The Prince and the Dressmaker is a fairy-tale like story about Prince Sabastian who likes to wear dresses on occasion and requires the quiet assistance of a talented seamstress to create wonderful haute couture for him. However, the Prince's parents are pressuring him to find a bride and settle down to carry the Royal lineage forward, unknowing of his secret. How long will his penchant for wearing dresses remain a secret and how long can his seamstress, the hardworking and career minded Frances, be able to support him in his secrecy?

I've been reading comics for a long time (about 33 years to be precise) but I've never really read a story like this. I am glad that the ever-dependable Jen Wang has created this comic as the central premise could have been problematic, what with portraying the Prince sympathetically without seeming false or trite, but the gender fluidity represented here is wonderfully represented and realised. I recently had a conversation with a transitioning friend of mine, who is transitions from a he to a she, and she said that sometimes she feels like a male and sometimes a female. It's difficult for her but it's not always binary for her and Wang gets to this in her story, gender is different from the sex you were born with and this nuance is carefully portrayed.

Aside from the carefully considered story and dialogue, the artwork is beautiful and the level of detail on the background scenes and dresses is astonishing. You can see that Wang clearly loved creating beautiful dresses for the Prince to wear and as Lady Crystalis, her true personality comes through.

Even though the topics covered are controversial and may be uncomfortable for some, I think the book is good to share with young people who are questioning their own gender or are just interested in it.