Category Archives: McKean, Erin

Erin McKean. The Secret Lives of Dresses. New York, NY: 5 Spot, 2011.

Dora Winston has been raised by her grandmother, Mimi, in Forsyth, North Carolina.  Dora has pretty much taken for granted the particulars of Mimi’s life–her vintage clothing store, the little stories that Mimi writes about some of the dresses, Mimi’s loving and lovely home, and her colorful friends.  When Dora is called home from college after Mimi has a stroke, Mimi’s life comes into focus for Dora and Dora realizes that she has to fight to preserve Mimi’s legacy.  Mimi’s friends line up to help Dora, but her aunt and cousin (both of whom lack Mimi’s good taste) want to transform the store, and in her will Mimi left the shop to her brother, not Dora.  The situation comes to a head when the shop looses its lease, but Dora sees an opportunity in the crisis. With help from Mimi’s friends, including the attractive young architect, Con, Dora finds a way to continue Mimi’s work.

Winston-Salem may be the model for the fictional city of Forsyth.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Forsyth, McKean, Erin, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont