Imagination is presented as a powerful tool to endure times of hardship and isolation in The Hundred Dresses. It helps Wanda endure her family’s poverty and her disappointment with her sparse possessions by imagining beautiful, colorful dresses and rows of matching shoes. Wanda describes her 100 dresses in vivid and almost sensual detail, her ensemble including “a pale blue one with cerise-colored trimmings” and another that is “brilliant green with a red sash” (38). Her delight in beautiful colors and designs, as well as her longing to possess beautiful things, is made clear in these vivid descriptions. Wanda creates a beautiful illusion in her mind in order to tolerate the reality of her “faded blue dress that didn’t hang right” (11-12). She tries to connect with her classmates by telling them about her 100 dresses, but they don’t believe her, and she is further excluded as a result of this claim.

Wanda’s drawings, which her classmates are awed by, emphasize the importance of creativity and self-expression. Prior to the reveal of her drawings, Wanda’s imprecise English and slow reading are emphasized: Maddie says, “[I]t took [Wanda] forever to read a paragraph” (36).