Dressed to Write: Literary Icons as Style Influencers

When people imagine style icons, classic figures like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Jackie Kennedy come to mind in their chic, instantly recognizable dresses such as Hepburn’s Oscar winning ivory lace gown for Roman Holiday, Kelly’s delicate, classic bridal dress at her wedding to the Prince of Monaco, or Kennedy’s inimitable strapless pink silk Dior gown and elbow length white gloves. Yet, literary stars have made their mark on the fashion world as well.

Zadie Smith, most famous for her debut novel White Teeth, has “taught Kafka in a kaftan and Muriel Spark in sparkles,” and “color-blocked for a class on The Bluest Eye and worn bright yellow platform shoes with one circular heel and one triangular to discuss the aesthetic theories of Susan Sontag.” Mona Awad, the author of Bunny, a novel that is a hybrid of cuteness meets gothic horror aesthetic, is barely seen without her signature red lipstick, long down swept hair, and floral tea length dresses. Donna Tartt of Booktok dark academia reemergence sensation, The Secret History, is a fashionphile who prefers wearing crisp, white oxford buttoned shirts with a tie, black ankle pants, and a sleek blazer.

*Courtesy of* *Vogue* *and* *Town & Country Magazine*

Then, there’s Joan Didion of The Year of Magical Thinking who appeared in Phoebe Philo’s Celine print ad campaigns at age 80 years old. And, the classically beautiful Sylvia Plath and her sophisticated 50s wear whose main character Esther of The Bell Jar briefly undertakes a summer internship at a New York City fashion magazine paralleling Plath’s own role as guest editor for Mademoiselle magazine.

Fashion is a visual representation of modern culture, and this applies to all the arts. The Frieze gathers the most sartorial obsessed art lovers donning looks as stylish and varied as the artwork at the fair. The Oscars is the film industry’s biggest night and the starlets attending make sure to wear decadent jewels, and lavish gowns. Music stars can start trends that last for years; who doesn’t own a friendship bracelet by this point à la Taylor Swift?

Yet, fads fade and not everybody can be a style icon. Fashion moments are ingrained in history like developing Polaroids, but imprinted in people’s minds are their own individual fashion influences, such as these famous authors for this aspiring writer.

Featured Image Courtesy of The New York Times