This image is the cover for the book Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore

Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore

“Celebrates fifty of the most memorably stylish authors, from Oscar Wilde to Joan Didion . . . gorgeous black-and-white photographs.” —Houston Chronicle

Whether it’s Zadie Smith’s exotic turban, James Joyce’s wire-framed glasses, or Samuel Beckett’s Wallabees, a writer’s attire often reflects the creative and spiritual essence of his or her work. Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore examines fifty revered writers—among them Maya Angelou;Truman Capote; Colette; Bret Easton Ellis; Allen Ginsberg; Patti Smith; Karl Ove Knausgaard; David Foster Wallace Quentin Crisp; Simone de Beauvoir; T.S. Eliot; F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald; Malcolm Gladwell; Donna Tartt; John Updike; Oscar Wilde; and Tom Wolfe—whose work and way of dress bears an idiosyncratic stamp influencing fashion and culture today. Terry Newman combines illuminating anecdotes about authors and their work, archival photography, first-person quotations from each writer and current designers, little-known facts, and clothing-oriented excerpts that exemplify their original writing style. It is an invaluable and engaging look at the writers we love—and why we love what they wear—that is sure to captivate lovers of great literature and sophisticated fashion.

“Immensely enjoyable.” —The London Review of Books

Terry Newman

Terry Newman worked in the fashion industry for more than twenty-five years, both as an editor at i-D, Attitude, and Self Service and as a contributing writer for newspapers including the Guardian, the Independent, the Times, and the Sunday Times. She has also written and presented fashion programs in the United Kingdom for Channel 4 (She's Gotta Have It and Slave). The author of Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore (Harper Design), she has contributed to books including i-D's Fashion Now, Fashion Now 2, and Soul i-D. She currently lectures at the University for the Creative Arts in Epsom, England and lives in London with her husband and two children.

HarperCollinsPublishers