I ran across an unusual blog the other day. Written by Moira Redmond, a British journalist, it focusses entirely, as its name suggests, on clothes in books, and their importance (or not) to the story being told. I find this interesting, because when I write, I’m never sure how much description of clothing to include. I don’t want it to be distracting, and yet clothing can say so much about a character. Her blog, which she publishes daily, covers all sorts of books, giving an excerpt, a found photo, and Moira’s comments on it. I haven’t read them all, but many are from books written in the 20th century. I wonder whether people were more interested in clothes then?
Here’s one she wrote for mother’s day, with an extract taken from I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. And this is the photo she chose to go with it…
Naturally I had to find out what was going on!
You can also follow her at ClothesinBooks on Twitter.
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cyclingrandma
January 10, 2014 - 7:27 pm ·I think it’s very difficult to find the line between showing and telling. I love when I find a sentence that describes clothing and physical traits so well I can picture it in my head. Write on!
GrandmaCharityChallenge
January 13, 2014 - 12:54 pm ·Fun entry, Gabi. I didn’t bookmark her blog, but nearly did. I try hard to describe clothes in my memoir. They’re usually African clothes, and sometimes I struggle to find the best descriptive words. OK, I’m going back to bookmark her blog!
Gabi Coatsworth
January 14, 2014 - 12:06 am ·If I think of African clothes I tend to think of patterns and colours, dashikis for the men and amazingly draped dresses and turbans for the women. But above all, it’s the colours…
Beth Oak
January 15, 2014 - 6:23 pm ·What an interesting blog, Gabi! I love reading descriptions of clothes in novels. Edith Wharton does it brilliantly. So does Anne Perry.
Beth Oak
Gabi Coatsworth
January 15, 2014 - 6:31 pm ·I wonder what it is about old-fashioned clothes that makes them so interesting to describe and to read about? Writing about someone wearing goth clothes, or a Lanvin dress doesn’t seem half as exotic as someone in 18th century dress…
Beth Oak
January 16, 2014 - 2:46 pm ·You’re right. Modern clothes aren’t as interesting to read about, especially when the writer takes the label short-cut. Status labels were such a big deal in 1980s pop novels (Judith Krantz et al). Boring!
Moira @ Clothes in Books
February 11, 2014 - 3:56 pm ·How nice of you to feature my blog – thanks for the kind words. I enjoyed looking at your website too. I find there are plenty of clothes mentioned in modern books, but it isn’t nearly as much fun to find the illustrations – I love trying to match up old photos with the descriptions, and it just is more interesting to find a 50s skirt or a 30s dress then a modern outfit.
I am glad to have made your acquaintance….