Monday, March 5, 2012

Female Writer's Style



What does a female writer wear? Is she concerned with fashion or is it more about comfort while honing her craft? Does she consider her muse and what they would wear while she's writing? I'm taking a look back at a few of the more famous authors of our time and what appearance they showed to the world.
The first writer I'm reviewing is Emily Dickinson. You can tell she was pretty simple in both her dress and hair style. I think this look was pretty prevalent among many woman of that era. Women were hard workers, whether it was inside or outside of the home, so they didn't focus so much on appearance. Of course, Emily spent many of her years in seclusion, so she likely was not a fashionista of her day.

The next author I wanted to check out is Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird", is her most famous novel. As you can tell, she's very similar to Emily, very plain and not a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination. She was very comfortable and somewhat of a tomboy in appearance. From the looks of it, she did not wear makeup and is obviously a smoker. Hey, writers need a vice, some of our muses tend to stress us out! 

                                                      
The third author, is Joyce Carol Oates. She has penned numerous books, including an Oprah Book Club Selection, "We Were the Mulvaney's". Joyce has an understated look, simple with minimal makeup. Her attire seems that of comfort, long flowy skirts, pullover shirt and jacket. In many of her pictures, she can be seen wearing her large, over sized glasses; but she must have got contacts in later years. 
                                                          
None of these women would be considered fashionistas, not that a writer is usually concerned with that. They focus on their craft of writing, which could care less about their appearance. Granted, I have only looked at three great female authors, but I tend to think that many writers are this way. The desire and urge to write can come at all hours, who cares how your hair looks!? 
Besides, most of us are much more concerned with what's inside the book versus the picture on the back. 

3 comments:

  1. Plus, when you get the creative urge, you have to get it all out while you can or you might lose your train of thought. Therefore, you don't have time to stand in front of your closet for an hour debating what to wear & another hour doing hair & makeup. That's 2 hours you could spend creating instead! ;)

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  2. So true! Sometimes you just have to wake up and write :)

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  3. I absolutely LOVE this as a topic! I hope you will continue to look at female writers.

    I also think it depends on what kind of writer, it seems like a journalist or someone working out in the world would be more concerned with fashion.

    xx

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