Stopping by for the first time for the A-Z Challenge? Read a short intro to the A-Zs of Worldbuilding here!
Clothing and fashion is a topic near and dear to my heart – fashion designer was one of the careers I wanted before deciding on writer.
My mother started teaching me how to sew when I was seven (maybe six? It’s been a long time since then. Well over 20 years.) and clothes are about the only thing I can draw, as long as I’ve been given a croquis to work with. I’ve worked with enough fabric over the years, and put together enough patterns – and even put together some things without patterns – that I know how clothes work. How they come together. What shapes you need to put together and manipulate to get a garment to look a certain way.
We’re all familiar with the oh-so-elegant clothes and armor covering the fronts of books, with so very little realism.
Please don’t do that. The only people in any world who dress impractically are either people who don’t know better (which is enabled by our technology-reliant lifestyle), or the rich. The people who have to work – and work hard – to survive are the ones who develop everyday fashion. The items that have to be sturdy and reliable, and warm or cool as the weather calls for it.
Learning about textiles is also a very important part of fashion, and it can impact the type of clothing you design while world-building.
Above all, research. If you’re doing a medieval fantasy, do research into what type of textiles were readily available in actual medieval times for the specific setting you’re writing (though settings like that are usually pseudo-European). I’ll give you one hint: not cotton, especially for peasants. The availability of cotton that we’re spoiled with today has only happened in the last 200 years.
So, what are things we need to consider?
TEXTILES
What textiles are readily available, either through trade or cultivation? Fibers can come from multiple sources, whether local or distant. They can be grown from plants (think of linen, which is made from flax; hemp; cotton) or animals (wool; silk).
What is the most commonly available textile, the fabric even the poorest wear?
What’s the most expensive textile? Is it limited to certain people, or is it available to whoever can afford it?
CLIMATE
What is the climate like?
What elements do your characters need to protect themselves against in their natural environment?
There’s a reason the Eskimos wear fur, and a reason why the Egyptians cultivated cotton. Each is appropriate for the environment they lived in. Hint: Leather is not a good choice to wear around a lot of water – it soaks water in, it does not repel it. Leather can be made waterproof, but it has to be maintained, and someone on a long journey is less likely to be able to keep up that maintenance. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, just keep it in the back of your mind.
FUNCTION
Body image
What is accentuated, and what is hidden?
What is fetishized or taboo, and why? How does it affect the styles of garments?
Social status
What sort of life does the character wearing a garment lead?
What kind of upkeep can they afford to maintain?
Do they have someone to help them get dressed, if the garment has complicated fastenings in hard-to-reach places?
How durable does a garment need to be?
What kind of elements will it be exposed to?
To Hem It Up (Pun Definitely Intended)…
Look at cultures and climates that are similar to the one(s) you’re constructing. When you compare the climate with their resources, do you start to see a correlation?
The Original Image (Which has been cropped, edited, and flipped) for the banner on this post was taken by Liga_Eglite under a CC by 2.0 License.
My intention is to turn the A-Zs of Worldbuilding into a workbook after the Challenge is finished. If you’d like to stay notified about that, you can subscribe to my newsletter here. Please make sure and select the A-Zs of Worldbuilding option!
Sophie Duncan
April 3, 2014 - 2:18 am ·I have to admit, I only consider clothes in the briefest of terms normally when I’m writing fantasy. I should pay more attention and at least be consistent even if the actual type of cloth is part of the iceberg of my world-building that is under the water. 🙂
Interesting post,
Sophie
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Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 7:46 am ·I… will usually ‘see’ a characters clothes before I see what their face looks like, lol. A clothing description doesn’t always make it into the story, but I can learn a lot about my characters just by asking them why they’re wearing what they do.
And consistency is good! Depending on the climate, a character being properly (or improperly) garbed can be the difference between life and death!
Maria Zannini
April 3, 2014 - 7:32 am ·My mother taught all of us girls to sew, but I never could get the hang of it. Probably because I kept stabbing myself with that needle. 🙂
I describe clothing only if it’s important to the scene or the social structure of the world building. Glad it wasn’t left to me to sew for them too. They’d be left naked.
Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 7:48 am ·I’ve actually sewn my finger with the sewing machine before. Or, rather, it was an embroidery machine. Amazingly, I didn’t lose the nail.
I will admit that sometimes I purposefully make clothing important in a story. Because I love describing it. But I try not to go overboard – I’ve actually had a couple of my critique partners tell me they always skim over clothing descriptions, but they don’t skim mine because I make them interesting!
smblooding
April 3, 2014 - 9:29 am ·I didn’t even realize how much attention I pay to clothes. In all of my fantasy stories (which, lets be honest, are ALL of them), I do devote a pretty substantial amount of attention deciding what they’ll wear, how functional it is, does it denote their status well? It wasn’t until I read your post that I even REALIZED I do this. LOL! I just see my characters, and the clothes are a part of who they are. GREAT post!
Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 4:13 pm ·It’s pretty instinctual for some writers (like you and me) obviously ;). Thanks!
dragontailsandscales
April 3, 2014 - 10:41 am ·It really is important especially with certain genres. Very nicely written.
Challenge Beyond
I am challenging A to Zers to draw a simple picture with their mouth – try it!
Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 4:14 pm ·Thanks!
rolandclarke
April 3, 2014 - 3:00 pm ·Thanks Rebekah for more enlightenment… and reminders of things not assessed. Very important moving between extremes of course… icy cold to humidity.
Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 4:16 pm ·Haha, I live in Oklahoma. We actually have those extremes in a single day. You learn to carry a jacket, and potentially a change of shoes, with you everywhere.
zannierose
April 3, 2014 - 3:47 pm ·wondering what a ‘croquis’ is? Can you tell I do not sew!
Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 4:17 pm ·It’s basically a line sketch of a figure. If you google ‘croquis’, it pulls up several examples right away.
Thanks for stopping by!
Andrew
April 3, 2014 - 4:41 pm ·Have you ever read Wheel of Time? Oh my gosh, Jordan would go on and on and on and on and on about the dresses the women were wearing. It would make my eyes glaze over.
Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 4:52 pm ·Hahaha, I have read Wheel of Time. I don’t actually remember descriptions of clothing as much as I just remember how WORDY Jordan was in general. I think there was one book that only covered 24 hours, if even that.
Andrew
April 3, 2014 - 5:34 pm ·I know that Path of Daggers, the last book I read, covered only about three days. I just couldn’t take it anymore after that.
TraceyLynnTobin
April 3, 2014 - 4:55 pm ·This post gave me twitches…lol I’m not a fashion girl by a long shot (I mostly wear jeans and graphic tees), and sewing has definitely never been my strong point. I have, however, discovered a love for creating Halloween costumes for my daughter, so that’s something. lol 🙂
Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 10:11 pm ·Costuming is soooo much fun! And designing clothes for fantasy novel characters is pretty much exactly that – creating Halloween costumes that people actually wear for everyday functions. In stories.
😀
TraceyLynnTobin
April 4, 2014 - 8:33 am ·It is a ton of fun! I treated my daughter like a doll for her first three Halloweens…lol…She was, in order, She-Ra, Link (from Legend of Zelda), and Megaman.
Strangely, when it comes to writing I’m very lazy about my “costumes”. I try, but usually I wind up just saying something like, “she was wearing a skirt” or “he had leather boots on his feet”. lol
Rebekah Loper
April 4, 2014 - 9:09 am ·What do you mean, aren’t babies essentially living dolls? *innocent look* (I pity my poor future children… and my soon-arriving practically-nephew.)
TraceyLynnTobin
April 4, 2014 - 9:45 am ·lol It IS difficult not to treat them as such. It can backfire on you though…my habit of constantly putting my daughter in cute little dresses and Disney Princess costumes is what caused her to become obsessed with dresses and never want to wear pants for any reason. 😛
Patricia Lynne (@plynne_writes)
April 3, 2014 - 7:30 pm ·I recently saw an article that talked about how boob plates on amor was so not practical and explained how if that was real, the wearer was basically guiding the sharp, pointy sword to their heart.
Rebekah Loper
April 3, 2014 - 10:27 pm ·Haha, it makes sense! Boob plates would essentially be redirect ramps for any swords.
Susan Gourley
April 3, 2014 - 10:36 pm ·So glad I found you. We were definitely thinking along the same lines today.
WriterlySam
April 4, 2014 - 12:27 am ·Really valuable insight, especially since my latest fiction project will demand greater detail in this arena. Will be back for more tips!
WriterlySam
A to Z #TeamDamyanti
Rebekah Loper
April 4, 2014 - 9:01 am ·Thanks!
sdneeve1
April 4, 2014 - 4:36 am ·This is such a great theme, I’m enjoying it immensely! 🙂
Rebekah Loper
April 4, 2014 - 9:01 am ·Thank you! It’s been a lot of fun writing it so far.
Donna B. McNicol [@dbmcnicol]
April 4, 2014 - 7:49 pm ·Another great post that I Need to save…have you thought about putting all these into a book?
D.B. McNicol
A to Z: Romance & Mystery…writing my life
Rebekah Loper
April 4, 2014 - 11:18 pm ·I am considering it, Donna! If you’d like to keep up with notifications about that after the A-Z challenge has finished, you can sign up for my newsletter at this link. Make sure you check the box that says “The A-Zs of Worldbuilding”.