In the 1920s, after the austerity of World War I, women celebrated their new-found freedoms through fashion. Their role in society had changed for good, and the constraints of a byegone era, like those of a corset, were joyously discarded. Nowhere was this more so than in Paris. In far-away Melbourne, women craved these new freedoms. It was against this backdrop that Lillian Wightman opened her fashion atelier, Le Louvre, bringing to Melbourne a Parisienne mood that nurtured women. Lillian's daughter Georgina Weir would later assume the reins, bringing her own dramatic change by introducing ready-to-wear fashion to Melbourne. The days of fittings, made-to-order outfits and couture began to fade, but the Le Louvre benchmarks of personal attention, individuality, quality, and style did not. Lillian Wightman and Georgina Weir are the visionary women behind the Melbourne icon Le Louvre. For nearly a century, Le Louvre has helped to shape and define the spirit of Melbourne-for fashion at this level is an art form that reflects and can also progress the society in which it exists. This delightful book was written by Cassy Liberman and illustrated by leading contemporary Australian artist Mark Schaller.
