Unsinkable Lucile: How a Farm Girl Became the Queen of Fashion and Survived the Titanic, written by Hugh Brewster and illustrated by Laurie McGaw. Firefly Books, 2022. $19.95 ages 10 and up

 

"In 1907 Lucy designed the costumes
for the actresses in the operetta The 
Merry Widow. The show was a smash 
hit and the large plumed hats she created 
for the singing star Lily Elsie started a 
worldwide craze for big hats." 

Here's another picture book biography about a person I did not know. Lucy lived with her grandparents in Guelph, Ontario in the early part of her life, before moving to England. Hugh Brewster hits all the highlights of a successful life as a fashion designer much admired throughout the world. When a miserable marriage ended, Lucy determined she must find a way to support herself and her small daughter. She decided dressmaking was a reliable occupation and proved herself right. 

Chapter headings reflect where the family is living and the year when significant events occurred. From tea gowns to specially designed 'personality frocks', Lucy made a name for herself as a sought-after designer to famous society women. She even made a dress for her sister Elinor when she was presented to royalty, an invitation Lucy could not be offered as a divorced woman. Her decision to be the first to hold a fully staged mannequin parade won her much favor and endless orders. 

Following her introduction of the crazy big hats mentioned above, and Elinor's move to New York, Lucy decided to join her and took the American world by storm. Where else could she make her mark? Lucy set her sights on Paris. 

"This was a very sweet triumph for a girl from a Canadian farm who had once received castoff clothes from Paris. She decided to make Paris her headquarters ... "

When she had to return to New York to sign a new lease on her salon there, she booked passage with her husband on the Titanic. The rest of her story is one of terror, rescue aboard the Carpathia, and eventually notoriety for having survived when so many others did not. Two years later WWI broke out in Europe and the demand for her gowns diminished. She returned to New York and eventually opened a new salon in Chicago which made her a household name again.  

An epilogue reveals bankruptcy, a return to her humble beginnings, an autobiography that proved very popular and a diagnosis of breast cancer which took her life in 1935 at age 71. It had been some life. 

Laurie McGaw creates formal scenes from a very eventful life, and gives readers a real sense of Lucy's style and hard work. The paintings are realistic and share space with historical photographs that add context and interest. Archival photos of Lucy's most famous fashions finish this worthy text.