Photo: Djuna Barnes US novelist and illustrator 1892 to 1982. © Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy.
“Where would fashion be without literature?” Diana Vreeland asked in D.V., her legendary memoir published in 1984. One to pay homage where it is due, Vreeland understood this it is not just the sartorial splendors of the characters that writers have graced us with over the years, but the very nature of the author’s personal style that has influenced the our tastes and sensibilities.
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Consider Mark Twain’s white suits versus those of Tom Wolfe, or the lavender ascots and fanciful hats of Quentin Crisp. Reflect on the penchant for men’s wear shared by Fran Lebowitz and Colette in contrast to the flamboyant Victorian get ups of Oscar Wilde. Contemplate the brunette bouffant of Jacqueline Susann, the glorious dreadlocks of Toni Morrison, and the crisp thatch of white hair on Susan Sontag versus the signature beard of Ernest Hemingway.
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Terry Newman pulls it all together in the new book, Legendary Authors and The Clothes They Wore (Harper Design), a charming collection that reveals style is more than a way of dressing: it is a state of mind. The book includes chapters of icons from Patti Smith and William S. Burroughs to Marcel Proust and Zadie Smith, along side special sections on signature looks including glasses, suits, hair, and hats of everyone from Robert Crumb and Allen Ginsberg to Bret Easton Ellis and Edgar Allen Poe.
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