Previous Cover Crazy posts:
DeliriumImmortal
More of my Cover Crazy posts.
Look at that dress! There are three two things that will make me absolutely drool over a cover: sparkles and beautiful dresses. It’s a good thing this cover doesn’t have sparkles, because I’m already overwhelmed by the magnificence of that dress.
The Luxe series follows the lives of wealthy New Yorkers at the turn of the 20th century. It’s one of those series I refer to as “Lifestyles of the rich and beautiful.” I read them because I want to vicariously live their lives of fabulous wealth (or at least observe and gossip).
It is fitting, then, that the cover pictures something that I want but will probably never have. I can’t imagine ever having occasion or ability to wear a dress like that, but boy would it be fun (and cumbersome, but that’s the beauty of fantasy, the dress will never be cumbersome in my imagination).
The sheer size of the dress is stunning in the literal “I am stunned” way. Its massive size (spanning across not only the front cover, but the back cover as well) speaks to the wealth this girl must have. There must be yards and yards of rich, satiny fabric there. Then there are the details. Beautiful roses are nestled within the folds of the fabric and bunches of lace. The dress itself is pure artwork.
At any time, this dress would speak of a fortune, but in the late 19th century and early 20th century the wearer of this dress must be loaded. Looking at this cover, I can’t wait to dive into the book and read all about her luxurious life and all of the decadent parties she must attend. Plus, with a girl and dress that gorgeous, she must be embroiled in a few juicy romances.
There is a sweet femininity conveyed with the shade of pink used in the dress and the goldish color of the title. This girly innocence is belied by the penetrating gaze of the model. She stares out through the curl of the L, completely encircled by her world of luxury but, if her expression is any indication, she harbors secrets of her own. I look at the cover and wonder about those secrets.
The final touches come with the swooping font of the title. I find the letter L to be a very passionate letter. Think of these words for a minute: Lust, luxury, lascivious, lubricious. Say them out loud. Feel the way the words move in your mouth. They capture their definitions in their sound and feel. The swirling, swooping lines of the letter underscore the opulence of the word, and consequently the book.
Passion, secrets, and wealth are practically oozing out of this cover. I look at this cover and I want to read the book. I want to be a fly on the wall as this girl dishes her secrets. I want to learn her gossip. I want to read the scene where she wears this dress and I want to vicariously experience the opulence of this dress and the events at which she must wear it. This cover is extremely successful at drawing my attention and sparking a desire to read this book.
What do you think about this cover? Do you like it? Dislike it? Does it make you want to read the book?
Interested in covers? Be sure to check out another Cover Crazy post by Gina from My Precious.
I enjoy your detailed analysis, but for me, I'm not a real girly girl, so the dress does not impress, so to speak. It is very eloquent, though I can never imagine wearing anything like it. In fact I don't think I'd ever figure out how to get into it - lol.
ReplyDeleteSo to weigh in on the cover, this is one of the only ones you've posted I'm not particularly fond of.
I didn't think it was possibly to write so much about a cover. I loved how detailed it was. I read everything you said and was nodding along, agreeing with all your points. The cover is just fabulous and her face and expression definitely is harbouring secrets. It is definitely a book that tells you what you will find inside (I'm guessing as I've never read it. Must though)
ReplyDeleteAll of the books from The Luxe series have gorgeous dresses. My favourite one from the series actually happens to be the one on the cover of Rumors.
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely in love with the covers of The Luxe series, but I haven't read it. I've always meant to, and it does sound like something I'd love so hopefully I will get to it some time! Amazing covers though!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh look at that dress, it's incredible! I wouldn't want to wear it (or walk in it if that's even possible) for more than about 10 minutes, but I wouldn't mind standing there and looking pretty for a bit:) I love the colors as well, the pink and gold are rich and feminine and work well with the dark background.
ReplyDeleteKeep these cover critiques coming, I love reading your thoughts:)
I keep coming back to Luxe when I'm in bookstores simply because of the cover. I'm still not convinced I would like it, but man that cover is gorgeous. Do you have a review up for this book? I can't remember just now.
ReplyDeleteI actually love that cover. If I could pull off that dress (figuratively, not literally), I would buy it in a heartbeat! Love this feature :D
ReplyDeleteWow, that is one magnificent dress! I totally agree with you... Great pick!
ReplyDelete-Lulu
The dress is absolutely stunning. I think an attractive cover like this will definitely get you to look at the book twice, but I still think the content of the book is what hooks the person into reading it.
ReplyDeleteI loooove the covers for this series, especially this one.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover! I actually got the books and I think this one and the one for Envy were my favorites out of the series.
ReplyDeleteGina, Ah, you win some you lose some :) I am a girly girl (probably pretty obvious from all the pink!) but I’m also very much NOT a girly girl in a lot of areas, so I can see both sides. I don’t think I would be able to get into that dress without massive amounts of help!
ReplyDeleteAlice, I am the queen of rambling and overwriting :) I was the kid in class who would always ask the teacher if we were allowed to write MORE than the page maximum on papers. I’m glad you enjoyed reading it!
A Canadian Girl, Yes, I love all of the covers in this series. This first one is my favorite, but the purple one is a close second. I love the bright red on Rumors. Very fitting for the character.
Leanna, Me too! Unfortunately, I didn’t love the book as much as the cover. Not bad, but I haven’t read any of the books beyond the first.
Jenny, I don’t think I could walk in that dress! Definitely stand there and get a few photos snapped though. I’m so happy you like them!
Logan, I don’t have a review posted, but I do have one written. I’ll post it up for you in January.
Melissa, Haha, figuratively indeed!
Lulu, Thanks!
Lisa, I agree with you. I’ve many a time been lured into mediocre books by fabulous covers. (This book was one of those times for me)
Kelsey, Me too!
AnimeGirl, Envy has a pretty dress, too. I haven’t read it though.
Yes! I totally love the cover for The Luxe!! The dress is beautiful and I think that that's what draws attention to the book. I never noticed that there were roses in the folds of the dress! I just learned something new today :)
ReplyDeleteI have yet to read this series. I need to read it. The covers are pretty and I heard it was a good series.
ReplyDeleteI like the cover (because I'm crazy about pink), but I don't think it's enough to convince me to read this. Although I have read a lot of great reviews for this book, I also know this is part of a series and as much as possible, I don't really read series books.
ReplyDeleteBut supposing this is a single book, I still don't think I'm going to pick this up because it just spells ostentatious, and the plot is something I could do without. I don't really read that much of this type of story. But of course, I'm only speaking on personal preference.
And hey, congratulations also on your nomination for Best New Blog, I found your blog listed in that category too!
Brush Up On Your Reading
Cleo, I’m always noticing new things about covers whenever I do these posts. When I was writing this post I noticed the table in the background. I read the book and held it in my hands not even a foot away from my face and I never even noticed that table!
ReplyDeleteSavannah, I enjoyed the first book well enough. Not wonderful, but not bad. My sister is in love with the series though.
Nina, haha, I’m crazy about pink too (can’t you tell!) I didn’t love the book, so if it’s not generally your thing I’d say you’re not missing much. It is part of a series, but the ending is wrapped up well enough that if you didn’t want to continue on after reading the first you wouldn’t feel that burning need to get answers to any lingering questions. At least I didn’t. Thank you for the congrats!!
I luuurve the dress! Thats the first thing that grabbed my attention..and then the lettering did- the lavish-ness and the luxuriousity (i think i just made that up..)..but i get the idea of the curly L and all the associations you've made with the plot of the series..
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard of the series..should check it out..
Check out my cover crush and tell me what you think of the book..
http://blogonlinerandom.blogspot.com/2010/12/cover-crazy-2.html
Oh, good, I'm glad you see it with the lettering too!
ReplyDeleteI loved this cover to the depths of my very soul <3 <3 <3...I bought it for that reason...but the I thought the content was bland and unexciting -___-
ReplyDeleteSarah, Yeah, I agree. The book wasn’t nearly as spectacular as that dress. Such a shame. I think all the glamour was used up on the cover.
ReplyDelete