The Melling sisters and their mother are preparing for a wedding. Cathy is to be bridesmaid and her dress is a thing of awe and beauty, but not in Cathy's eyes-she hates the idea of being a bridesmaid. Vivienne would love to wear it, and perhaps she will.

Dresses of Red and Gold, the second book in the Melling Sisters Trilogy, is a warm and humorous story of four sisters-their rivalries and their loyalty and affection-growing up in an Australian country town in the 1940s.