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.

As we settle back into the school routine and we pass through September, let’s kick back with an old classic that still carries a lot of the same humor today that it did upon its first performance (that’s right, it’s a play!) in 1895. Whether you’re a drama queen looking for some new portfolio fodder or just a collegiate champion of the arts, check out Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest!

A vintage cover of The Importance of Being Earnest

Table of Contents

Inside Cover

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, was written by Oscar Wilde in 1894, and first performed on Valentine’s Day in 1895, at St. James’ Theater in London.

The plot focuses around John (nicknamed Jack) Worthing, who leads a double life as both himself – a respectable man and owner of Hertfordshire estate in the country, and ward to his young neice Cecily – as well as the London dandy Ernest, a libertine and man-about-town. He is found out of this lie by his best friend Algernon Montcrieff shortly before attempting to propose to his lady love, Gwendolyn (who happens to be Algernon’s cousin). Interested in the story of Cecily, Algernon heads out to seduce her, utilizing the name Ernest as well.

In this topsy-turvy war of love and manners, the importance, in the end, lies in being direct, truthful, and earnest (hence, the title).