The Perfect Dress by Carolyn Brown

             Finally!  A book that’s really about larger sized women, and not in a negative way.  There wasn’t any obsessive dieting or exercising by these women.  Instead, they celebrated who they are, no matter their size.  It’s about time we have a book like that.  

                Mitzi Taylor has turned the fact that she has a larger dress size into a business.  She and her friends, Jody and Paula, have opened a wedding dress shop for plus-size women only.  It is a niche most wedding boutiques are unable, or unwilling, to cover.  With so many women unable to get service elsewhere, their shop, The Perfect Dress, is a success.

                It is at the shop that Mitzi meets her high school crush Graham Harrison after years of being apart.  He comes in wondering if Mitzi and her friends can make bridesmaid dresses for his teenaged daughters.  Tabby and Dixie are built like their very large father, making it difficult to find dresses.  So, when Mitzi agrees to help them, with no concern for their size, they are very excited.

                Right away Mitzi falls in love with the two girls.  She agrees to let them work in the shop in exchange for teaching them how to sew.  As she works with them, Mitzi finds her feelings for Graham growing.  To Mitzi’s surprise, Graham develops feelings for her too.  They just have to figure out whether these feelings are truly for each other, or have they developed out of love for the girls.

                Jody has her own love situation to deal with.  After being together for over a decade, her boyfriend, Lyle, leaves her for another woman.  He doesn’t just leave her, he marries the younger woman first, who happens to be pregnant, then tells Jody over the phone, after she’s tracked him down because he disappeared.  Lyle then leaves Jody homeless because only his name is on the trailer they live in.  He plans on taking it to his father-in-law’s land, who I’m pretty sure is also his boss.

                After all Jody has done for Lyle (dealing with the wrath of her mother because they live together without being married, losing a lot of weight, and living a restrictive dietary lifestyle), this is the way he treats her.  Then, on top of this, Lyle keeps reappearing, wanting more from Jody.  It’s a good thing Jody has her friends to rely on.  They can help her get back on her feet, and onto a better life than she ever had with Lyle.

                Paula needs the support of her friends too.  She is pregnant by a married man.  When she tells her mother, she is disowned.  (What is with the mothers in this book?  Tabby and Dixie’s mother is awful, too.)  The thing is, being disowned is actually a good thing.  It frees Paula’s life up because no longer is she at her mother’s beck and call.  Still, even with this freedom, the road for Paula isn’t going to be easy.  Especially since she has zero plans to tell the father about the baby.

                While there are serious topics in this book, it still is a lot of fun.  There is humor throughout, especially when Mitzi’s grandmother Fanny Lou is on the scene.  The three main characters deal with the difficulties of being larger women with a lightness that lets the world know that despite it not always being easy, it’s okay to not be a size 2.  No matter your size, you can love yourself and be loved.

                With the way the book ended, I’m thinking this is not the start of a series, although I think it would be a great one.  I would love to read more about the brides who come into the shop.  Also, while most of the characters have clear directions as to where their life is going, there are some characters, like Graham’s sister and Mitzi’s sweet father, who have stories that could grow.  So, while, this may never become a full-on series, it would be nice to have a second book come out.  And a third. 

Although, no matter how much I want a story to continue, sometimes that’s not what’s best for it.  As happy as I would be to read more, that could be the case for The Perfect Dress.  The story might be better having things end just the way they are.