Clothing in fantasy novel | Absolute Write Water Cooler Privacy Policy. At the end of the day, they were professional slayers, swords for hire. And if you dont write historical fiction? "Garb" or "dress" (without an article) is a rather drab abstract noun for what a person is wearing. 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. No problem! As well see below, one of the best things about using medieval armor in a fantasy story is the freedom to elevate it in some way. Dostoyevsky describes how Katerinas landlady, Amalia Ivanovna, dresses for the funeral: the table was properly laid at the time and fixed, and Amalia Ivanovna, feeling she had done her work well, had put on a black silk dress and a cap with new mourning ribbons and met the returning party with some pride. To navigate your way through this guide, just click the links below. What backstory or character motivations could combinations of appearance and reality suggest? Scarves as we know them today weren't really a thing in the middle ages (they were way different) and hoods pretty much came in the form of chaperons and liripipes (Google for reference if needed), not as part of a piece of clothing. - Taboos and nudity. Richard the Lionheart, for instance, was celebrated amongst his peers for his ability to chop his enemys skulls down to the teeth. Here, for example, Hilary Mantel describes a Cardinals residence being plundered by the Kings men in 1529 England, in her historical novel Wolf Hall. It was my understanding that they quenched in oil, not water. Compare this, then, to Dickens description of Gradgrinds wife in the following chapter (Gradgrinds wealthy but poverty-claiming friend has just told Mrs. Gradgrind he was born in a ditch): Mrs. Gradgrind, a little, thin, white, pink-eyed bundle of shawls, of surpassing feebleness, mental and bodily; who was always taking physic without any effect, and who, whenever she showed a symptom of coming to life, was invariably stunned by some weighty piece of fact tumbling on her; Mrs. Gradgrind hoped it was a dry ditch? So we've covered ways to make clothing look both futuristic and historic, but these are all just guidelines and mostly based on what's been done before. See how Dickens contrasts the fact-obsessed, overbearingteacher Thomas Gradgrind and his wifes personalities through (among other details) their clothing description. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed, We mentioned gambesons above. A scarlet pantsuit. Really like your article. We even have the technology to create clothing without seems. Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed last week. Send private message Achievements: Need help with clothing description in Fantasy #1 I'm writing a Fantasy Novel in the middle ages, filled with swords and magic However, I realize I have trouble trying to convey how the characters look, like what the nobles' attire, the bandit's 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. Now add a thick, layered scarf or attach a hood to this tunic and you're already well on your way to a customized look. Think touchable fabrics and the light scent of lavender soap. Hello, I am attempting to write my first fantasy novel (and my first novel), and I'm having difficulty visualizing what kind of clothes my characters should be wearing. Vision in such helmets was extremely limited, but this was the cost of added protection. Pauldrons, gauntlets, and even leg armor were fashioned into elaborate designs. It was pretty easy to make, though laborious, and easy to repair. - Mix cultures. This idea of knights becoming lords was introduced in England by William the Conqueror. How to describe clothing: 6 simple tips Use clothing to show status and position Build (or thwart) expectations using clothing descriptions Describe clothing to contrast character personalities Show clothing to avoid over-relying on telling Change clothing to highlight character development Use clothing details to create authentic setting The geographical setting might suggest that your characters are expected to abide by strict rules for modesty or are celebrated for being wild and free. One does not refer to "a garb". If Im wearing lipstick with no plans of going out, one of two things is happening: Im in a great mood or Im feeling like I have zero control over my life and failure is inevitable. It makes for a more entertaining read. What would you think about a wealthy character who looked as though he shopped at thrift stores? What the description shows is that many of the inviteesplay at status through fancy dress. But there is so much more to the experience of clothing than that. In both of these it was mostly the rich who had the extravagant clothing, which brings back the earlier point of how culture influences what a character might wear. Achieving glory in battle was one way of earning a knighthood. If youre trying to learn how to describe clothing in writing, youre probably like me: Youve only pretended to know what organza is. Separate and enlarge it, turn down the Opacity of the layer . Military service was always well-rewarded and violence applauded. Which of these clothing types is your character most likely to reach for when starting their day? - Geometry. If all else fails use Google images and find some visual aids and inspiration sources, they can work wonders. Normally I dont dress characters with such complex clothing that takes more than a few sentences to describe but the vest was inspired by a picture I saw and it took at least a paragraph to describe. (Find out more). Which is to say, if you write from the point of view of a character who thinks of clothing only in terms of the simplest descriptors, that's just fine. Character description may change over the course of a story to emphasize a characters arc. Help your readers feel the relaxed, organic cotton or the memory foam slipper, and theyll feel your characters priorities deep in their own souls. Use fashion and clothing history archives if necessary. You can continue to alter it to add cultural elements, like the previously mentioned elvish elements or you could stick with this and keep it simple. PsstDoes Your Character Have a Secret? We all love a character with a cool set of fantasy armor: the baresark Rek from David Gemmells Legend with his enchanted coat of bronze, or Tomas from Raymond Feists Riftwar Cycle with his gleaming white dragon plate which gifted him incredible power. Follow edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:43. Tell us how the wool of your protagonists sheath dress scratches the skin on the underside of her arm. What I would like to ask is how you would go about describing very specific details on more complex clothing? The more outlandish the fantasy species your character is the more outlandish you can usually be with clothing, but familiarity is usually still a solid ground for a realistic feel, even if the universe and the creatures are completely unrealistic. Make them earn any sightof skin, Aunt P always said. And if you need a place to organize your complex responses, I recommend Dabbles Character Notes feature. In writing, the clothes kind of do make the (hu)man. Its about building a life and a world, and that is something you can do. - Make things look glossy, smooth and clean. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. Who doesnt like being comfortable when killing? Like Dostoyevsky, think how something as small as a characters change of clothing can affecttheir own or others behaviour. Make it mandatory to hold up a piece of clothing. Some wore a trapper a covering of full chain mailand down the line, some horses even had their own plated armor. Select the most striking details and move on. You can go for standard quasi medieval fantasy clothing. Whats the respected uniform, and does your character wear it? The more people that join this thriving group the better it becomes. (Where do they buy their clothes? What Clothes Say About Your Characters - The Write Practice Use the Character section of the Idea Finder to develop quick story ideas and flesh out your storys cast. That was the theory. One of her poems is (legally) stamped into a sidewalk in Santa Clarita, California. Each lesson breaks down the analysis of one component of a fashion collection, progressing from a consideration of the designer's technique and influences to the . Your main character just put on some makeup and changed into a fancy dress, complete with heels and a tiny handbag. 1. Adding them with intention can help increase tension, make twists hit that much harder, and keep your reader engaged., How to Describe Clothing in Writing Without Boring Everybody, Tertiary Characters: Giving Your Background Players Life, Sidekicks: The Loyal Companion Your Hero Needs. You can weave clothing description into your process when using our story planner for writers. The fact the clothes seem to stand by themselves indicates just how heavy they are with jewels and embroidery. For example, think about a wealthy person and how that person might dress. 70s-inspired. But if you do want some guidelines, inspiration or just help this guide'll hopefully provide it. Well, mostly. The reader does not need the full outfit in one go. As a friend told me, Wear jeans and glasses and have a favorite pen. But put me in a job interview wearing the same outfit, and youd probably start making new guesses about my intentions. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7bbcc198c936bc1af3fbda128514c44fcfc10f0513ea31cad7c21ae61ba0ab0.jpg. I once wrote about imbuing everyday objects with meaning because talisman create great opportunities for symbolism! for any particular parts of an outfit. Or theyll be living off soda crackers and peanut butter for the next week because they drained their checking account for a suit to impress at their job interview. Instead of a nobleman being described as wearing red silk slippers, parachute pants, a bejeweled cloth belt, a flowing blouse and an ascot; you can simply describe him as wear very fancy and extravagant clothing befitting his high status in society. Smart: Neat and tidy clothes but not necessarily formal. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? Lots of gear would have been looted. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. The complete opposite is true for fantasy and historic clothing. In this section, Ive included some more guides on creating fantasy armor designs that you may find useful. How to Analyze a Fashion Collection - Bloomsbury Fashion Central Obviously clothing is extremely varied, especially dresses. As soon as the actor enters stage right or left, we have an inkling of whether theyre a wealthy landowner or peasant, an elegant heiress or humble flower-seller. Thanks Liv, Im glad you found this helpful. Is your character trying to attract positive attention? Lets talk about how to use clothing description as a storytelling tool, how to dress your character for their personality and setting, and how to make clothes interesting to anyone. In reality, a medieval lord could pretty much do what they liked. Impress someone with my indifference? We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. 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. And when Mother Nature gets involved, even the best suit of armor can have problems. Earlier I mentioned how it's important to try and keep a feel of unfamiliarity to futuristic clothing. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. It can be as simple as making a dress shorter, a jacket longer or sleeves wider and longer. That also will help readers really experience things through their eyes. Copyright 2023 Richie Billing | Fantasy Writer. Again, I don't mean make your character walk around naked, but add elements of covering up or exposing certain areas of the body. The clothes a person wears tellsus many things: their status in life, for example, or their cultural affiliation or identity. Understanding how to describe clothing in a story well will help you create fuller, richer character portraits. And as a reader, nothing bores me like an entire paragraph of detailed clothing description. He is old but stylish. They're the ones who are always there to lend a helping hand, crack a joke, or provide some much-needed emotional relief.And let's be real, sometimes they dont go unsung. Baggy jeans. Troubles with Clothing in Fantasy + Some Ideas - Brielle Andela Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. 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. But they are a common element used in fantasy clothing in all sorts of works of fiction. Ha-ha! I'm talking about the jagged, triangular shapes you find on some stealth planes or the digital camouflage patterns. You can also fulfil (or contradict) impressions your characters (or readers) form based on appearances. 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. Or are you writing a spy character who dons Lululemon to infiltrate an upscale yoga studio? And ninety-nine percent of the clothing descriptions in your first draft are just jeans. I get it. 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. Some helmets had chain attached which hung around and protected the neck, called an aventail, and most were padded inside, for added comfort. In Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), we learn of a doctors status through his being the only person at an event who is not smartly dressed: Although it was not customary for invitations to request special attire, least of all for a luncheon in the country, the women wore evening gowns and precious jewels and most of the men were dressed in dinner jackets with black ties, and some even wore frock coats. - Break up clothing into more separate pieces and give them their own styles. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. 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. In other words, research. 160 Best Character description ideas | character description, fantasy So have fun with that. Chest plates had grand etchings. Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. Adorable. These were worn on their own by those wanting greater speed and flexibility, but also by those unable to afford stronger armor. They can tell us what era they live in, and even a persons current state of mind or intent. Clothing description in a story is useful because it often gives additional information about a character that you might otherwise tell. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt weapons and provided some protection from cuts, but against well-forged weapons they were useless. 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. But your reader is going to picture something whether you guide them or not. What exactly are you trying to communicate about the character, setting, or situation? They also wear talismans, jewelry, and other objects. Theyre the lifeblood of any relationship. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Particularly in genres such as historical fiction and fantasy, clothing can help to create other worlds (or a long gone era of our own). Sometimes the simplest changes are enough to create something completely new and ideal for a particular universe. But status can be communicated in more subtle ways, too. The pieces around the vital organsthe chest and headwere thicker and heavier than those on the arms and legs to try and reduce weight as much as possible. Pingback: A fantasy writers guide to Castles and Keeps: part one Richie Billing. The image you create has to play a role in the narrative.Consider the character arc. Our imaginations can do a surprising amount with just a few key details. So Id say in films its more for cinematic effect and also for clarity so the viewer can see whos doing what. We often express ourselves through our clothing, at least when we have the freedom to do so, so knowing who we're designing for is the first step in creating the perfect outfit for a character. For example, the corset wasn't popular until the 16th century and while earlier versions can be found incredibly early they weren't common place. Id be willing to bet each of these items immediately brought to mind a semi-clear character. In other words: To describe a fantasy world, use either neutral terms, or made up words. Maybe theyre hoping to impress the cool kids or please their parents. Writing Tips on Describing Clothes - Pen and the Pad To add to the previous mosaic part stealth technology can provide great patterns. Describing armor and clothing. : r/writing - reddit Characters wear more than just clothes. One major element that makes creating more futuristic clothing easier is to make sure it doesn't look familiar, to make sure it doesn't look like something you'd come across today. Good for the mobile knight. Do your characters care deeply about looking respectable, or are they more afraid of putting on airs? Youre not infodumping. Well also take a look at female fantasy armor and those used by, Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. And what weve covered here today is only just the tip of the iceberg. They give you the chance to offer comic relief, a dash of wisdom, and just some good old fashioned friendship., Sidekick characters. - Another way to use color is to make things seem like they're glowing even if they're not and to use gradients. Without decriptions of the clothing it's a bit boring, the novel becomes a list of people the reader can't imagine doing things. Blunt, Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. 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. These are usually a little trickier to do well as they can look familiar quickly, but it's a usually a good element to have at your disposal. One way is to avoid what we call filter words. The shrewd king essentially licensed out parcels of his land as rewards to his warriors in exchange for their military service. 80s-inspired. I tend to avoid describing clothing. Nudity was often either a complete taboo or just common place in many cultures throughout history, so by changing these taboos (and others) you immediately create a fictional piece. The unsung hero of so many stories. 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? Other elements you could include are mood-based changes (exists today), clothing that uses lights or glowing elements (exists today), clothing that can be repaired or changed on the go (exists today), smart technology woven into the fabric of clothing (exists today), changing colors (think chameleons) whenever you feel like it (exists today, kind of). It's what we're slowly doing today. Great points. Does it Matter What Your Character Wears? - The Write Practice 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. One easy way of creating a more customized look is to simply use cultural elements in the standard clothing. Any suggestions on how to properly do this? So as a way of trying to control them and their behaviour, the code of chivalry and honour was introduced. Love this topic!! These small but mighty players can add depth, complexity, and a fresh perspective to your plot. Knights werent as immobile as people assum, though I can imagine in a quagmire itd be tricky to get up. In most cases simply copying the style of whichever era you've based your story on is enough, but it can be fun to create your own styles and in some cases it'd make sense to have your own styles as well. Ideas are forever being shared and discussed. 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Because like all other character details, its not enough to paint a picture. Stealthy clothes bring to mind burglars clad in black outfits and soft-soled sneakers. If it fits your universe it usually works, so don't be afraid of doing something different. Below, well take a look at the armor found in the fantasy genre, covering everything from chain mail to helmets. "White tunics" have been worn from 2016 to a good forty thousand years ago. I tried to add as much variety as possible, but without turning the whole description into a mess. In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. Youre working essential details into the narrative at the moment when they are most relevant. Chausses / Chauces (15th century) Pantaloons; padded hosen for the legs, often worn under chainmail or plate armor. Meanwhile, the character who works two jobs while going to school full-time might scour the Goodwill rack for a designer tag to help them fit in at the same party. Fantasy Armor - The Ultimate Guide - Richie Billing You can even use different pieces of clothing to cover up body parts differently. Pre-empt this by illustrating everything in layers and completing each layer of clothing. Its a good time. I have a hard time describing my thoughts on content, but I really felt I should here. With all that armor, its often assumed the medieval knight was immobile. How to describe scenery ? : r/fantasywriters - reddit.com How long do they need their clothes to last? Technology goes beyond simply what kind of clothes could be made though, it also relates to how technology is incorporated into style in general. Let it hang diagonally across their chest and over their shoulder instead. Describing clothing - Creative Writing Forums