Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen

Publisher: Doubleday
Published: July 2016
Genre: women’s fiction
ISBN: 9780385541404
Rating: ★★★★

A charming, hilarious, irresistible romp of a novel that brings together nine unrelated women, each touched by the same little black dress that weaves through their lives, bringing a little magic with it.

Natalie is a Bloomingdale’s salesgirl mooning over her lawyer ex-boyfriend who’s engaged to someone else after just two months. Felicia has been quietly in love with her happily married boss for twenty years; now that he’s a lonely widower, she just needs the right situation to make him see her as more than the best executive assistant in Midtown Manhattan. Andrea is a private detective specializing in gathering evidence on cheating husbands—a skill she unfortunately learned from her own life—and can’t figure out why her intuition tells her the guy she’s tailing is one of the good ones when she hasn’t trusted a man in years.

For these three women, as well as half a dozen others in sparkling supporting roles—a young model fresh from rural Georgia, a diva Hollywood star making her Broadway debut, an overachieving, unemployed Brown grad who starts faking a fabulous life on social media, to name just a few—everything is about to change, thanks to the dress of the season, the perfect little black number everyone wants to get their hands on…

It all begins with one Little Black Dress. From the moment a shy Southern model is pushed into the limelight, this particular dress becomes a smashing hit and changes the lives of eight other women who wear it.

I really enjoyed this novel, told in multiple vignettes from a variety of perspectives outside of the nine women who get their hands on this one particular black dress from Bloomingdale’s. After reading Lauren’s review, it was apparent this would be a treat to read, and perfect for the approaching holiday season.

Of all the vignettes, I liked Natalie’s the most. She’s a simple Bloomingdale’s salesgirl who was asked by a movie star and his agent to step in as a red carpet date last minute. Fueled by rumors of the star’s sexuality, Natalie agrees, believing this would be the perfect way to get back at her ex and not fall for the star. Little does she know…

There’s also a sweet storyline between Arthur, a lawyer, and Felicia, his longtime secretary. One nosy Bloomingdale’s employee purposely messes up Arthur’s order, and the dress is sent to sweet Felicia instead of Arthur’s snobbish girlfriend.

From an Instagramming millennial to a longtime pattern-maker for a phenomenal fashion designer, this dress touches the lives of several people. A quick and charming read, you’re guaranteed to find a storyline to hook you in through the end.

This book qualifies as book 11 of 10 library books in 2016.