Fashion Goes Gaga for Gatsby

Murder, sex, wealth, booze, elegant soirees and sordid affairs. Sounds like a list ripped from the headlines of a celebrity tabloid, no? Well, not quite. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby has more scandals than an E! True Hollywood story, which might explain why in today's celebrity-obsessed society the classic novel remains a cultural phenomenon. Eighty-five years after it's first publication, Fitzgerald's flowery narration of Gatsby's lavish life of despair remains relevant in pop culture, forever en vogue.

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Kate Spade's autumn 2010 handbag collection includes several "Book of the Month Clutches," with designs based on classic novel covers. The Gatsby edition retails for $325, is made of laminated silk twill with a metallic cowhide trim, and includes the following quote on the back cover: "'The Great Gatsby' is an American masterpiece. A magical world filled with lawn parties and lavish affairs, champagne and caviar--it's Camelot pre-Kennedy...a rare novel that successfully captures the indulgence of the Jazz Age at its most decadent." Other "Book of the Month" handbags include clutches featuring Charles Dickens' Great Expectations and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

Last week, Racked New York reported that Marc Jacobs opened a book store, aptly named "Marc Jacobs: Bookmarc" on Bleeker Street in New York. One of the products mentioned in their review of the shop is a cheeky journal featuring the title of Fitzgerald's most famous work, only slightly re-worded. "The Gay Gatsby" journal will sit aside other blank notebooks with similarly sassy titles: "Moby's Dick (LOL)," "As I Lay Tanning," "My Grapes of Wrath are Tasty and Delicious" and "Huckleberry Finn is My Homeboy."