Book-purse recommendations for the Golden Globes

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When ‘Black Swan’ premiered in New York, Natalie Portman showed up wearing a long black Dior gown, immaculate Dior makeup and a purse that looked just like a midcentury edition of ‘Lolita’ by Vladimir Nabokov.

That purse was by French designer Olympia Le-Tan, who creates clutches that look like mid-20th century book covers. They’ve been spotted in the hands of European starlets, as well as Portman’s.

Portman is nominated for a Golden Globe for her starring performance in ‘Black Swan’; the film has been nominated for best dramatic picture. Will she be carrying her ‘Lolita’ purse again Sunday night? Well, according to the rules of the red carpet, probably not.

Nevertheless, we have some -- entirely hypothetical -- book-purse recommendations for Sunday night’s Golden Globe attendees.

Natalie Portman: If she’s not interested in being seen carrying ‘Lolita’ down the red carpet twice, the ‘Black Swan’ best actress nominee might try a purse rendering of ‘Apollo’s Angels,’ Jennifer Homan’s history of ballet.

Tina Fey: Nominated for best actress in a television series, comedy or musical, Tina Fey can’t exactly carry a ’30 Rock’ purse onto the set. But this year’s winner of the Mark Twain Prize could carry a purse made from the surprise bestselling ‘Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1.’ Admittedly, at 760 pages, it’ll make more of a satchel than a red-carpet clutch, but its cover is less disturbing than Fey’s upcoming memoir, ‘Bossypants,’ which features Fey’s face attached to male arms.

Jennifer Lawrence: Of course, Daniel Woodrell’s 2007 novel ‘Winter’s Bone,’ for which she’s been nominated for her starring role. The film has given Lawrence her breakthrough role as Ree, a tough girl fighting for her family in contemporary Appalachia. The movie’s success also has helped put Woodrell’s writing in the spotlight -- as would a boutique book purse.

Romola Garai: Garai is nominated for her performance in the miniseries ‘Emma.’ What should she carry but a book-purse version of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’?

Tilda Swinton: Swinton isn’t nominated for a Golden Globe this year, but if she does attend, perhaps she will be carrying the clutch that Oliva Le-Tan made especially for her: a replica of the 1955 first edition of ‘Auntie Mame,’ the novel by Patrick Dennis.

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-- Carolyn Kellogg