
When Fashion Meets Art: Literature
For today’s continuation of the When Fashion Meets Art series, I wanted to talk to you about literature. Books in all their beautiful forms, from poetry to prose, from short stories to novels. You might be wondering what books have to do with style, but I believe the answer is “Quite a lot!”
You’ve surely heard many times that what you read impacts your development and shapes your mind and your personality. And a beautifully rounded, rich, multilayered personality translates into your outer expression of yourself. With style being one of your main visual means for this. So let’s see just how your library influences your style!
*And as a small disclaimer: I am including all books here, from paper printed, to Kindle or PDF forms, to audio books. I don’t believe one form is superior, whichever works best for you personally is the one you should use. Also, I am referring here to books mainly as a form of imaginative literature: fiction, poetry, art albums, biographies etc. I am leaving out the impact of media and more specific types of books (scientific, self-help, spiritual etc). I will tackle them in a later post, so stay tuned ๐
Books increase your self-confidence
Reading in your spare time or listening to an audio book on your way to workย can provide new information. You can aquire a desirable skill, learn how things work, and even find ways of managing your own emotions. The point is books in any way, shape or form give you knowledge. And as we all know, knowledge is power. And how does a powerful person feel? Thatโs right, confident and self-assured. Which in turn, leads to more confident decisions when it comes to your own looks, and to owning your style.
Books enhance your imagination
They inspire you to travel places you’ve never seen, try experiences you never would have thought possible, become more open and adventurous. And how many of us haven’t returned from our travels around the world with bold, exotic garments ready to breathe new life into our wardrobes?
Once you allow yourself to step out of your comfort zone and be exposed to new experiences, you suddenly won’t be afraid to playfully tie a scarf in your hair a la Dolce Vita. Or to explore a new way of braiding your hair, or to use an otherwise ordinary garment in an extraordinary way. You’ll feel comfortable with experimenting and reinventing yourself! And that is where true style is born.
Books broaden your horizon.
They empower you to observe, analyze and understand the world differently. They help you gain different perspectives and even challenge your own beliefs. And this can very well translate into your style, as it evolves with you and adapts to the multiple roles you have to play daily as a human being. You will gain a better, more complex understanding of your relationship with clothes and with your overall look when you learn to analyze your choices and go further than just skin deep.
Books bring you a sense of calm.
They can offer a healthy method of escapism. They help you understand and feel understood, and give you a sense of not being alone. They can transport you to your childhood, a time of less worrying, and can help activate some memories that were just lying dormant. All in all, books can help improve your mood and change your mindset, leaving you more open to dedicate time to other pleasant activities. And if you’re in a positive frame of mind, you’ll be more likely to view your style as a playground to be enjoyed, instead of another stressor on your To-Do list.
And ultimately, books provide endless sartorial inspiration.
Within themselves they hold rich style inspiration, which can be drawn from multiple sources. Perhaps while reading you visualize a character’s exquisite dress, described in minute detail, and want to bring it to life. Maybe an art album of your favorite painter make you itch to try a new colour, fabric and texture combination. In the end, books touch our emotional side and show us inspiration can lie anywhere. And at the same time, they motivate us to bring our own creative side to light!
So here they are, the 5 ways books can help shape not only yourself as a person, but also your style. I hope I’ve given you ample reasons to invest in your library, be it physical, virtual or audio. Now I’m curious to hear how many of you are avid readers? How do you feel books have influenced your style? Leave it all in the comments section below!
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14 Comments
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mystyle5
Thank you, so glad to hear- I love finding other bibliophiles ๐
Gayathri Lakshminarayanan
I love books and I find myself talking about books whenever I can. I even write about books in my blog. Great post.
Gayathri @ Musings Over Nothing
magicalblessingshealingcenter
Great way to combine books and style. Thanks for sharing a great idea! xoxo
mystyle5
Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by ๐
Tori
There is nothing I enjoy doing more than sitting down and reading a good book. I agree with all your points
mystyle5
I know, right? It’s amazing to be able to steal that time for yourself ๐ Thanks for coming by!
ambitiouslyamanda
This is such a creative and innovative idea for a post! I really enjoyed reading it and it really did help me realize how books really do help enhance personal style. Can’t wait to read more from you ๐
mystyle5
Thanks, Amanda! You just made my day, so happy you liked the post and even happier if you found it useful. I’m keeping my eye on you as well haha ๐
Melissa
Beautiful blog and I couldn’t agree more that books bring a sense of calm! I encourage people to try it / try reading even if they haven’t previously liked it. If one really gives it a chance, reading books can really slow the pace of life and calm us down.
mystyle5
Thank you so much Melissa, glad you like it ๐ Completely agree with you, and I find there are so many people who don’t even give reading a try but decide it’s not for them. But it can be a wonderful pastime, and even an audiobook sometimes hits the spot.
Julia
This post is smart and sophisticated. Love it! Books really do grow us in every way. I don’t know how much they have influenced my style but there is no doubt that I love ball gowns because of the whole childhood princess thing and all the fairy tales. The green scarf in the Shopoholic movie made me gasp. Although, I’m not sure the scarf was in the book. Even though in the Wizard of Oz the shoes were silver, I have to believe that the red version in the movie has had an impact on the love of wearing red shoes.
mystyle5
Thank you very much, Julia! Glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for sharing these fashion moments that staid with you- always love learning about what moves people.
Julia
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