Express your passion for books through literary-inspired clothing, accessories, and DIY fashion ideas for book lovers everywhere.
The following is a guest post from my bloggy friend Taylor McKnight. Interested in having a guest post on my website? Click here for my guest post submission form.
From Page to Wardrobe: Expressing Your Literary Passion Through Fashion
If you’re like most people, chances are you’ve changed your style here and there depending on your mood. It turns out that, just like in the books, clothing reveals just how much someone wants to be noticed. So if you want to signal your love for reading and writing, and show everyone else that you do to there is one main route that you can go so many ways with. There are countless options to accessorize your person with clothing and other items to show your true literary genius.
1. Literary-Inspired Clothing
There are plenty of ways to add an immediate creative flair to the clothes you wear, but arguably the easiest way to show how much you love literature is to wear a shirt or hoodie that features book cover art, favorite passages, or similarly unmistakable literary tributes. Better still, opt for designs that feature typewriter font or another calligraphy style that is eye catching and word defining. Hats and beanies can also feature embroidered quotes without dedicating an entire outfit to the occasion. Usually, individuals do not like to go all out with a themed style many decide to incorporate little details here and there that still market your literary clothes and individuality. Therefore, not being too much but instead having just enough features in your outfit could be the perfect move.
You can, of course, run in the complete opposite direction! Themed parties and literary festivals are prime occasions to throw together an entire outfit meant to look exactly like a favorite character, and those can be lots of fun. Unfortunately, these sorts of opportunities may be far and few between, so you may have to opt for alternative options instead. However, this does depend on the books of course as there were a ton of Hunger Games and Divergent wear moments after the books hit the shelves and movie iterations hit theaters.
2. Accessories with a Literary Twist
If you’re more interested in something that works for everyday wear, accessories are an excellent way to add a literary accent to your outward personality. For example, scarves and shawls are stylish and cozy accessories that make great candidates for adding literary flair. Just like with shirts and hoodies, you can find scarves and shawls with typewriter font, quotes, and illustrations of books. There may be fewer of these products but you can always take it to an embroidery company and I am sure they can do whatever design you would like.
Bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces can all also have book-themed charms, such as quill pens or even little books themselves. Likewise, embroidered bookmarks are bright, colorful, and personable accessories that keep your place in your latest deep dive and help you stand out as an out-and-proud book lover. They also provide you an actual bookmark to use on the road in case you are traveling and reading a piece of literature. It is a two for one deal as well as the perfect accessory for the everyday book lover.
3. DIY Custom Creations
Don’t discount what you yourself can do to upgrade the clothing you already have! For example, if you can’t find the sweater of your dreams, get creative and stitch the quote you want to see yourself! You can also easily customize a jacket or pants with needlework. Speaking of which, if you have a good denim jacket or pair of jeans, both of these make great candidates for adding literary patches. You can either sew store bought patches or create your own with fabric markers. The latter patch is more creative and could add some exciting flare to any outfit, while if you just buy one from a store it could be a more generic look if more people have them.
Of course, stitching or drawing on a favorite piece of book art would be a painstaking affair, but it’s not your only option. Print the image on transfer paper and iron the design on in a pinch! You can also go another route and use resin or polymer clay, to create your own custom pins in the shape of anything you would like. The most common style flare that has trended recently are quill pens and other literary symbols that are specific to books and other pieces of work people love to read becoming graphitized.
4. Where to Shop
When trying to represent your literary mind in what you wear you will definitely need to figure out where you can obtain these items. Etsy is a commonly known site that can provide custom accessories or items. Sometimes these products can be a bit pricey though. You can also utilize the sear engine, Google, and look up specific companies that may specialize in literature clothing, or items you know that represent or relate to the type of literature you enjoy or want to wear. Lastly, there is also a general thrift store. As these places usually have the most vintage or peculiar items you cannot get anywhere else.
The Bottom Line
The way someone cares for their clothes says a lot about their character, so why not express your love for books in the best way possible? These ideas are only the very beginning and the book reader should know that by how creative they get with their outfits!
Written by Taylor McKnight, Author for Southern Sketch Designs
