Lists

Literary Lookbooks For Fun and Inspiration

Kelly Jensen

Editor

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

One of the joys of the internet is creativity. We’re able to see—and, more importantly, share—those things that light up our hearts. For readers, this means blogs, Bookstagram, BookTube, and innumerable art work and swag honoring the stories that we love. Perhaps one of the more niche and awesome corners of the bookish internet comes in the marriage of fashion and books. BookTubers and Fashion YouTubers have developed many incredible lookbooks over the years that honor their favorite characters and stories.

What’s a lookbook? It’s a series of fashion choices pulled together in a catalog-style collection. Add in YouTube, and these literary lookbooks take on a whole new level of awesome.

Perhaps another way to think about lookbooks on YouTube is inspiration for cosplay.

Let’s take a look at several fun, clever, creative, and inspiring literary lookbooks from around the world of YouTube. Though there are certainly diverse BookTubers here, the bulk of these videos feature white-appearing creators, as well as white-centric books. This isn’t representative of either the books nor BookTubers as a whole, but rather, a reminder of how niche these videos are and how many opportunities exist for adding more diversity to them. The same should be noted related to visible disability, as well as body shape—the bulk of these feature average-sized or thin creators.

Enjoy a blast from the past with this American Girl lookbook!

Get your Anne of Green Gables looks on.

These outfits inspired by the Percy Jackson series are great.

The bookish lookbook genre may have its own sub-genre of outfits inspired by Percy Jackson.

Maybe you’re itching for some comics looks? If so, you’re covered here with a wide range of Marvel-inspired outfits.

Another cover-inspiration lookbook featuring a wide range of YA books.

Looks inspired by Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer.

A lookbook by a plus-size creator! I bet many readers could guess some of the inspirations for these outfits easily.

So many great outfits inspired by Lara Jean of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.

These are so dang good! The attention to detail!

Take it way back with some Little Women–inspired looks.

Down the rabbit hole with Alice in Wonderland looks.

Outfits recreated from the adaptation of Normal People.

Now dress yourself like a Hobbit.

Fantasy outfit creations are probably my favorite, including these looks from Crooked Kingdom.

Inspired by the original series, I’m here for this Baby-Sitters Club Lookbook. I’m itching to see the updated versions inspired by the new series!


Want to dig into the world of books on YouTube some more? You’ll love these great YouTube book reviewers, as well as these excellent YouTube books for kids.