how to describe fantasy clothing

Get free books, an invite to my exclusive writing group, writing tools and guides and much more when you join my community. In visual mediums like TV or comics, cool outfits are on-screen the whole time, and they're the first and most obvious impression you'll get of the character, so they have a big impact on how the character is perceived. - Break up clothing into more separate pieces and give them their own styles. Thanks Benjamin! They give you the chance to offer comic relief, a dash of wisdom, and just some good old fashioned friendship., Sidekick characters. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Casual. Using this site means trees will be planted. Privacy Policy. Okay, maybe not.Secrets in real life can be a little trickywe all have thembut they have a way of blowing up in our faces, depending on how big they are.Your characters are really no different. But if you do want some guidelines, inspiration or just help this guide'll hopefully provide it. I mentioned my online writing group at the beginning of this guide. Are the characters of your dystopian novel forced to make do with burlap and mud? If there is one thing I hope you take from all of this, its that none of this is about describing what a character looks like. Or are you writing a spy character who dons Lululemon to infiltrate an upscale yoga studio? Like Marquez, compare and contrast characters clothes to reveal important details about their social status or position. Required fields are marked *. Nov 1, 2019 - Explore Arisa Nightingale's board "Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs", followed by 456 people on Pinterest. As such, the contemporary tales that have followed, like Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Dungeons and Dragons and everything in between, have paid homage to that era. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. It's what we're slowly doing today. What is the prevailing value in the society of your story? He is old but stylish. Hi Paige, thank you (and thanks for your question). The reason we fuss over physical descriptions is not because its so important that the readers imagination gets it right. To make it futuristic you could change where the buttons are, they're normally quite low and form a v-neck line when buttoned up, how about moving them to the top and creating an upside down V shape at the bottom. More on that in a bit. Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. But the definition of sneaky depends on your characters situation. As with body armor, great efforts were made with the designs of helmets. However, you can show and imply a characters intention without spelling it out: Theyd agreed to meet downtown at six. Affordable . Another type of cheap armor, one up from gambesons, was boiled leather, also known as cuir bouilli. The answer can guide you towards certain fashion trends to inspire your characters wardrobe. Fashion photographer Bill Cunningham said, Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. Try applying this philosophy to clothing descriptions in your writing and see what happens. "Garb" or "dress" (without an article) is a rather drab abstract noun for what a person is wearing. These elements are very important when taking into account the previous point. Hopefully, you now have more wardrobe ideas for your characters than just red shirt, blue pants. But what about the process of actually sharing these details in your novel? What are the rules of your characters world? Only the most sophisticated, Dr. Urbino among them, wore their ordinary clothes. What your character wears reveals where they come from, how they rank in society, how they want to be perceived, and even how they feel about themselves. The train hums and throbs in place as people rush to pile in.. Costume is a large part of a character. Stealthy clothes bring to mind burglars clad in black outfits and soft-soled sneakers. This pride, though justifiable, displeased Katerina Ivanovna for some reason. Make it look very clean and smooth and it immediately feels more modern. Your character might also have a job or hobby that requires protective clothing. Obviously clothing is extremely varied, especially dresses. The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. for any particular parts of an outfit. Great article. If sturdy is a top consideration, your character might be expecting trouble or adventure. Some helmets had chain attached which hung around and protected the neck, called an aventail, and most were padded inside, for added comfort. But it can also be fun to play with the confidence and ease that comes with wealth. (Where do they buy their clothes? There are some elements which are common among most works of fiction when it comes to clothing, with these elements in mind it becomes a lot easier to turn the clothing we wear today or wore throughout history into a futuristic or more fantasy oriented equivalent. Embarrassed by her own inability to dress in finery for the occasion (and by being upstaged), Katerina resorts to scathing mockery of Amalia. 1. I second the idea of describing the reactions of the characters to the city. Can you imagine tweaking this to make your own set of fantasy armor? So Id say in films its more for cinematic effect and also for clarity so the viewer can see whos doing what. For instance, if I'm reading a story and the narrative mentions jeans right off, I'm thinking mid twentieth century or later (while dungarees would be late nineteenth . It took leaving the Midwest to recognize it. Does your character need to hide? A lowly one at that, but one very much capable of climbing the ladder. Designing fantasy armor for your characters can be an awful lot of fun. Those outfits can become iconic. - Use nudity. Not to mention the social status of a person. Your email address will not be published. Only the most powerful strikes could pierce such armor. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. Katerina is affronted by Amalias fine dress because it is new and shows pride. Whether its a matter of indulgence or survival, feeling good is a deeply relatable goal. Lets take a look at some individual pieces of armor. Sci-fi and fantasy don't necessarily have to be futuristic and historic respectively, but they're commonly associated as such, so for the sake of simplicity that's what I'm going with for the purposes of this guide. Great points. - 'Stealth'. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. In some cases because they simply didn't have the technology for it, in others because it was too expensive and/or time consuming for the average person. Youre working essential details into the narrative at the moment when they are most relevant. Leather could be stitched into coats, or added to mail to provide added protection. Showing what your characters are wearing can be a great way to show your readers what they might be up to that day without having to actually narrate anything. Changes in characters clothing can help revealcharacter development. Strips of leather were boiled in water, though some sources record oil and wax being used, and even animal urine. Ive always wondered that too! But let's take a step back and look at what kind of clothing is usually associated with futuristic settings. Love this topic!! Also bear in mind that not all clothing descriptions have to be presented as She put on x or He was wearing y. You can draw your readers attention to an item of clothing by having your character draw on their jeans or fiddle with their collar. A vintage polka dot dress with a sweetheart neckline. He's had over a dozen short stories published in various magazines and journals, with one adapted for BBC radio. Continued successes could see knights rise higher up the ranks. It would have been extremely warm too. Another benefit to chain mail, a point which can slip the mind of writers, is that it was cheap and efficient, able to accommodate different-sized warriors, unlike expensive plated armor. We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. - Use lines to break up a piece of clothing and create a kind of mosaic. Amalias dress thus comes across as insensitive to her; malicious even. Thanks I will be following your blog from now one I just came across it today. Dragon scales, fiery furs and feathers and other elements can quickly turn a standard item into a fantasy one. (Would people living in this area have access to leather goods? So as a way of trying to control them and their behaviour, the code of chivalry and honour was introduced. They mixed more traditional Asian styles with the more Western Industrial Revolution period styles. Do they need a ghillie suit to blend into the natural environment? Instead of saying, for example I saw that the station gate was coming down and the last train was about to leave, you could say The station gate is already screeching closed. 2023 NOW NOVEL CC. One of her poems is (legally) stamped into a sidewalk in Santa Clarita, California. Well come to this below. In one single piece of clothing description (a pink-eyed bundle of shawls), Dickens conveys how timid and ailing Mrs. Gradgrind is in contrast to her bullish, overbearing husband. Chausses / Chauces (15th century) Pantaloons; padded hosen for the legs, often worn under chainmail or plate armor. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? Adorable. Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. Pingback: A fantasy writers guide to weaponry Richie Billing. How to Give Your Characters Style: Describing Clothing in Writing Written by MasterClass Last updated: Aug 19, 2021 3 min read Creating vivid descriptions for a story or character is a mark of a great writer. What I would like to ask is how you would go about describing very specific details on more complex clothing? Its about building a life and a world, and that is something you can do. Well also take a look at female fantasy armor and those used by, Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. See more ideas about fantasy clothing, anime outfits, character outfits. Were trying to avoid, Isabell gazed out the window, and by the way, she was wearing a white terry cloth robe.. You can also fulfil (or contradict) impressions your characters (or readers) form based on appearances. This article has compiled 100 different words you can use to describe clothes, and below the main list of 100 words we've explained our reasoning for a lot of the top picks from that very list, for your personal enjoyment. I would be great to expand it with armor from other areas, Samurai armor, for example. Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. Nov 28, 2022 - Explore Anung V's board "Character description" on Pinterest. As the battle continued through the day, a rumor grew that Harold had died or fled the field, I forget which. Characters Wear More Than Just Clothes. It doesn't exclude those that don't know what a qipao is, nor break immersion for those who do. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. Another similar and perhaps way more popular example of this is Steampunk. The surrounding culture dictates what they cant wear if they want to be seen as free-thinking individuals. 60s-inspired. Well cover everything from helmets and plate armor to chainmail. By playing around with this you quickly create very subtle, but more unique fantasy-themed items. When describing clothing in writing, consider: You can also use this aspect of clothing description to paint a vivid picture of the world you imagined. Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. Even the non-conformists are influenced by societal norms. The landladys dress highlights, by contrast, the downward spiral of Katerinas fortunes, and she responds to the landladys prideful clothing with her own wounded pride: Look at her, shes making round eyes, she feels that we are talking about her and cant understand. Vividly describing the colors of your character's clothing can enliven ordinary writing. This includes items like steel-toed boots, heavy denim, or tech-forward, snag-resistant superhero spandex. For a bigger image, just click on the link above. What is a good way to do Show not tell in a first person POV state? Maybe their goal is to entice a mate. On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. A person who doesn't want to draw attention to themselves would dress completely differently today than they would even a few decades ago. Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. Subtle clothing changes can signal character development quite effectively in some scenarios. Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. In this section, Ive included some more guides on creating fantasy armor designs that you may find useful. Make sure you know whats hot and whats not in your specific setting, as well as what specific words the locals would use. Advertisements. Delighted to hear youre finding this useful. I have a hard time describing my thoughts on content, but I really felt I should here. The clothes a person wears tellsus many things: their status in life, for example, or their cultural affiliation or identity. A velvet scrunchie. Odds are, youve got a character who dresses to stay alive. One way is to avoid what we call filter words. Make it mandatory to hold up a piece of clothing. Vision in such helmets was extremely limited, but this was the cost of added protection. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Fully geared up, you were a walking fortress. Similar to how pixelated designs tend to look more futuristic so do designs full of geometrical shapes. So here are some more ways to alter a design while sticking with familiarity and a more historic feel: Mail was lightweight and flexible. I mean what your character wears provides a clue to how they see themselves, how they want to be seen, and even how others see them. The fact the clothes seem to stand by themselves indicates just how heavy they are with jewels and embroidery. Is your character trying to attract positive attention? Fashionable: Clothes representing a current style in fashion. Military service was always well-rewarded and violence applauded. Its something readers definitely appreciate, which I found with Pariahs Lament. Make them earn any sightof skin, Aunt P always said. Both doublets and chain mail were worn in conjunction with plated armor for that added protection, particularly for areas plate could not cover, such as arms and the groin. The changes and improvements made by technology will often create new trends or alter old ones to the point you may as well consider them a new one, so depending on the technology available in your fictional universe you may wish to create a completely new trend. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. Like say a vest with mirrored sequins and rhinestones, but they all go in a pattern and you feel the need to describe the pattern line by line? Mention the familiar swooshing of the neighbors tracksuit as he runs by the house every morning or how the aunts jacket always smells like cold air and pine needles.

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