Rate this book

Tales Of The Gypsy Dressmaker. Thelma Madine (2012)

by Thelma Madine(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0007456964 (ISBN13: 9780007456963)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

HarperCollins Publishers

review 1: I picked this up at random in the library and opened it...when I found I was still reading five minutes later, I borrowed it.Thelma Madine is a dressmaker who started out making children's "occasion" clothes - First Communion dresses and pretty party outfits. Then one of the other stallholders in the market where she sold her creations asked her to do a wedding dress, and it all sort of snowballed from there. Now she is well-known for making crazy, over-the-top, diamante-encrusted wedding dresses with mile-long trains for Irish travellers. Well-known, that is, amongst (a) the travelling community and (b) those who watch a TV programme called "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding". (I do not fall into either of these groups.)Despite my not having any background knowledge, I enjoyed... more this book. It's Ms. Madine's memoir of how she got to where she is in life, starting with the gradual breakdown of her marriage, continuing through her being ripped off by a business partner and her going to prison for benefit fraud...then she makes that first wedding dress (with a 107-foot train, no less!) and gradually becomes the go-to dressmaker for the travellers. It's very interesting to see how she gradually gets to grips with the travellers' very different outlook on life and standards of behaviour, and eventually becomes a close friend of many traveller women and something of an advocate for their lifestyle. Seeing her figuring out how to make the dresses that her clients want (their general requests seem to be "bigger! Shiny-er!") is also quite fascinating. And the book is packed with anecdotes about the various clients and dresses.Ms. Madine doesn't go in for digging deeply at all, and she's almost relentlessly upbeat and optimistic, so overall this is a pretty lightweight book. No deep dark secrets or shocking revelations - just a cheerful description of a life that the author obviously enjoys.
review 2: Great book, quick read. A mix of Thelma's life, career, dressmaking the gypsy wedding dresses & a good insight to travellers lifestyles from Thelma's experience working with them. Negatives are it's a bit repetitive in a lot of chapters and the book could be in a better order. I would like to have had a bit more specifics on Thelma's family life and dates etc, that's where I find it's a bit muddled and the book could have more order to it. All in all a good, interesting, easy read from a lovely lady. less

Download links for: Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker. Thelma Madine

Advertising