Welcome to the latest edition of Looks from Books, which aims to prove that you can look smart, while still being book-smart, too. Fashion inspiration can be found between the pages of your favorite stories, on well-designed book covers, and in your favorite characters… if you read closely enough.

Well, CF Readers, you asked, and I’m answering! After the overwhelmingly positive reaction to my last post, detailing fashion inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle, I’m bringing back the book for another go-around, with more fashion, more fun, and more of your favorite characters.

Here’s part two of my post on fashion inspired by Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle:

Howl’s Moving Castle book cover via Amazon

Table of Contents

Where We Left Our Bookmark…

Howl’s Moving Castle is a well-known high fantasy novel written by British author Diana Wynne Jones, and follows the story of Sophie Hatter, a young girl transformed into an old woman after an encounter with a wicked witch, and her journey to find a reversal for the curse. In her search, she finds a cantankerous fire demon named Calcifer, an eager apprentice named Micheal, an intimidating hopping scarecrow, a dog that’s not quite who he seems, and, of course, the titular Wizard Howl.

Howl’s Moving Castle was adapted into a feature film in 2004 by the acclaimed animation studio, Studio Ghibli, which is helmed by director Hayao Miyazaki. The visually stunning and impressive film actually broke box office records in Japan, but is markedly different from the novel in many ways, including the motivations and attitudes of some of the main characters, as well as the dramatic ending. However, despite these changes, and the fact that the author had no input in the use of her novel, Diana Wynne Jones absolutely loved the studio’s take on her story.