From SOE Hero to Dressing the Queen

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Sir Hardy Amies was an interesting man who led an accomplished life. The book goes from his childhood until he passes away at age 93. He served in WWII as an intelligence officer and then opened his own fashion house and eventually chose clothes suitable for Queen Elizabeth II. He spent time with many famous celebrities and people of influence.

As a gay man his time in the forces and even afterwards were spent hiding that part of himself in some ways. The armed forces at that time was under a “don't ask, don't tell” mentality.

The parts about working for the Queen were very interesting. I only wish there were more of them. I thought from the front cover, that it would be a large part of the book, and I didn't feel it was.

I also felt the author referenced Sir Hardy Amies own books far too frequently when looking for a quote or trying to make a point. Perhaps I was just not the target audience for the book. I think people interested in fashion design and the historical aspects of it, as well as people living in the UK who may know of his designs, would really enjoy this indept look at the SOE Hero. For me, however, it fell a little flat.