Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker

Thelma Madine, star of Channel 4's Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and fairy godmother of extravagant wedding dresses, reveals the drama, secrets and surprises involved in ten incredible traveller weddings. Through the tales of ten elaborate gypsy wedding dresses, Thelma Madine, trusted confidante and dressmaker extraordinaire, offers a window onto the world of traveller brides and their unbelievable celebrations. For Thelma's young brides, a wedding dress is more than just a pretty white gown. For some it is a symbol of their fairytale-like hopes and dreams for the future, for others a mark of a long-standing friendship with a non-traveller they have welcomed into their community, and, for one small group, it is a sad reminder of day they know will never come. With each chapter based around the secrets and incredible truths hidden behind each different dress, Thelma's second book is packed full of fascinating new stories. By turns laugh-out-loud funny and achingly sad, and brimming with hilarious anecdotes and larger-than-life characters, Thelma's book will amaze, amuse and entertain. Beautifully designed and fully-illustrated throughout, it is crammed with glossy new photos, revealing never-before-seen dresses adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals and hundreds of LED lights – an ideal gift for fans of Channel 4's Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and Thelma's Gypsy Girls. Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker is the much-anticipated memoir from Thelma Madine, the dressmaker and breakaway star from Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, the hottest show on TV right now. From 200 ft trains to 20 stone skirts, hundreds of LED lights to thousands of Swarovski crystals, gypsy girls spend their childhoods dreaming of fairytale dresses. Thelma is the woman who makes these dreams come true. Left with nothing, after a messy divorce, Thelma has come a long way from her humble dressmaking beginnings, making and selling dresses on a market stall in Liverpool. Back then she knew nothing of gypsies. Until one day she was asked by a traveller to make some dresses like the ones in 'Gone with the Wind' and before she knew it had dozens of other traveller women gathering around asking for similar ones. A few years later she was asked to make a wedding dress for a young traveller! then she was hit with the request for a 107 ft train and 18 elaborate bridesmaid dresses ... She will tell tales of her experiences of this extraordinary world and reveal the fascinating stories of some of the many travellers she has met 'Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker' is the much-anticipated memoir from Thelma Madine, the dressmaker and breakaway star from 'Big Fat Gypsy Weddings', the most-talked about TV show in 2011.