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Arts & Entertainment

"Dreaming of Dior" Author to Speak at Darien Library

On Wednesday, April 28 at 7 p.m., Charlotte Smith, author of "Dreaming of Dior: Every Dress Tells a Story" will be the featured speaker at Darien Library.

Five years ago, Charlotte Smith, Curator of the Fashion and Textile Gallery in Sydney, Australia, inherited a priceless clothing collection from her American Quaker godmother, Doris Darnell. Dating from 1790 to 1995, the collection had been a lifetime labor of love for Darnell and consists of more than 5,000 treasures, ranging from a pioneer woman's daintily mended best dress to couture originals by Dior, Chanel, and Balenciaga. Once Smith received the collection and unearthed her godmother's book of stories about the dresses and the women who wore them, the true value of what was bequeathed to her actually hit home – that this isn't a mere collection of beautiful things; it is a collection of lives – tiny snapshots of joys and disappointments, entrances and exits, and triumphs and tragedies. The book, complete with gorgeous illustrations by Grant Cowan, is for any woman who knows that a dress can hold a lifetime of memories. The author's presentation will include a display of several pieces from the collection.

A book signing will follow the presentation. Books will be available for purchase.

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Charlotte Smith's appearance is part of Darien Library's Spring Author Series. In the coming months, the Library's Spring Author Series will also feature:

Sunday, May 2 at 5:30 p.m. – Jonathan Eig, author of "Get Capone: The Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster"

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Thursday, May 13 at 7 p.m. – T. J. Stiles, author of "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt," the recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography. (T. J. Stiles' appearance is jointly funded by the Friends of the Darien Library and Barrett Bookstore.)

Sunday, June 6 at 5:30 p.m. – Lee Child, author of "61 Hours"

Darien Library is located at 1441 Post Road, Darien, Conn.

For more information, visit darienlibrary.org or call 203-655-1234.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

(Photos attached: Headshot of Charlotte Smith; cover of "Dreaming of Dior: Every Dress Tells a Story)

 

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