The title page of The Prince and the Dressmaker features an image of a dress in progress on a mannequin, and uses the same handwritten fonts as the cover: copperplate for “Prince” and flourishing cursive for “Dressmaker,” with subtle italics in between. The image for Chapter 1 is a clothing pattern labeled “back.”

The narrative opens with the news that every eligible young lady in Paris is invited to attend a ball in celebration of Crown Prince Sebastian of Belgonia’s 16th birthday. Posters of the Prince go up along the carriage-filled streets. The young women of the kingdom are excited by the implication that the Prince will choose a bride.

A woman rushes into a tailor’s shop dragging her daughter behind her. She requests a dress for the ball tomorrow, explaining that her rebellious daughter Lady Sophia ruined the one she had by riding in the forest. The tailor asks one of his seamstresses, Frances, to measure Sophia. The resentful Sophia tells Frances she wants a dress that will make her “look like the devil’s wench” (6). Night falls as the other seamstresses leave while Frances works. One tells Frances not to push herself too much at their thankless profession, but Frances sews until her candle burns out.