Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The King and Queen are busy looking for a bride for Prince Sebastian, while the Prince in question is looking for the right dressmaker to sew fabulous outfits for his secret cross-dressing hobby. At a ball thrown by the royal family to help the Prince pick a worthy young woman for himself, a woman in a daring dress catches his eye, and he decides to hire Frances, the seamstress who made the dress. Thus begins the tale of The Prince and the Dressmaker, a beautifully drawn graphic novel by Jen Wang about fashion, identity, and romance. A prince burdened with royal duties during the day, Sebastian turns into the trendsetting Lady Crystallia by night, wowing Paris with her fabulous outfits, all sewn by the talented dressmaker Frances. But for how long can the Prince live this dual life?
I quite loved the artwork in this graphic novel, although there’s just one thing that was weird—both Prince Sebastian and Frances looked like fraternal twins to me! Their facial features were drawn in a similar manner, except that Sebastian has a bigger, pointier nose, and the two of them have different hair colors. Now maybe (emphasis on ‘maybe’) because of this, I wasn’t expecting any romance between the Prince and the dressmaker, hoping it would be more about the Prince and Frances being fashion conspirators, confidantes, and friends while finding love someplace else. Besides, even if they didn’t look like twins, the budding romance between the Prince and Frances felt forced in the novel.
But anyway, The Prince and the Dressmaker exists in a unique bubble; it’s hard to pinpoint what year or era the story takes place, and a lot of character interactions are quite modern in tone. The beginning of the graphic novel will remind several readers of Cinderella, mostly because of the ball thrown by the royal family to find a bride for the Prince. In the 2021 Disney reboot of Cinderella, the dressmaker element is more prevalent, with Camilla Cabello’s Cinderella spending her time stitching exquisite dresses, dreaming of becoming a famous dressmaker who designs clothes for distinguished ladies.
The friendship between Frances and Sebastian is a lot more endearing, which, of course, faces challenges along the way, especially since they are essentially employer and employee first, friends second. Sebastian’s fabulous outfits as Lady Crystallia garner a lot of attention, but he cannot reveal Frances as the designer, since it’s already known in the royal circles that she is the Prince’s dressmaker. This causes a conflict of interest between the Prince and Frances, as the latter doesn’t want to be in the closet like Sebastian and wants to show the world her work.
The climactic chapters are dramatic, with Sebastian’s double life exposed in a surprising turn of events, leading to his fall from grace. However, the final chapter resolves the Prince’s problems in a fun manner and gives both him and the dressmaker a happy ending. Jen Wang’s artwork makes the graphic novel a total joy to read.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Read Next: When I Arrived at the Castle: Graphic Novel Review
Also Read: 7 Books Featured in Heartstopper Season 3
