The Prince and the Dressmaker

Wang positions the long, wavy, red-haired wig that transforms Sebastian into Lady Crystallia as a symbol of self-acceptance in The Prince and the Dressmaker. Several scenes depict Sebastian or Crystallia brushing the wig, an act of care that denotes self-love and identifies the wig with the theme of Gender Expansive Self-Expression Through Fashion. The first time the wig is treated with anything less than meticulous care is when Prince Marcel pulls it off Crystallia and throws it at King Leroy. The image of the crumpled wig on the floor at the King’s feet (213) represents Sebastian’s tattered self-worth and his inability to accept himself in the face of his parents’ judgment. When Sebastian is able to publicly embrace his identity as Lady Crystallia once more in the Trippley’s fashion show, the wig is worn loose and entwined with sparkling gems, symbolizing that Sebastian not only accepts but values and celebrates Crystallia as integral to his personal truth.

The wig also plays a role in representing Frances and Sebastian’s relationship and the theme of The Power of Friendship to Support Personal Integrity. Frances first realizes her attraction to the Prince while watching Crystallia wear and brush the wig (105), demonstrating her recognition and acceptance of her friend’s true self, and suggesting that love is best able to grow in an environment where both partners can be truly seen. At Trippley’s fashion show, a cloaked Sebastian steals the wig in order to draw Frances to a private space, knowing its significant to her. When it seems that Frances will deny her own aesthetic and comprise with designs of which Peter approves, Sebastian returns the wig to her, catalyzing her decision to embrace and her own style as a designer. Wang illustrates the moment of the two characters’ rapprochement with a tight window on both their hands holding the wig.

Wang uses gold for the key to Sebastian’s dressing room—a symbol of trust between Frances and the Prince—emphasizing it as precious, as well as making the illustrations of it striking. When Emile first gives Frances her copy of the key, he instructs her to “[k]eep it safe” (41), and reveals that she is now one of only two people who know the Prince’s secret. After Crystallia wounds Frances’s trust by restricting her from meeting Madame Aurelia, Frances returns the dressing room key. The image of the key as Frances lays it in Crystallia’s black-gloved palm (174) directly mirrors the image of the key in Frances’s own hand when she first receives it (41). The key appears at a similar angle in both, with its teeth facing upward.

A third close-up image of the key in a hand occurs in the monastery, as Sebastian sits in a window, holding the key as though it is a talisman as he decides whether to stay hidden in the monastery or return to his life and repair his ruptured relationship with Frances. The fact that Sebastian keeps the key with him suggests the value he places on the mutual acceptance and closeness that he had with Frances. The image of it foreshadows Sebastian’s return to Paris and his eventual reunion with Frances.