In which we talk Medusa and fashion
I recently received an email from a reader wondering about the Medusa pendant in the books and whether it exists. The answer is "sort of". I have a Medusa pendant that I found when I was writing Silent in the Grave. I threaded it onto a tiny string of black seed beads and wore it at the base of my throat for quite a few months when I was working on the first book in the series. It differs from the pendant in the book because it is a charm rather than a coin, and since it is in relief, there is no way to etch coded Shakespearean messages on the back. I haven't as yet had any luck finding a Medusa coin to wear as a pendant, but wouldn't it be divine if I did?
And that makes me wonder, what stamps have you put on your personal style as a result of reading a book? I Capture the Castle makes me long for ratty old vintage furs and bluebell perfume. And I remember wanting a red taffeta petticoat after I read Gone With the Wind, but perhaps it's just me. Does anyone else crave bright red shoes after reading Chocolat? And if you had to take a single character for sartorial inspiration, who would it be and why?
And that makes me wonder, what stamps have you put on your personal style as a result of reading a book? I Capture the Castle makes me long for ratty old vintage furs and bluebell perfume. And I remember wanting a red taffeta petticoat after I read Gone With the Wind, but perhaps it's just me. Does anyone else crave bright red shoes after reading Chocolat? And if you had to take a single character for sartorial inspiration, who would it be and why?
Comments
I was in London a few years
I was in London a few years ago and, though I am not a Laura Ashley kind of woman, I was browsing in their store on Regent Street. They had the most awesome full length velvet cape that was almost exactly like that worn by Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant's Woman, but, really, any historical romance heroine would also fit. Anyway, it was about 400 pounds -- about $700 American. I wouldn't have had any place to wear it, but, my oh my, I do remember it fondly. Still kind of sorry today that I didn't buy it.
I also love wearing cape
I also love wearing cape coats, probably first inspired by reading and seeing JANE EYRE and WUTHERING HEIGHT, followed fast by seeing the old movie of Wilkie Collin's THE WOMAN IN WHITE and reinforced over the years by all the wonderful period literature I read and went to see as movies. Not to mention that one can find cape coats on the market now and then, though not the billowy all encompassing ones one see in the movies. Am not sure if Dan F. would want to wear the old multi layer cloaks that Sherlock Holmes and others wore back then, but it is a great style too.
One of my tattoos was
One of my tattoos was inspired by The Mists of Avalon ... does that count?
I'm still searching for a
I'm still searching for a good Medusa. And I'd be quite happy if I could also find a copy of Jane Austen's topaz cross.
Oh, yes! Puffed sleeves!
Oh, yes! Puffed sleeves! And I bought a pair of red shoes two weeks ago(my husband spotted them at a shoe sale, lucky gal that I am) that I've been calling my ruby slippers. Of course, my friends have threatened to rip them off my feet! (None of them are named Elphaba.)Lynn
Puffed sleeves! And ruby
Puffed sleeves! And ruby slippers. Yes, I know in the book they were silver, but ruby! Ah. Laura
I'm with whoever mentioned
I'm with whoever mentioned Farmer Boy as starting a food obsession; reading that book always makes me hungry and early short stories are filled with brief action sequences that only serve as transitions between bountiful meals. As far as fashion goes, though, it really does vary depending on what I'm reading at the time. However, my longtime love for Anne of Green Gables has left me with a love of red hair and schoolteacher chic.
Being a "guy", I know that
Being a "guy", I know that I'm very much in the minority of your reader base, and to tell the truth I never notice what anyone is wearing. I did notice, however, that Val had a new "microscope", and really don't you think most guys would love to try out Sherlock Holmes' deer stalker cap?
I first read Victoria Holt's
I first read Victoria Holt's THE PRIDE OF THE PEACOCK years ago when it came out, and I couldn't understand the fascination she portrayed in the book of the opal--thinking Australian opals were our average milk opal in spite of some of the descriptions to the contrary--but because not only did I like the story but also the way she portrayed the characters and the opals in the book, I often read or listened over the years--then a jewelry store in our town was selling the most beautiful blue, blue-green, deep marine blue etc opals--those being the dominant colors-called Australian opals, and all of a sudden I understood the fascination of the jewels--But have never found the main jewel of the book, the Green Flash at Sunset, which is named after the elusive "green flash" one may see in the Southern Hemisphere when the sun is setting over the sea, that happens just at sunset--and this jewel contained the same elusive flash in it's depths. I do however have beautiful Australian opal jewelry that I love, wear and prize because of the book.
I have been on the lookout
I have been on the lookout for a full length black dress coat, preferably cashmere but will settle for wool, with a very drapey hood trimmed in fur ever since I read Silent in the Sanctuary.
I told my husband how much I
I told my husband how much I loved the Medusa pendant with the Shakespeare on the back.........he created a pendant for me with a quote from Tolstoy. I wear it every day.
After reading Bernard
After reading Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series, I became a big fan of Uhtred, and told my daughter I wanted a Thor's Hammer amulet. She bought me a lovely Sterling silver Thor's Hammer with a silver chain, and I wear that necklace anytime I leave the house; give it a 'rub' for luck whenever I have to merge onto a busy highway.
For years after reading Whose
For years after reading Whose Body by Dorothy Sayers, I searched for a wine red velvet dress. A biography of Lillie Langtry inspired my "signature" black evening outfit of my twenties, and Fiona, by Catherine Gaskin, inspired my love of jewels-her description of the life and fire in them.(Not that I have lashings, but a couple nice pieces...) But most of the time I am inspired by the quarterly offerings of that prolific pair of outdoorsmen, L.L.Bean and Eddie Bauer, and of course that writer who uses his location as his name, Land's End. Diamonds may inspire the soul, but they don't keep a girl warm.
Congratulations on the great
Congratulations on the great review for your new book on the AAR website. They are notoriously tough graders, but the reviewer loved the book. I can't wait to read it. Here's the link to the review: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=7688-Kim
After reading so many of the
After reading so many of the Sue Grafton books, I had to try a hot, hard boiled egg sandwich. When I re-read Jan Karon, we end up eating a lot of corn bread. I firmly blame Farmer Boy for my lifelong doughnut obsession.
While Georgette Heyer's slim
While Georgette Heyer's slim sprigged muslins are tempting, I think I'd always be chilled wearing them.So my choice would be a 16th century ensemble out of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond series: shift, shirt, bodice, undersleeves, oversleeves, farthingale, underskirt, overskirt, stockings, slippers, gloves, French hood...and perhaps a fur-trimmed robe for those really cold days. All done in velvets, silk brocades and linen.Now I'm warm.