Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker

When 'Big Fat Gypsy Weddings' hit our screens a secret and surprising Britain began to emerge: a world where six-year-old girls have spray tans, 12-year-olds are forced to leave school to do the cleaning, and young teenagers marry with spectacular ceremonies. From 200 ft trains to 20 stone skirts, hundreds of LED lights to thousands of Swarovski crystals, gypsy girls spend their childhoods dreaming of fairy tale dresses for their weddings. Thelma Madine makes all these dreams come true.

Thelma has come a long way from her humble dressmaking beginnings. After being left with nothing, following a messy divorce, she started making and selling dresses on a market stall in Liverpool. Back then she knew nothing of gypsies, except the rumours she'd heard growing up. Until one day she was asked by a traveller to make some dresses like with ones in 'Gone with the Wind'. The lady never returned to buy the dresses, so Thelma hung them up on display, but before she knew it she had dozens of traveller women gathering around, asking for similar ones. A few years later she was asked to make a wedding dress for a young traveller... and then she was hit with the demand for a 217 ft train and 18 bridesmaid dresses. And she hasn't looked back since.

Now the dress designer favoured by gypsy brides all over the UK, Thelma has become a much-loved and trusted figure, and over time an unofficial spokesperson for the often misunderstood traveller community. Here, for the first time, alongside the remarkable truth about her own journey, she will tell tales of her experiences of this fascinating world. From strict childhoods, teenage pregnancies, extravagant weddings, lonely young brides, secrets, lies, and the truth about money and men, Thelma will reveal a culture of drama and contrasts.

With a narrative packed full of highs and lows, setbacks and triumphs, Swarovskis, mechanical butterflies and LED lights, this book will shock, move and amaze and bring this secretive world to life.