Back to the classics today! You all do know I'm a huge Penguin fan, right? I love seeing all of the different cover series that they come up with. Now stop judging me for being a publisher fangirl and marvel at the beauty of this Penguin Threads cover for Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Just in time for spring with the bright, poppy colors. I'm personally partial to the book and the 1994 film, starring Winona Ryder as Jo, but I do think Katharine Hepburn, who played Jo in the 1933 film embodies Jo's spunk so well. That was the jumping point for the inspiration for today's outfit: A modern twist on Katharine Hepburn! With a modern '40s vibe to the clothing, something Jo would have rocked with panache, I wanted to reference the book through the accessories. The 'sister' ring should be rather obvious, but the piano key earrings are a subtle mention of my second favorite character, Beth, whom we will not speak of at length lest the tears start flowing too freely. And no outfit for Jo would be complete without a reference to her writing - isn't that pen nib necklace so fantastic?
Morgan Stockhour is the primary protagonist of Lauren Destefano's newest novel (and series) Perfect Ruin. She's a teenager living on Internment, a floating city in the sky. According to Internment's myth/theology the sky god took pity on the imperfect humans destined for destruction by the god of the earth and plucked them and their city into the heavens for safekeeping. The only thing is, you can't ever leave Internment's preordained society; those that try, called "jumpers" are returned by unknown forces permanently damaged in some way, even if only psychologically. When a classmate is murdered, allegedly by her betrothed, Morgan is plunged into an a world of self doubt that eventually leads to her alignment with a rebel group, bent on escaping Internment for good.
I hadn't read any of Lauren's books before this, despite their amazing fanbase, but they are now definitely on my to-read list now! I'm also eagerly anticipating the next instalment in the Internment Chronicles (because, can we talk about gut-wrenching cliffhangers?!). I wanted to make an outfit for Morgan as I saw her. There aren't too many specific tie-ins to the plot with this outfit, it's just how I pictured Morgan looking in her, slightly futuristic schoolgirl uniform. The 'Lockdown Love' tights are a nice nod to some of the novel's themes. But that ring. Can we talk about how perfect this ring is in general? And than can we talk about how it is exactly what I was envisioning when the betrothal rings were described? Just read the books and tell me you can't picture this eventually being filled with a spouses blood, as they do on Internment.
