A
unique book, Legendary Authors and the Clothes
They Wore by Terry Newman, takes a look at the fashions of great writers,
including Samuel Beckett, John Updike, Sylvia Plath, Marcel Proust, T.S. Eliot,
Edgar Allan Poe, Toni Morrison, James Joyce, Maya Angelou, Tom Wolfe, Edith
Wharton and dozens of others.
The
book captivates lovers of fine literature and dedicated followers of
fashion. It delves into the wardrobes of
true literary icons – past and present – and shows how they wrote of fashion
and how fashion represented or influenced their writings.
The
book jacket notes: “Entertaining
features – revealing anecdotes about the authors and their work, archival
photography, first-person quotations, little-known facts, and clothing-oriented
excerpts,that exemplify their writing style – make this a lively look at the
authors we love.”
The
author has worked in the fashion industry for over 25 years and lives in
London. She says: “Strands of fashion
run through literature, both in the words writers put on the page and in the
clothes they put on their backs. Quite
often, the two were intrinsically linked.
The connection between the wardrobes and viewpoints of all these
legendary writers may not seem at all obvious on first glance, but rifle
through their drawers, and personalities appear and evolve. Djuna Barnes, John Didion, and F.
Scott Fitzgerald are renowned authors who articulate not just with words but
also with what they wore, and more often than not, they wore their hearts and
words on their sleeves.”
The
book summarizes some of these star writers and their dress styles as follows:
T.S. Eliot
“A
classic, complete three-piece suit and tie was the wardrobe of choice for T.S.
Eliot, who was almost never seen wearing anything else. He buttoned up and strode out in impeccable
style, looking elegant, gracious, and well-bred.”
Gay Talese
“Often
accessorized with a statement fedora and a thick cigar, Talese’s personal style
is impressive, smart, and full of sophisticated panache.”
Cornel West
“West’s
thin-framed glasses are as pleasant as his customary white shirt, black suit,
and gold cuff links. West always looks
immaculate, and he said in an interview with The New York Times that he is ever “coffin ready. I got my tie, my white shirt,
everything. Just fix my Afro nice. His glasses, however, are the serious icing
on the cake.”
Edith Wharton
“In
her novel, The House of Mirth, Wharton talks about ‘sallow-faced girls dressed
in preposterous hats.’ However, Wharton’s
own hat wearing was of the most tasteful and genteel kind. Beautifully made bonnets by carpet milliners
adorned her every outfit. Wharton know how to dress to impress: she wasn’t nouveau riche.”
Saul Bellow
“He
usually wore an Italian Borsalino fedora and, more often than not, a bespoke
suit to match. He didn’t care if he
looked overly flamboyant or even a little bit like a gangster. He wore it easily and with just at any
saunter. When he collected his Nobel
Prize he wore a top hat, and in his later years, in his own inimitable style,
took to wearing all-American baseball caps from time to time.”
Joyce Carol Oates
“Whether
incognito or not, Oates’s glasses look predated geek chic by decades. She looked quirky, cool and interesting. In the twenty-first century, Oates’s glasses
are then, wiry, and tinted, with small oval frames, that more perfectly fit her
face in a growing-old gracefully fashion.”
I
conclude with the book’s back cover copy:
“Legendary
authors and the clothes they wore presents men and women of letters whose
writing bears an idiosyncratic stamp and whose style of dress does the
same…this unique volume is a must-have for lovers of distinctive books and
looks.”
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