Content Warning: This section discusses sexual assault of a minor and death of a family member.

The novel opens as Stella, on her first day in Paris, wanders into a dress shop and is immediately accosted by the shop owner, who exclaims that she has been waiting for Stella.

The shopkeeper drags Stella into a dressing room and outfits her in a black vintage Dior dress, telling her the story behind it: The dress was Yves Saint Laurent’s first design when he worked for Dior and later arrived at her shop. The shopkeeper claims that the dress is not for everyone, so she packed it away and waited for the right person; when she saw Stella, she says she knew it was destined to be her dress.

When Stella looks at herself in the mirror wearing the dress, she looks and feels transformed from her normal, plain appearance into someone elegant and sensual. Stella is stunned and asks for the price of the dress. The shopkeeper offers her a bargain of $6,000. Stella has an urge to buy it but thinks of her mother’s voice, urging Stella to make her proud for once, and Stella takes off the dress and leaves the shop in a hurry.