It’s not really about the clothes. It’s about control. About readiness. About who she became when the suitcase clicked shut.
Tangled Prose is your bookish fix – from viral reads to cult classics. News, reviews, trends, and takes. Old favourites, new finds, always books.
Showing posts with label The White Album. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The White Album. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 August 2025
Joan Didion’s packing list and the illusion of preparedness
It’s the holiday season. You’re packing for your trip. There is no better time to revisit this: two skirts. Two jerseys. A bottle of bourbon. This is the famous packing list from The White Album. It is as precise as it is strange. It reads like a ritual, a personal inventory, a whisper of both glamour and dread.
Saturday, 5 July 2025
Packing lists and California cool: How Joan Didion made the personal iconic
Before minimalism was a hashtag or lifestyle trend, Joan Didion was living it with elegance and intent. Her now-famous packing list, tucked into The White Album, has become a cultural artefact in its own right—a snapshot of a writer whose personal style was as deliberate as her prose.
Labels:
California Cool,
Cultural Icons,
Essay Writing,
Joan Didion,
Literary Style,
Minimalism,
Packing List,
Personal Narrative,
Style and Substance,
Tangled Prose,
The White Album,
Writing and Identity
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