Tuesday 3 September 2013

Literary catwalk no 1


Dear booklovers,
  I hope you are ready for first steps on our literary catwalk. Even though I didn't get a lot of feedback from you, I still hope it is due to my lousy promotion of this literary corner, and not because you didn't like the idea. So now we have Facebook and Twitter sites for promotion, and I'm planning to create Pinterest as well, but if you have any other ideas or social services to recommend I'll be more then happy to include them as well. But first things first - let's do what we are here for...our first journey.

  And that journey will take us to (back then not so much) United States of America, in the Civil war period. Some of you can probably guess that our first voyage will be provided by an excellent novel by Louisa May Alcott that never gets old - Little women - and our first tour guide will be the oldest of four March sisters, Margaret “Meg” March.



  You may wonder why I chose this particular story among many others, which would be more in the spirit of our time. Beside the obvious, that it is probably one of my favorite novels of all time, the answer is that, when I first came to think about starting this blog, I've asked myself which story would be the best frame for presentation of nice and stylish but still affordable clothes and answer just popped out. Story of four sisters, four characters different enough that every one of us can find at least a piece of ourselves in each of them. Their snug lives were brutally interrupted by the Civil war in which their father fought and girls, together with their mother and one loyal servant, had to abandon the comfort of a big house and move to a smaller, ruinous house and struggle for their existence. But even in the given circumstances girls are managing to keep alive that which is the most important, love and fellowship inside the family.

  As some of you probably know, woman fashion during the Civil war left a little, if any, space for personal influence. Monochrome dresses, head covers and gloves which, as our Meg once said to her younger sister Josephine, every dignified young lady should always wear, suited Meg perfectly and she decided to wear them without any question. Because of her fair complexion, big, brown eyes and densely brown hair she preferred pigeon gray tones, perfect companions to her beauty. Meg was the oldest sister but the role of a leader was often left to her younger sister Jo, whom filled the role much better. Along with her three younger sisters, Meg found company in children from the King family, for whom she worked as a governess and used that money to help supporting the family.

  As an oldest child, her memories of comfortable and happier times were the strongest, as was the repulsion for poverty and the way of life her family was forced to live now. Despite all that, she was always the first one to help the family in the moments when her help was needed the most.

  Meg grew up in time when women started coming out of their social frames, fight for their rights and stand side by side with men, especially due to wartime but she didn't manage to stand up for herself and at the end of a story we leave her as a married woman, mother of twins, dependent of her spouse. By getting married in a wealthy family, Meg thought all of her dreams fulfilled but, as story reaches the end, it becomes clear that it may not be exactly what she imagined her life to be.

  Does it make her a tragic character? Perhaps a little bit because living in the past made her let the present pass her by and, therefore, she lost an opportunity to discover what her potentials are....All of that only for a dose of secured life.

  So, who are the modern Megs March and what would they, due to their characteristics, wear today? Reading the book, I've always pictured Meg as a beautifl young woman, dressed as good as it gets due to the given circumstances but with no personal detail to discover something about her. My picture of her hasn't changed a bit since then. She is a girl aware of the situation and, as much as she'd want to, she'll never spend unreasonable amount of money on clothes, but she'll try to hide it by her overall outfit. Colors of her preference are unadventurous and even though her outfits look good and she know how to wear them, they are missing a final touch of some kind.


  This is how I see Meg March today. This may be her working outfit, or maybe something she'd wear for an afternoon window shopping. What do you think, do you like it or have you imagined it in a completey different way?

  Would you like me to post more different combinations for every presented character, is this the way you imagined my stories or has this came as a disappointment? All of your comments are welcome, especially since this is only my first post and I'd like this blog to become our meeting point, a place where both you and me will meet and have a good time.

Till next time,

BookLover

6 comments:

  1. This is a fantastic idea!
    I try to combine fashion and books too on my blog by reviewing some novels and getting photographed while reding them, but I understand what you mean about the few feedback, it's the same for me. Anyway, I read of course Little Woman in my childhood and my favorite character has always been Amy! I totally agree with your choice of picturing Meg as a career woman nowdays, I'm sure she would work hard to find her way just like she did - in a very different environment though. Thank you for raising such a nice topic.
    I am now following you and waiting for another post!

    (¯`·._.·Nymphashion·._.·´¯)

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  2. Wow, thank you so much for this wonderful feedback. I'm glad to hear there are pepople out there reading and approving what I do.
    It's interesting to see how different people prefer different characters, when I was a girl my favorite was Beth but now I'd say Jo is my favorite.
    I'm glad to have my first follower for English blog. New post coming soon, I can promise you that :)

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  3. I'm so happy I found your blog :)
    To answer your questions, I study English literature (almost done, writing my final dissertation) and the book I'm writing is a biography of a French lady who created a literary club in Paris in 18° century.
    I'm looking forward to reading more on your blog, have a good day my friend!

    (¯`·._.·Nymphashion·._.·´¯)

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  4. Black and White is always a good idea!
    Thanks for your visit on my blog, I'm following you on GFC :)
    Kisses

    www.blackstarstyle.com

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  5. This is brilliant! I love how you tie in the Civil War to present day, especially with fashion. There are many blogs that just ramble on and on about a book and I tend to feel distant because I'm waiting for them to draw me in with something I can relate with. Finally, a modern post about a classic! I'll be staying in touch.

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    1. Wow, Andrea, thanks a lot! This really means a lot to me. I was reading your blog last night and thought how great your posts are and I'm thrilled you love things I'm trying to do. :)

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