Oh if only I was a super whiz on the sewing machine! I would be able to make all the beautiful things I see everyday on those richer  more exfoliated people on the that big shiny screen. And when I finally develop the skills for frills one of the first books I'll be picking up is Ms Gregory's Sew Iconic so I can have all the Hollywood haute couture for myself.

Inside she's broken down ten of the most recognisable movie dresses into simple easy to follow steps and it will even include a CD so you can print out the patterns as well as online videos for those tricky techniques that translate better when shown. She also gives thorough advice on what fabrics to use and even how to accessorize your finished piece!

Of course the expected dresses like Marilyn's white billowy halter from The Seven Year Itch and Audrey's little black party frock in Breakfast at Tiffany's are here, but Ms Gregory has also included some of the most beautiful and (I think, more importantly) mostly wearable dresses from the following movies.

The Racing Dress from Pretty Woman.

The Green Silk Draped Dress from Atonement 

The Grecian Blue Gown from To Catch a Thief.

 The Exquisite Chanteuse dress from Gilda (love, love, love)

Some veer to the fancy dress end of the spectrum including the Flapper Jazz Singer dress from Chicago and the Red Satin and Black Lace Gown from Titanic, but that's not a bad thing and the 20's look is coming back into fashion now thanks to the success of the The Artist. In fact the boxy beige 60's shift from the The Thomas Crown Affair I found to be the only miss in a book filled with beautiful hits.

However before I can even think about attempting these beauties I will need to devote some time to brushing up on my darts, bias hems and ruching rather then just being distracted by the lovely Great British Sewing Bee's Patrick Grant when he'll be gracing our screens later this year. sigh.

Advance pdf copy was kindly provided but NetGalley for review purposes only. No pretty dresses were received in return for the review.