Lifestyle Gumbo: Vanity Fair

This fall, models are turning over a new leaf.

Models got bookish as they showcased this season’s looks, from the pages of Italian Vogue to the backstage of fall 2009 runway shows. Tatyana Usova, a Christian Dior model, perused Proust, while Steven Miesel shot a wild and glamorous library scene for Alberta Ferretti’s fall campaign.

Could designers and models be intentionally defying the stereotype that their industry is vapid and utterly opposed to reading? Are books the next big accessory?

Whatever the reason is for this recent phenomenon, the fact remains that a good book, like a good handbag, never goes out of style.

--Allison Geller

Photo: The Cut

Lifestyle Gumbo: 'Project Runway''s Tim Gunn gets bookish

Keep your library open! Because Tim Gunn says so...

Tim Gunn, one of the judge's on Lifetime's "Project Runway" proclaims the New York City Public Library one of his favorite places in the city, the country, and even the world. That’s a strong endorsement in the name of books by the eternally loveable fashion darling! Gunn does his part for the "Keep Your Library Open" initiative in this video clip, in which he visits the library and gets a tour of the fashion resources it has to offer.


These include a book of 18^th century hand-colored engraving of garments that don’t exist today and a guide to not one, not two, but 32 ways to tie a cravat, among other treasures. "Make it work," as Tim would say!

-- Allison Geller

Photo courtesy of Boston.com.

Lifestyle Gumbo: Celebs as Literary Figures, Hot or Not?

I ran across this slideshow from StyleList that pits modern day celebs as classic literary heroines. Here are my favorite looks from the shoot:

[Sienna Miller as Natasha from Lev Tolstoy's War and Peace]

[Marcia Cross as Marguerite from Alexandre Dumas' La Dame aux Camélias]

[Emily Blunt as Gwendolyne from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest]

The campaign benefits Montblanc's "Signature for Good" campaign.

-- Whitney

Photos by Roger Moeniks for Montblanc