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| Terry Newman, photo by Pippa Healey |
Terry Newman is the author of the new book Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Guardian and The Independent. She has worked in the fashion industry for many years, and she lectures at the University for the Creative Arts in Epson, England. She lives in London.
Q: How did you pick the 50 authors you included
in the book, and the order in which they appear?
A: Of course there are authors who are well
known for their style and to a large extent I wouldn’t have done this book
without, say for example, the Fitzgeralds, Oscar Wilde, or Joan Didion.
However, to begin with I sat down and made a
list of my favourites and tested a theory that perhaps there was something to
say about all of them clothes-wise….and for me there was. This is a book that isn’t completely
exhaustive: that would have been impossible, but I hope there is a breadth of
legends in there to intrigue.
The book runs and flows organically: I started
off with Beckett as for a lot of folk he probably is the most curious author to
address on this subject, but as I delved in there was so much to say about him.
From the Wallabies and Gucci bags he wore to his amazing quiffed hair.
I wanted the book to have a pace and flow and I
worked hard on trying to juxtapose and connect authors as I went along so that
it’s a fab read from start to finish…!!
Q: Joan Didion is featured on the cover. Why was
she selected for the cover, and what do her clothes say about her and about her
writing?
A: Joan Didion is an icon in the fashion
industry and the cover image by Julian Wasser is timeless. There is a message
in my book that finding a style and being yourself is important.
The quote I found from Maya Angelou sums this
up: “Seek the fashion which truly fits and befits you. You will always in be in
fashion if you are true to yourself, and only if you are true to yourself.”
Didion’s effortless and amazing style stems from
her being herself and the shot I used has a simplicity and elegance to it that
is perfect. The photo was an obvious
choice for me and the first one that came to mind when I started the book. Luckily
Julian was keen and let me use it.
Didion uses clothes a lot in her writing – as a
way into a subject. For example, when she wrote about the Manson murders in The
White Album she uses Linda Kasabian and the story of buying her a dress to go
to court as a foil for the horror of what she is talking about.
Q: Can you say more about Samuel Beckett and
your sense of his style?
A: Beckett is a template for the modern, stylish
man, I think! He has a classic elegance that is cool and timeless: a male Didion.
He worked a seductive utility-wear look that is unfussy and testimony to the
enduring appeal of a capsule wardrobe of essentials. Now I’m sounding like a
glossy magazine, but for me he is the perfect GQ man.
Q: You end the book with Tom Wolfe. Why did you
make that choice, and how do his clothes connect with his writing?
A: Tom Wolfe is smart, sassy, and detailed in
his writing. He makes a loud statement in his work about his characters and the
clothes they wear. He pays particular attention to this in the narrative of all
his books and essays.
In the same way, he is a meticulous dresser
himself and is famed for his white-suits. I say in my book that dressing in
white is a serene and unflappable wardrobe choice, and to a large extent Wolfe
has spent his life sitting on the edge watching others get embroiled in life
and writing about it. He is a mighty author to finish the book with, I think!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: More books about the stories clothes tell.
I’ll keep you posted!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The book is available to buy now….!!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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