Its something readers definitely appreciate, which I found with Pariahs Lament. Tell us how the wool of your protagonists sheath dress scratches the skin on the underside of her arm. - Christine, on How to describe clothing in a story (with examples), 8 story hook examples (how to grab attention), Story structure examples: How to create payoffs for readers, How to describe to immerse readers (complete guide), How to write deep POV: 8 tips and examples, 9 exposition examples: How to write clear introductions, How to make a plot captivating: 7 strategies, Writing great characters: 5 lessons from modern novels. If your character comes home and immediately sheds three layers of down and fleece, Im going to assume theyre not in San Antonio, Texas. 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. - Taboos and nudity. Smart: Neat and tidy clothes but not necessarily formal. So have fun with that. This is a fun one. Understanding how to describe clothing in a story well will help you create fuller, richer character portraits. We therefore see in the fantasy genre characters equipped with grand helmets and beautiful pieces of plate armor. I don't mean make your characters walk around naked, but exposing (or covering) body parts in ways we don't today helps make ordinary clothing look different, which in turn helps sell the idea of it being futuristic. Coats of plated armor soon came about, which consisted of a series of plates linked on top of one another. (Find out more). Its okay if Todds checks his designer watch three pages after you mention his silk tie. Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. And here are some great concepts for female fantasy armor. Also his mother was poor and anyone who knew that might wonder how he could afford such clothing so it hints at the actual story. (Has denim been invented yet? Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. If your protagonist is donning a tri-cornered hat, loosening a corset, or strutting through town in a new toga, your reader has a good sense of time period. Who is your character at the beginning of the story, and how can you dress them to establish their normal? Thanks, Sana. But they werent administrators. Much of the clothing we wear today were either rare or completely nonexistent a hundred years ago. 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. Only the most powerful strikes could pierce such armor. Or one who was forever wearing poorly-fitted clothing that appeared to be handed down from friends? 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. Character description may change over the course of a story to emphasize a characters arc. 2023 NOW NOVEL CC. Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. 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. Blend in? And ninety-nine percent of the clothing descriptions in your first draft are just jeans. I get it. I tend to avoid describing clothing. Heres how to describe clothing in writing to show your readers the world to which your character belongs. )Secrets might not be something youve specifically thought about when youre drafting a story. clothed and we should definitely be using them to portray our characters personalities. (Would people living in this area have access to leather goods? Only the most sophisticated, Dr. Urbino among them, wore their ordinary clothes. The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. A knight, by definition, was a lord. But that doesn't mean you can't deviate from these guidelines completely and do whatever you wish. 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. The fact Gem goes with jeans and a tee could suggest that she trusts her aunts advice. Expensive indeed, and heavystronger horses had to be bred to handle the weight. That cloth ribbon tied around their waist? 2012 - In pre-thermometer times this was difficult as you can imagine, so instead, armorers observed the colour of the heated steel. Consider whether your characters attire might serve as a symbol, highlight a theme, or represent a conflict. Borrowed armor wouldnt fit as well as a suit made for the wearer and wouldnt be as well balanced, so someone in borrowed armor would be more likely to have problems moving in his armor. Vision in such helmets was extremely limited, but this was the cost of added protection. Pingback: A fantasy writers guide to weaponry Richie Billing. The details create an authentic sense of a prominentcardinals dressin the 1500s. These elements are very important when taking into account the previous point. Your trust fund character might be completely confident showing up to a party in board shorts and flip-flops. The more people that join this thriving group the better it becomes. A vintage polka dot dress with a sweetheart neckline. If you want futuristic fantasy simply follow the sci-fi/futuristic tips more or mix and match both sides. Stylish: Elegant and sophisticated clothing to grab attention. Adorable. That would depend on a few things. Blunt weapons were effective, causing haemorrhaging and concussion, so padded garments known as a doublet or gambeson were worn underneath to provide added protection. When shes not writing, Abi is most likely hiking, reading, or texting her mother pictures of her houseplants to ask why they look like that. It was my understanding that they quenched in oil, not water. Discover an extensive list of terms you may want to know here. Heating to the perfect temperature was key. You walk down the usual street and suddenly some old memory hits you. Someone jumps down from a boundary wall wearing dark clothes and clutching a bag, that's enough of a clue they're a burglar, and if the protagonist now has to chase them then a description of the form those clothes take down to the buckles on the shoes is going to break the flow. Its a good time. Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. Dragon scales, fiery furs and feathers and other elements can quickly turn a standard item into a fantasy one. Helmets were arguably the most distinctive feature of an armored knight. Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. The first time I joined my family for our biannual Minnesota fishing trip after moving to L.A. from the Midwest, I found myself constantly losing my aunt and mother. - 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). Theyre the lifeblood of any relationship. - Mix cultures. When you use clothing to define who your character is, remember that it can also clarify how they feel about themselves and how they fit into the world around them. Love this topic!! Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story. What is a good way to do Show not tell in a first person POV state? Community . Casual. The train hums and throbs in place as people rush to pile in.. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? So Id say in films its more for cinematic effect and also for clarity so the viewer can see whos doing what. 28 First of all, beautiful dress and mask! Clothing description also presents an opportunity to play with different points of view. We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. Without decriptions of the clothing it's a bit boring, the novel becomes a list of people the reader can't imagine doing things. Choose A Chapter The Fantasy Genre And Medieval Armor Chain Mail Plated Armor Helmets Other Types Of Armor The Medieval Knight 04. 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. Another important function of clothing description in stories is to create an authentic sense of time and place. It may be apocryphal, but Harold Godwinson is said to have done just that at the battle of Hastings in 1066. You can use visual description to make a character more vivid in the readers minds eye. Who doesnt like being comfortable when killing? 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 . If done right you could even use these elements alone with clothing of today to sell a futuristic look. 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. 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. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed last week. Nov 1, 2019 - Explore Arisa Nightingale's board "Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs", followed by 456 people on Pinterest. The clothing itself can be just standard medieval gear, but with these elements they immediately look (wood) elvish. Youre working essential details into the narrative at the moment when they are most relevant. Characters Wear More Than Just Clothes. He took off his helmet and a Norman archer made a lucky shot that put out Harolds eye and ended the battle.It should be noted that, with the helmets of the time, it wasnt necessary for Harold to take off his helmet, either to be seen or to get his eye shot out. Like Dostoyevsky, think how something as small as a characters change of clothing can affecttheir own or others behaviour. Mail was one of the first types of metal armor developed, arguably by the Celts, though other sources say its origins came from Eastern Europe. Here are some classic characteristics you can draw out through clothing description. [Find more articles on character description in our complete guide to character creation.]. You can try all Dabbles premium features for free for fourteen days. But the definition of sneaky depends on your characters situation. 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. Also try searching cool fantasy armor, or epic fantasy armor. Great article. I'm talking about the jagged, triangular shapes you find on some stealth planes or the digital camouflage patterns. What the description shows is that many of the inviteesplay at status through fancy dress. Only in certain situations is a description even needed. I love to wear baggy trousers in summer. For example, a shy person will often wear 'regular' clothing, clothing that isn't too bright or outgoing in both design and colors. But status can be communicated in more subtle ways, too. 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. A lowly one at that, but one very much capable of climbing the ladder. 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. I'll make a separate point for sci-fi/futuristic clothing and fantasy/historic clothing. Fancy dresses. and our Examples of the prior are Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey and to some degree Star Wars and Tron. A scarlet pantsuit. No problem! Baggy jeans. Use your first-person narrators senses sight, hearing, touch, etc. Amalias dress thus comes across as insensitive to her; malicious even. Sneak around? Impoverished with children to care for, she uses her last money to give her husband a dignified funeral. 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. See how Dickens contrasts the fact-obsessed, overbearingteacher Thomas Gradgrind and his wifes personalities through (among other details) their clothing description. 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. All cultures have dress codes to some degree, some more so than others and some more stricter than others, but every culture has a range of styles that would be considered normal, 'out there' and unacceptable to most. This is further influenced/confirmed by the show Forged in Fire where the judges were a half step from putting their heads in their hands when a smith put his hot blade in water instead of oil to cool it down. Who's your rebel, and how does their clothing reflect their defiant spirit? Youre more than welcome to join us and wed love to have you on board. Make it look very clean and smooth and it immediately feels more modern. Youre still not off the hook. Maybe theyre hoping to impress the cool kids or please their parents. Every time we got separated in a public space, I discovered myself in a sea of mature women with the same haircut and pastel tops. Theyll see it automatically. Another type of cheap armor, one up from gambesons, was boiled leather, also known as cuir bouilli. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. Achieving glory in battle was one way of earning a knighthood. Whether its a matter of indulgence or survival, feeling good is a deeply relatable goal. To illustrate this in a way we did with the futuristic shirt example let's take a standard medieval tunic and turn it into a fantasy-themed version. 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. The answer can guide you towards certain fashion trends to inspire your characters wardrobe. Well also take a look at female fantasy armor and those used by, Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. It can be as simple as making a dress shorter, a jacket longer or sleeves wider and longer. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. These detail could suggest that your character is miserly or down-to-earth despite their wealth. Give your wealthy character a pair of Louboutins and dress your non-wealthy characters in hand-me-downs. Think touchable fabrics and the light scent of lavender soap. So sometimes all it takes to create futuristic clothing is to take a trend that has passed, alter it slightly and you're done. But they could also dress in modest, inexpensive-looking clothes. But there is so much more to the experience of clothing than that. A warrior had to fight the enemy, and to fight his armor as well would be too distracting. A few small details of clothing may distinguish your characters from each other, highlighting their personalities. But they are a common element used in fantasy clothing in all sorts of works of fiction. Share. And lets not forget the trusty steed. In other words: To describe a fantasy world, use either neutral terms, or made up words. Clothes that are loose and hanging in folds. Have fun with it. For example, a meticulously dressed character who is discovered in a disheveled and poorly dressed state. 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.
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