Book Clubs Are the New Social Occasion

It is eight in the evening in an ordinary living room somewhere between Milan and Los Angeles. On the coffee table stands a lamp, open bottles, a tray of nibbles, and a book with dog-eared pages. The new aperitivo is the book club: a magnetic gathering place for lit girls, novel devourers, and surfers navigating words and stories. Because reading today has also become an unconventional reason to go out, meet new people, and build small communities around a single title.

Celebrities have acted as sounding boards for the phenomenon, treating reading as a form of socialising: from Dakota Johnson to Dua Lipa—who with Service95 realised that a book can become a more powerful aggregator than a playlist—many stars have turned what has always been a solitary act into an unexpected pop movement.

October has always had a literary heart: the cultural world holds its breath for the Nobel Prize in Literature announcement, won by Anne Carson, the Canadian poet and classicist renowned for her hybrid, experimental works (such as the verse novel Autobiography of Red).

Meanwhile across Europe, the calendar fills up with festivals, readings, and book fairs, including the colossal Frankfurt Buchmesse, where the stories to focus on in the coming months are decided.

SHAPE OF JOY

Cable-knit sweater with pearl detail - MIDNIGHTBLUE

Marina Rinaldi

Cable-knit sweater with pearl detail

€315.00

SHAPE OF JOY

Marina Rinaldi

Reversible wool broadcloth coat

€885.00

SHAPE OF JOY

Marina Rinaldi

Viscose trousers

€299.00

SHAPE OF JOY

Choker, earrings and printed scarf - WHITE

Marina Rinaldi

Choker, earrings and printed scarf

€155.00

If a book also becomes a way to step out and present oneself to others, where do we start when building an adaptable and creative dress code? The perfect ally is black, a dense magnet containing infinity and silence—ideally elevated by an unexpected detail.

It is the "non-colour" of intellectual vibes, worn for decades by female writers with freedom and irony: Fran Lebowitz, essayist and critical voice of contemporary New York, still wears it today with a masculine blazer and cowboy boots,

while Susan Sontag adopted it head-to-toe, with that single streak of white in her dark hair serving as the sole chromatic disruption. She used to say laughingly of herself: "People recognise me more for that streak of hair than for what I've written".

It is an original style lesson worth cherishing, because black works best with an element that feels off-script. An example? Take a slightly austere piece—a long wrap coat, a tailored jacket with a masculine cut, or a cable-knit pullover—and "disrupt" it with a carefree touch, such as a micro-pearl choker featuring a printed silk ribbon tied into a bow.

SHAPE OF JOY

Marina Rinaldi

Jacquard mohair sweater

€245.00

SHAPE OF JOY

Marina Rinaldi

Pearl-adorned belt

€79.00

SHAPE OF JOY

Marina Rinaldi

Poplin shirt

€325.00

Joan Didion’s Style Lesson

Dizzying rituals and thrilling experiences are springing up around books: reading retreats, literary picnics, immersive readings, and holidays whose itineraries finally include hours where everyone must keep their phones switched off.

The book is the catalyst; what people are truly seeking is fertile time and the chance to come together in a constructive, unprecedented way.As early as 18th-century London, the Bluestockings transformed conversations about books and art into a form of female networking aimed at building connections, autonomy, and authority. Three centuries later, this remains the most compelling aspect of the book club revival:

behind the ritual of carefully curated locations and titles lies the enduring idea of conversation as a space of freedom. Here, finding the right outfit becomes a stimulating, distinctive process akin to curating a personal library.

Joan Didion, reporter, novelist, and cultural icon of New Journalism, kept a minimalist packing list taped to the inside of her wardrobe door for every assignment: two skirts, one pullover, two pairs of shoes. She also packed her typewriter, notepads, a mohair throw, and bourbon for motel rooms where the air conditioning never stopped humming. That disciplined edit allowed her to move smoothly from one cultural milieu to another while remaining recognisable and never out of place.

SHAPE OF JOY

Cable-knit sweater with pearl detail - IVORY

Marina Rinaldi

Cable-knit sweater with pearl detail

€315.00

SHAPE OF JOY

Marina Rinaldi

Envers satin skirt

€359.00

For a day that might start in a bookshop and wind down on a living room rug, the guiding principle is identical: a few well-chosen pieces that effortlessly hold up across any scenario. Consider a pair of straight-leg trousers—impeccable allies for every setting—paired with a cable-knit wool jumper scattered with pearls across the front to shift the narrative tone just like an unexpected plot twist in a novel.

Alternatively, opt for a dégradé black mohair jumper knotted loosely over the shoulders and layered over a stretch cotton poplin shirt.The alternative palette is white—the shade of paper and blank writing space—styled through contrasting textures:

the cosy weight of a soft wool jumper adorned with pearls juxtaposed against a bias-cut satin skirt, flowing and floor-skimming like a turned page.

Often on these occasions, aesthetic theory meets a far less philosophical practical matter: footwear. In Turin, for instance, during Portici di Carta—when two kilometres of open-air bookstalls turn the city centre into a vast open library—preparation is key: black suede trainers finished with a delicate pearl detail by the eyelets are ideal for strolling with ease between Piazza Castello and Porta Nuova.

From Bookshop to After-Dinner in Midnight Blue Velvet

Among the quiet revolutions reshaping modern leisure is the Jucy Book Rave, a nightlife concept born in Tokyo where clubgoers gather to read. Instead of dancing or conventional party small talk, attendees settle down across the dancefloor—carpeted for the evening—or on chairs bathed in gentle, low lighting.

In the background, a DJ curates subtle ambient soundscapes, crafting a tranquil, suspended mood. Guests can bring their own paperbacks, pick from titles provided by the venue, or take part in book swaps: an alternative form of entertainment designed for those looking for fertile pursuits that awaken the mind and senses.

Then there are gatherings where the book is merely the opening chapter, and the ensuing conversation promises to stretch late into the night.

For moments like these, midnight blue velvet dresses the mood with depth and a touch of enchantment: team a straight-fit velvet jacket over a V-neck jersey T-shirt, coordinate with matching velvet trousers, and punctuate the look with an accessory as rare and precise as a semicolon. A petite pearl-trimmed bucket bag, slung over the wrist and just large enough for lipstick and a notebook to jot down favourite quotations, completes the ensemble.

Ultimately, the most successful literary wardrobe is one that travels anywhere effortlessly: a white sateen cotton shirt detailed with a pleated wave-effect bib front slips under a blazer for an afternoon book signing, then takes centre stage by evening at a lively book party.

At the end of the night, when the pages have been discussed and the glasses emptied, an intriguing piece remains draped over an armchair: a reversible black wool-cloth coat, waiting to be slipped back on before slipping away into the night.