Tuesday 24 February 2015

cool looking lady writers

I'm sure all of y'all are aware of that famous Joan Didion for Celine pic which was probably the most universally loved thing the internet has ever seen. I am firmly on the bandwagon and also think it was the business.
An OBB (Original Bad Bitch)
Huge sunglasses, huge necklace, boring black sweater, coral lip, I am seriously about this. But it got me thinking about more, less "mainstream" pics of some of my favourite female writers who have aesthetic vibes which I dig.
Joan was ALWAYS a cool chick, even before the Celine stamp of approval. Girl knows how to work an oversized sack dress in a way I seriously admire. I'm also all into the bare faced, simple haired look. 
Another strong look of Joan's (we're on first name terms) is the oversized plain coloured jumper. On the left she pairs it expertly with a simple necklace and more ubiquitous big black shades, and on the right I think I can spy some 90s-revival white trainers. A trendsetter of the highest order. And her writing is obviously really cool, unusual, sad, clever and all around inspiring.
Read: Play it as it Lays, Slouching Toward Bethlehem, The Year of Magical Thinking.
Wear: No makeup, shapeless dresses and jumpers, big sunglasses, simple hair.

Another of my favourite lady writers is the surrealist Leonora Carrington. From youth to old ladiness she had an ethereal, other-worldy beauty. Pile up your hair on top of your head, put on some sort of cape, define some inquisitive eyebrows and light up a cigarette (pls don't do the last one based on my advice).
Leonora Carrington is seriously so cool. She's most famous as a painter but I am massively into her writing, too. She has some really cool ideas about how being a woman is magical, subversive and amazing. Left, she rocks an incredibly trendy crochet top, and right perfectly pairs a boxy cable knit jumper with small hoop earrings and a cat. 
Read: The Hearing Trumpet, Down Below.
Wear: Messy "up-dos", baggy collars, lots of white, bushy eyebrows.

What is really interesting about Sylvia Plath's vibes are the enormous contrast between how she looked and how she "really" was - if we are going by her writings. Plath always dressed like the cleanest-cuttest, least subversive, most "together" girl in the room. Pearl earrings, pearl buttons, alice bands and collars all lend themselves to a timeless, "girly" look.
Light, bright colours pair well with each other, and a toothy grin is accentuated by a smudgy red lip. I don't really need to tell you that Sylvia Plath is a seriously good writer. Her poetic imagery is some of my absolute favourite.
Read: The Bell Jar, Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams, Ariel. (Also, The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm is a really interesting read.)
Wear: Neat curls, pastel colours, hairbands, subtle red lipstick.

Donna Tartt is everything I want to be once I finally escape the siren call of really long hair and stupid coloured lipstick. She seems to perfectly balance the look of a corporate business HBIC with a somewhat spookier, witchy, Wednesday-Addams-grown-up vibe. It's the contrast between the formal blazer / "sensible" haircut and the Victoriana flouncy shirt / mystical looking rings.
Here are some pix of Donna Tartt as a younger, but equally cool, woman. She knows how to to pair the world's subtlest feline eyeliner with a barely-there orangey lipstick. Her brows are small but perfectly formed, suggesting she has just said something extremely interesting and is waiting for you to argue with her. And can we talk about those leopard print gloves? I want them. Ok, I'm done. Tartt is such a good writer. She has really good ideas, and says them in a way which is really original and never annoying.
Read: The Secret History, The Goldfinch.
Wear: Understated eyeliner, black and white, neat hair, witchy jewellery, LEOPARD PRINT GLOVES.

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