So here are some more ways to alter a design while sticking with familiarity and a more historic feel: If you look at popular works of fiction you'll find two trends, one is the simplistic and often tight-fit look and the other is the more over the top and extravagant look. I really loved this article, but I have one question, it was very helpful. Your articles are always very informative. But I find looking back in time to the likes of the medieval period can provide some wonderful and unique ideas. Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. Make sure you know whats hot and whats not in your specific setting, as well as what specific words the locals would use. The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. Blades hacking, slicing and puncturing, cutting open gaping wounds and severing limbs and heads from bodies. Sneak around? Now this won't work for every piece of clothing of course, not everything has buttons or edges that allow for simple changes we don't already use today, so here are a few ways that are commonly used to make things look more futuristic: Describe these in passing to add visual colour and authenticity to your character descriptions. Costume is a large part of a character. Youre working essential details into the narrative at the moment when they are most relevant. 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. stylish, expensive clothing, yet not specific to a certain time or place. 60s-inspired. Do all your characters embrace it? It took a while to get ready, with the help of somebody else needed, usually squires, who began with the feet and worked up from there. Understanding how to describe clothing in a story well will help you create fuller, richer character portraits. Only the most powerful strikes could pierce such armor. For example, think about a wealthy person and how that person might dress. Some had pointed snouts, the purpose of which was to deflect arrows when walking into arrow storms. Get it right, and you transport your readers to a vivid world. This is a fun one. - 'Stealth'. And if you were skilled at surviving and killing, it was a good way to make a living. Richie also runs The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, a podcast devoted to helping writers improve their craft. Those of us who dont get all jazzed about writing clothing descriptions often fail to consider that a good wardrobe has layers. 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. Expensive indeed, and heavystronger horses had to be bred to handle the weight. Get an image of a blank shirt and simply draw the lines on it, it'll form a great base to work with. 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. 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 Details about fit, cut, and material go a long way when describing the clothing of a character who longs to attract. Lets take a look at how clothing description indicates your characters identity, goals, and culture. 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. Who is your character at the beginning of the story, and how can you dress them to establish their normal? Are they overalls or coveralls? ), Your character and communitys financial resources. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. (Hopefully, I dont really know your life, so maybe not. For fantasy stories to be more believable, we need to understand how it interacts with our characters, especially if theyre enchanted. Copyright 2023 Richie Billing | Fantasy Writer. That would depend on a few things. Maybe theyre wearing an article of clothing that once belonged to someone theyve lost. 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. Make it look very clean and smooth and it immediately feels more modern. Delighted to hear youre finding this useful. As well see below, medieval armor developed through necessitypeople needed to protect themselves from those wicked blades and needle-sharp darts. And well dip back in time to look at medieval armor and how it was used and crafted. (Has denim been invented yet? Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. Its a good time. Not really. Technology goes beyond simply what kind of clothes could be made though, it also relates to how technology is incorporated into style in general. Glasses, headsets, lenses, jewelry, belts and so on can all help sell the futuristic look. A pair of starched Wranglers. A knight, by definition, was a lord. Good for the mobile knight. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt, A Guide To Writing Stories That Genuinely Helps, "Helped me land my first book deal" - Jack Shannon, Author, Get More Writing Support From Fellow Fantasy Writers, A complete guide to worldbuilding, with a template. For a bigger image, just click on the link above. Using a squared, pixelated look or circuitry patterns usually works great too, which can even be combined with layered clothing to create the circuitry feel. Tell us how the wool of your protagonists sheath dress scratches the skin on the underside of her arm. Using the work of Alexander McQueen, this unit guides students through the analysis of a fashion collection, introducing them to the critical language and methodologies needed to evaluate fashion design and runway presentation. What would you think about a wealthy character who looked as though he shopped at thrift stores? Armor, therefore, wasnt that heavya full suit weighed approximately 50 pounds, which is around 3 to 4 stone. And if you need a place to organize your complex responses, I recommend Dabbles Character Notes feature. Knights werent as immobile as people assum, though I can imagine in a quagmire itd be tricky to get up. The shrewd king essentially licensed out parcels of his land as rewards to his warriors in exchange for their military service. The details create an authentic sense of a prominentcardinals dressin the 1500s. Because like all other character details, its not enough to paint a picture. For example, a meticulously dressed character who is discovered in a disheveled and poorly dressed state. Theyll see it automatically. Is your character trying to attract positive attention? But the biggest challenge can sometimes be simply making something look futuristic or historic fantasy-ish, which is the main focus of this guide. As knights became fully armored, so did their mounts. Subtle clothing changes can signal character development quite effectively in some scenarios. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7bbcc198c936bc1af3fbda128514c44fcfc10f0513ea31cad7c21ae61ba0ab0.jpg. Here are a few different types: We mentioned gambesons above. Besides, these are all just guidelines meant to spark some inspiration in you. Never hose for men and probably never puffy breeches. I mentioned my online writing group at the beginning of this guide. 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. What also worries me is that in Chapter 3 I used a lot of descriptions of the house, like the main characters room and then I had him go to various other rooms, looked at pictures of his family he has yet to meet so chapter 3 had the least story development or social scenes but the ones it had were good ones and I ended it with a scene that creates more development and story hype. On the other hand you may wish to add layers for the same purpose. In this scene, Gradgrind returns home to find his children playing outside: A space of stunted grass and dry rubbish being between him and the young rabble, he took his eyeglass out of his waistcoat to look for any child he knew by name, and might order off. Pingback: The Life of the Medieval Lord - Richie Billing, Pingback: How To Create Your Very Own Living Breathing Fantasy World - Richie Billing, Pingback: Fantasy Races - The Ultimate Guide To Elves, Orcs and Dwarves | Richie Billing, Pingback: Killer Diseases of the Middle Ages | Richie Billing, Pingback: Medieval Cannons: The Essential Guide | Richie Billing, Pingback: On Writing: Fantasy Without Magic Of Metal and Magic Publishing, Pingback: The Lives Of Medieval Peasants - Richie Billing. I once wrote about imbuing everyday objects with meaning because talisman create great opportunities for symbolism! Your email address will not be published. Note that with the camouflage patterns it's best to use this style, but make them less randomized to avoid the military look, unless that's what you're going for of course. That was the theory. I'm talking about the jagged, triangular shapes you find on some stealth planes or the digital camouflage patterns. As far as guidelines go this is the first to be broken though, consider this one more of a starting point rather than something to necessarily end on. As for showing with clothing rather than telling, a writer could say, He was lazy and inattentive to his appearance about a character, or they could say his clothes always looked like hed just pulled them out of a pile in some corner of his bedroom and had thrown them on without a glance in the mirror. It makes for a more entertaining read. See how Dickens contrasts the fact-obsessed, overbearingteacher Thomas Gradgrind and his wifes personalities through (among other details) their clothing description. Who doesnt like being comfortable when killing? 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. The last minute change suggests an indecisive nature. Heating to the perfect temperature was key. With historical fiction one interesting aspect is to bring back the reader to that time period. - Diagonal lines: Diagonal lines aren't all that common in historic clothing and they usually only came in the form of neck lines, the edges of unbuttoned jackets or from large pieces of fabric being held up (think ancient Rome). Finally there's the aspect of fashion to take into account. The aim was not to cause any impediment to movement. Lets take a look at some individual pieces of armor. Like Marquez, compare and contrast characters clothes to reveal important details about their social status or position. With these two changes alone you already have an item that didn't exist in medieval times, but is familiar enough to work in a fantasy setting. Affordable . Give your wealthy character a pair of Louboutins and dress your non-wealthy characters in hand-me-downs. Also, don't feel like you have to include every point I've made. As I write this, I am wearing jeans that are too big, a gray t-shirt I inherited from a former roommate, and a pilled hoodie from a lighting vendor that works with my friends husbands company. - Convert future clothing to a historic version. By playing around with this you quickly create very subtle, but more unique fantasy-themed items. Get free books, an invite to my exclusive writing group, writing tools and guides and much more when you join my community. Below, well take a look at the armor found in the fantasy genre, covering everything from chain mail to helmets. - Use nudity. Lets delve further into these ideas about describing characters dress: Think of your characters clothing like an actors costume in a play. Youll be blown away by the number of awesome things on there. Help your readers feel the relaxed, organic cotton or the memory foam slipper, and theyll feel your characters priorities deep in their own souls. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. Lots of gear would have been looted. 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. For example, fur usually wasn't used as a piece of decoration for clothing and if used at all was often worn around the neck and shoulders or underneath other (often hide) clothing to keep warm. Think armor, bulletproof vests, and bandoliers. My story feels like its set more in medieval times, but I don't want my characters running around in full out tunics and. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. Hi Paige, thank you (and thanks for your question). Not quite. A few small details of clothing may distinguish your characters from each other, highlighting their personalities. Some helmets had chain attached which hung around and protected the neck, called an aventail, and most were padded inside, for added comfort. Added on top of that the condition that they had to supply him with soldiers too. So this really reaffirmed that approach for me. Thus his plain dress is, ironically, indicative of higher status. Ready to sketch vivid characters for your novel? Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. Using this site means trees will be planted. Great points. - Another way to use color is to make things seem like they're glowing even if they're not and to use gradients. These were worn on their own by those wanting greater speed and flexibility, but also by those unable to afford stronger armor. clothed and we should definitely be using them to portray our characters personalities. You find that its about more than throwing out fashion terms and listing articles of clothing. A man's padded undercoat worn under a doublet and over a shirt; a woman's (often padded) under-tunic or the skirt of her riding habit. Look how she sits with her mouth open! A self-conscious kid tries to disappear inside their oversized sweatshirt. You can keep track of your characters signature style, upload photos, note how their style evolves, and keep these ideas right at your fingertips as you write. Elsewhere, Mantels novel is full of descriptions of garments for specific, era-appropriate purposes: Riding cloaks, town coats, and other clothing people of means would have worn at this time. Would the fashion designers in your fantasy novel make use of dragon scales? 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. Do they strive to be humble before their god or do they want to spend this one and only life as their bold, ostentatious selves? Achieving glory in battle was one way of earning a knighthood. What are the rules of your characters world? They should be doing that. Pingback: Fantasy Weapons - Medieval, Magic And Other Types - Richie Billing, Helping writers on their journey and readers find their next favourite story.. Ideas are forever being shared and discussed. Theyre the lifeblood of any relationship. Pfoo, the owl! I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. Which brings me to my next point. Love this topic!! Creating new clothing styles for fictional worlds can be a daunting task, there's just so much out there already and so many elements to play around with to create a fun and unique style, no matter whether the art form is visual or not. One does not refer to "a garb". They are more common around the chest and torso in Asian cultures though, so keep that in mind when adding diagonal lines. You can immediately show a character is wealthy with descriptions of fine clothing. There's a few other elements to keep in mind as well, but in most cases it's best not to worry at all, let your imagination go wild and simply create and enjoy what you want to create. Because it actually is possible. These detail could suggest that your character is miserly or down-to-earth despite their wealth. Katerina is affronted by Amalias fine dress because it is new and shows pride. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. Other clothing pieces could be various types of hats and scarves, (trench) coats and even something as simple as pockets or buttons used for fastening rather than as decoration to name just a few.

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