CLOSURE: Central Library will be closed Tuesday, July 21, through Saturday, July 25, while emergency repairs are made to the building’s cooling system. We expect to reopen Monday, July 27. Click for more details on holds, program schedules, and returns during the closure. 

Notice of Public Meeting: Kalamazoo Public Library Board of Trustees | July 27 | 5:30 pm | Central Library/Van Deusen Room. The packet of information for the meeting can be found on the library’s website. 

eAudiobook hoopla Instant

Fashioning the Crown

Year

2026

Language

ENGLISH

Duration

10h 45m

Publication Information

Tantor Media, Inc

Summary

Fashioning the Crown tells the story of a tumultuous half-century of British history through the lens of royal fashion and image-making. Informed by Justine Picardie's entirely original research in the Royal Archives, as well her own interactions with Elizabeth II and her family, it will reveal how, from the outbreak of the First World War to 1960, the power of clothing played a crucial role in helping the Royal Family, and the nation, to navigate seismic changes and challenges. Justine will take us behind the glamor and mystique of the Crown, introducing us afresh to three generations of royals, including the glamorous Queen Mary; the Chanel-wearing young flapper who would become the Queen Mother; and the little Princess Lillibet, setting fashion trends at the age of three. Justine will reveal the crucial importance of image-making in an era of abdications and assassinations, and amidst the rise of revolutions and fascism. She will also uncover the fascinating, little-known lives of the couturiers behind the clothes. Figures like Hardy Amies, Edward Molyneux, and Norman Hartnell had secrets that they kept in the shadows-from their sexuality, to their work in espionage-even as they dressed some of the most recognizable figures in the world. Fashioning the Crown will present a secretive institution in a captivating new light.

Subjects