work.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Knopf Canada (Penguin Random House Canada), via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

A mystery around clothing and fashion. I had never read anything like this, but I kind of liked it. For a guy who wears sportswear 5 out of every 7 days, I like fashion a bit. I like to look good and I am always interested in the lives of those that make a lot of money on fashion. This book taught me a lot about the history of fashion but it did at times get a bit too detailed for my liking.
If I read this in another month when I am off for the summer, I think that I would have given it the time it deserved.
Overall, a good read.

We covered this historical fiction title in the spring issue of Zoomer magazine (Books section), at link in bio.

Margaret's New Look by Katherine Ashenburg is a mystery novel set in the world of high fashion where the past and present collide in dramatic ways.

Margaret is a curator of fashion who is putting together an exhibit on Christian Dior where museum politics, history, and competition threatens to sabotage her exhibit. As Margaret researches and curates the exhibit, she must grapple with the controversies of Christian Dior, his murky connections to the Nazi regime, and the objectification of women. When items begin mysteriously disappearing from her collection, Margaret will be forced to confront the life of Dior beneath the glamour and her own past as her own identity comes into question.

For anyone interested in the history of fashion, this novel is a must read. It goes into the rich history of Christian Dior- the designer and fashion house. Costume design is meticulously described throughout the book, making me appreciate the artistry and technical skills that goes into making something so simple as a dress or jacket. The detail and descriptions of fashion, the high stakes museum world, and academia and expertise in fashion history is expertly crafted in this novel, which made me wonder if the author has a fashion background?

I have never read a fashion mystery before but have always had a curiousity about fashion design. Setting the mystery within a couture exhibition was original and entertaining. I loved the story of Margaret and her self-discovery through fashion and the questions raised about how fashion, like any other art form, is encoded with secret messages, and truly are time capsules of the past. World War II is also an important part of this story as Dior did design dresses for Nazi wives (as did other French fashion designers) and his own sister unfortunately spent time in a concentration camp. Questions were raised about the legacy of Dior and its controversial past as were Dior's image of women. At times the novel did read like a history book, but I enjoyed this, because I learned so much about the history of Dior and costume design. The plot was set within a mystery and journey of self-realization for Margaret which intertwined with Dior's story.

If you love historical fiction, glamorous mysteries, or high fashion, then you should read Margaret's New Look by Katherine Ashenburg.