#BookReview-‘Anatomy Of A Dress’ by Juliette Van Der Molen

About the book…

‘Anatomy of A Dress’ explores messages sent and interpreted regarding how women have historically been encouraged to dress, mainly for the pleasure and subjugation of the patriarchy. Folded into these pieces are my own experiences and internal conflicts with these issues. Sometimes encouragements or rules are handed down by those of our own gender (i.e. grandmothers, mothers) and reinforced by a male-led society that has a vested interest in the disenfranchisement ofwomen. This poetry is speaks of the struggles women go through when making a decision most men would consider simple– What should I wear today?

Many thanks to Hedgehog Press, Fly On The Wall Poetry and Juliette van der Moelen for having me on the blog tour for the amazing and powerful,’Anatomy Of A Dress’, which is available to order via the links below.

A curated collection for the #MeToo generation, this takes garments which are everyday women’s wear-or what we are expected to wear-and deconstructs their meaning in free verse poetry.

Through 16 poems, she takes the social construct of womanhood and writes about the key fashion movement of the time, so , for example, in ‘Painted Legs’, shetalks about life in wartime where the dichotomy of being an engineer in the day is manifested into the sexual being men expect by night via a line drawn to simulate stockings.

In ‘Buttoned Up’,the wedding gown is deconstrcuted into something that could not be further from the pride and joy of a blushing bride, rather an implement granting access to her body, permission granted from the hand of her father to the hand of her husband. The old adage of wedding day superstitions is thrown into stark relief to what should be a happy occasion-

‘something old-

this expectation 

 of choked roses,

an aisle-

dead girl walking.

something blue-

swollen lips

of baby’s breath

that never dies.’

It’s an extremely powerful collection which takes the everyday garments, such as a sweetheart neckline, a hem, a dart, and creates a wicked beauty and a truth that women have known for so long-how we choose what we wear each day is a feminist act, the reactions of men to what we wear however,is a sign of approval/disapproval and underlies the patriarchal ‘she was asking for it’, response.

Our freedom to choose is negotiable depending on how we play the game which has been decided for us the moment that we are born and dressed in shades of pink, frills and clothes which restrict movement so that we know our place.

My personal favourite is ‘Unmentionables’, which it took me a couple of readings to appreciate the tale which was unfolding, that of a hospital gown and what it signified-it honestly moved me to tears.

All of these poems are imminently accessible, and very moving, I am no expert in how to interpret the words of a poet in anything approaching eloquence-I can , however, say that my visceral and immediate reaction to this collection was to want to read more by Juliette. Thoroughly recommended as a must buy for anyone with a feminist bone in their body.

About the author…

Juliette van der Molen is a writer and poet living in the Greater NYC area. She is an intersectional feminist and a member of the LGBTQIA community. She is a contributing editor for Mookychick Magazine and author of Death Library: The Exquisite Corpse Collection (Moonchild Magazine, August 2018). Her work has also appeared in Anti-Heroin Chic, Burning House Press, Memoir Mixtapes, Collective Unrest and several other publications. Forthcoming books include: Mother, May I? (Animal Heart Press, May 2019) and Anatomy of A Dress (Hedgehog Poetry Press, 2019

Links-http://www.juliettewrites.com/

http://www.flyonthewallpoetry.co.uk/

Twitter @j_vandrmolen