Lucy Adlington Book order

Set against the backdrop of the Holocaust, this narrative follows four Jewish girls whose lives intertwine through the symbolism of everyday garments. As their stories unfold, the book highlights the profound connections formed through shared experiences, illustrating how the ordinary can become extraordinary in times of adversity. The author, known for exploring themes of resilience and survival, sheds light on the personal and collective struggles faced by these girls, emphasizing the power of human connection amidst tragedy.

Lucy Adlington tells of the horrors of the Nazi occupation and the concentration camps from a fascinating and original angle. She introduces us to a little known aspect of the period, highlighting the role of clothes in the grimmest of societies imaginable and giving an insight into the women who stayed alive by stitching’ – Alexandra Shulman, author of Clothes…and other things that matter ‘Compelling… Adlington tells the stories of the women with clarity and steely precision’ – Jewish Chronicle ‘An utterly absorbing, important and unique historical read’ – Judy Batalion, NY Times bestselling author of The Light of Our Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos ‘Powerful… a fascinating account.’ – Woman The powerful chronicle of the women who used their sewing skills to survive the Holocaust, stitching beautiful clothes at an extraordinary fashion workshop created within one of the most notorious WWII death camps. At the height of the Holocaust twenty-five young inmates of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp – mainly Jewish women and girls – were selected to design, cut, and sew beautiful fashions for elite Nazi women in a dedicated salon. It was work that they hoped would spare them from the gas chambers. This fashion workshop – called the Upper Tailoring Studio – was established by Hedwig Höss, the camp commandant’s wife, and patronized by the wives of SS guards and officers. Here, the dressmakers produced high-quality garments for SS social functions in Auschwitz, and for ladies from Nazi Berlin’s upper crust. Drawing on diverse sources – including interviews with the last surviving seamstress – The Dressmakers of Auschwitz follows the fates of these brave women. Their bonds of family and friendship not only helped them endure persecution, but also to play their part in camp resistance. Weaving the dressmakers’ remarkable experiences within the context of Nazi policies for plunder and exploitation, historian Lucy Adlington exposes the greed, cruelty, and hypocrisy of the Third Reich and offers a fresh look at a little-known chapter of World War II and the Holocaust.

A unique blend of material culture and memoirs including interviews with wartime women, including Bletchley veterans and Holocaust survivors.

But this was Birchwood. For fans of The Diary of Anne Frank and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. As fourteen-year-old Ella begins her first day at work she steps into a world of silks, seams, scissors, pins, hems and trimmings.

Riffling through the wardrobes of years gone by, costume historian Lucy Adlington reveals the rich stories underlying the clothes we wear in this stylish tour of the most important developments in the history of fashion, from ancient times to the present day.

The journey through Great War Fashion is not just about the changing clothes and fashions of the war years, but much more than that - it is a journey into the lives of the women who lived under the shadow of war and were irrevocably changed by it.