Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed last week. How to Analyze a Fashion Collection - Bloomsbury Fashion Central Adding these other bits of lesser-known fantasy armor to your stories can really add extra depth to your worldbuilding. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? Further reading How To Write Fight Scenes. Discover an extensive list of terms you may want to know here. Chapters 1 and 2 were pretty decent and I started chapter 4 with him dressing for the party. The bully Gradgrind is the type whod wear a waistcoat concealing an eyeglass for catching people out. (Cough-cough-cough.) Consider whether your characters attire might serve as a symbol, highlight a theme, or represent a conflict. The train hums and throbs in place as people rush to pile in.. Your article is really great. As with body armor, great efforts were made with the designs of helmets. 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. Only the most sophisticated, Dr. Urbino among them, wore their ordinary clothes. Like Marquez, compare and contrast characters clothes to reveal important details about their social status or position. If youre good at talking clothes, you can sit this one out. Theyre just too important defensively. Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. - Break up clothing into more separate pieces and give them their own styles. Conveniently, a lot of high status positions come with outfits or accessories that telegraph a persons position in the hierarchy. What would you think about a wealthy character who looked as though he shopped at thrift stores? Sure, it helps your reader to know how you picture a character. Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. Thanks Liv, Im glad you found this helpful. Make it mandatory to hold up a piece of clothing. But put me in a job interview wearing the same outfit, and youd probably start making new guesses about my intentions. 160 Best Character description ideas | character description, fantasy Not to mention the social status of a person. 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. 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. In Dostoyevskys Crime and Punishment, the poor, Tuberculosis-stricken Katerina Ivanovnas husband is trampled to death by a horse-drawn cart. They work, they're safe and in many cases have become a standard. Fashionable: Clothes representing a current style in fashion. A knight, by definition, was a lord. Another quick way of making standard clothing fantasy themed is by converting clothes form the relative future to one that could be created in whichever time period your universe falls under. I dont mean camisoles and cardigans. - 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). When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. Read these tips on how (and why) to describe clothes with examples from well-known novels: 1: Use clothing to show status and position 2: Build (or thwart) character expectations with clothing descriptions 3: Describe clothing to contrast characters' personalities 4: Show clothing to avoid over-relying on telling How do they change, and how does their clothing reflect that change? You may have seen steelworkers doing this after forging the likes of blades and horseshoes. You can use visual description to make a character more vivid in the readers minds eye. I love to wear baggy trousers in summer. There's also the element of technology that has to be taken into account. It would have been extremely warm too. 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? From time to time we may use affiliate links to help with the costs of running the site. What does your character wear to feel safer in their world or in their own skin? The image you create has to play a role in the narrative.Consider the character arc. 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. If you arent keeping at least a few secrets from your friends and loved ones, are you really living? 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. Think of other interesting combinations: A teacher who dresses provocatively; a beggar with an innate sense of style. In other words: To describe a fantasy world, use either neutral terms, or made up words. How to Describe Clothing in Writing Without Boring Everybody Examples of the prior are Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey and to some degree Star Wars and Tron. 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. (Has denim been invented yet? That's why it's valuable to learn these terms. Thats a good example of using clothing to reinforce the narrative of a characters arc. stylish, expensive clothing, yet not specific to a certain time or place. 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. Fancy clothing description generator - Fantasy name generators 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. But they could also dress in modest, inexpensive-looking clothes. Similarly, find out (or, if youre creating a fantasy world, create) the garments your characters would wear in a particular time and place. Need help with clothing description in Fantasy | Royal Road One of her poems is (legally) stamped into a sidewalk in Santa Clarita, California. Glasses, headsets, lenses, jewelry, belts and so on can all help sell the futuristic look. The unsung hero of so many stories. The reader does not need the full outfit in one go. 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. Privacy Policy. Given that I am writing alone in my apartment, you might rightfully conclude that my goal is to be comfortable. 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. Heres a cool video on making leather fantasy armor by YouTuber, Prince Armory. 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. 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. Some wore a trapper a covering of full chain mailand down the line, some horses even had their own plated armor. Whether its a matter of indulgence or survival, feeling good is a deeply relatable goal. If its 1st person you'll describe things from the POV of your character, and I find that that's different than if you're in, for example, 3rd person. Never hose for men and probably never puffy breeches. The surrounding culture dictates what they cant wear if they want to be seen as free-thinking individuals. Clothing in fantasy novel | Absolute Write Water Cooler For example, if a character is going on a date, you could write: Gem wanted to look sexy for her date downtown (but not easy), so she changed into more comfortable clothes. 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. Expensive indeed, and heavystronger horses had to be bred to handle the weight. They can tell us what era they live in, and even a persons current state of mind or intent. Use fashion and clothing history archives if necessary. Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. Think armor, bulletproof vests, and bandoliers. This is less important for non-visual arts as clothing isn't always described in writing, but it can still be incredibly helpful to have a fully detailed character in your head or written down somewhere for reference and just to make everything feel more real and alive. Richard the Lionheart, for instance, was celebrated amongst his peers for his ability to chop his enemys skulls down to the teeth. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. 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. Much of the clothing we wear today were either rare or completely nonexistent a hundred years ago. 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. Let your mind fill in the details, always checking back in with your adjectives to make sure the concept is moving in the right direction. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Describe these in passing to add visual colour and authenticity to your character descriptions. 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 - Use lines to break up a piece of clothing and create a kind of mosaic. In reality, a medieval lord could pretty much do what they liked. 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. At the end of the day, they were professional slayers, swords for hire. Characters can also comment on or react to one anothers clothing, as long as the exchange reveals something about the world or relationship. Such coats were made from brass or iron, though steel was deemed best due to its toughness. Well also take a look at female fantasy armor and those used by knights, potential designs, and ways to help you find inspiration for creating your own. Stylish: Elegant and sophisticated clothing to grab attention. Plain: Ordinary clothes of one color like gray, beige, or black. But let's take a step back and look at what kind of clothing is usually associated with futuristic settings. Think noble King Arthur and his knights of the roundtable. And when Mother Nature gets involved, even the best suit of armor can have problems. In other words take what exists and apply it differently. 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. 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. But status can be communicated in more subtle ways, too. And ninety-nine percent of the clothing descriptions in your first draft are just jeans. I get it. Jeans and a tee it was. Youre still not off the hook. The answer can guide you towards certain fashion trends to inspire your characters wardrobe. 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. Smart: Neat and tidy clothes but not necessarily formal. So its unsurprising to see soldiers wielding swords and axes and shooting bows. Another similar and perhaps way more popular example of this is Steampunk. So as a way of trying to control them and their behaviour, the code of chivalry and honour was introduced. These were worn on their own by those wanting greater speed and flexibility, but also by those unable to afford stronger armor. 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. You could even move the buttons to the side and have it close diagonally instead. One does not refer to "a garb". Which brings me to my next point. 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. Clothing is one of the easiest and most immediate ways to establish an historical setting. Since it's a friends' get-together, let's wear casual attire. Thanks Chuck! For example, think about a wealthy person and how that person might dress. Youre already obsessing over hat styles and what the undergarment situation was at the time of your story. Subtle clothing changes can signal character development quite effectively in some scenarios. Most clothing throughout history consisted of longer pieces of fabric and with minimal tailoring and cuts. But your reader is going to picture something whether you guide them or not. By using fur for decoration you quickly create fictional pieces in no time. Now, if you write historical fiction, its important to research the clothing of your chosen era. No problem! Added on top of that the condition that they had to supply him with soldiers too. - Mix cultures. Because like all other character details, its not enough to paint a picture. Its about building a life and a world, and that is something you can do. 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. And of course, location provides a clue for what it takes to be comfortable in the world of your story. In writing, the clothes kind of do make the (hu)man. - Make things look glossy, smooth and clean. 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. I'll allow my fangirl side to shine for a second and use the Legend of Korra as an example of how mixing styles can work amazingly well. That would depend on a few things. Because it actually is possible. And lets not forget the trusty steed. Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. Theyre probably less concerned with how they look (unless they want to look intimidating) and more concerned with things like survival or victory. - Geometry. How to describe clothing in a story: Creating characters Well come to this below. Clothes that are loose and hanging in folds. 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. Clothing reflects the resources available in a specific time and place. Heres how to describe clothing in writing to show your readers the world to which your character belongs. Heating to the perfect temperature was key. Its because concrete details are incredibly effective in communicating abstract concepts. Black and white usually does the trick as well. Do your characters care deeply about looking respectable, or are they more afraid of putting on airs? These elements are very important when taking into account the previous point. I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. Be specific and accurate. The front part of helmets, or the visors, were there to raise or open so the wearer could breathe during taxing hand-to-hand combat or scan around the battlefield. Blades hacking, slicing and puncturing, cutting open gaping wounds and severing limbs and heads from bodies. I'll make a separate point for sci-fi/futuristic clothing and fantasy/historic clothing. 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. As a result, feudal England became rife with young murderous men. You can immediately show a character is wealthy with descriptions of fine clothing. Thus, "a dress" is inappropriate for a (male) prince, unless he is pretending to be a woman. The fact that The eye slits were narrow to prevent all sizes of arrowheads from finding their way through. Improve this answer. Pauldrons, gauntlets, and even leg armor were fashioned into elaborate designs. I tend to avoid describing clothing. This description generator will create a mostly random description of either a dress or a suit, fit for formal occasions and other fancy needs. Theyre the lifeblood of any relationship. If you tell your readers about Nanettes light pink cardigan and string of pearls, you dont have to say much about the shoes and skirt and silk blouse. Which of these clothing types is your character most likely to reach for when starting their day? 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. 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. Pingback: Fantasy Weapons - Medieval, Magic And Other Types - Richie Billing, Helping writers on their journey and readers find their next favourite story.. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. (Would people living in this area have access to leather goods? Without decriptions of the clothing it's a bit boring, the novel becomes a list of people the reader can't imagine doing things. Only when youre keeping secrets in fiction, you can make them even darker and deeper than any you might ever have in real life. (Where do they buy their clothes? But the biggest challenge can sometimes be simply making something look futuristic or historic fantasy-ish, which is the main focus of this guide. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. Required fields are marked *. Leather could be stitched into coats, or added to mail to provide added protection. 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. Helpful links to blog posts, articles, videos and guides are shared every day. And medieval warfare was a bloody affair. Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. Characters Wear More Than Just Clothes. That fancy Ming dynasty dress looks completely different with exposed shoulders and that medieval set of pants look completely different if you turn them into shorts with exposed legs. Perhaps its because the genre was born out of stories that emerged from the Middle Ages like Beowulf and King Arthur (around the 10th-11th century). Stealthy clothes bring to mind burglars clad in black outfits and soft-soled sneakers. Sweaters or jumpers? Is your character trying to attract positive attention? Clothes that are suitable for everyday wear rather than formal occasions. 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. Sneak around? - Convert future clothing to a historic version. Nov 28, 2022 - Explore Anung V's board "Character description" on Pinterest. 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. Richie Billing writes fantasy fiction, historical fiction and stories of a darker nature. Now on the other end of the spectrum we have fantasy clothing and more history based clothing. "White tunics" have been worn from 2016 to a good forty thousand years ago. 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. One very important aspect of describing attire well is understanding why youre describing it in the first place. Well also take a look at female fantasy armor and those used by, Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. List of Medieval Clothing (91 terms!) - The Medieverse: Tim's Realistic 100 Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs ideas | fantasy clothing You can quickly convey a number of things about your characters based on the clothing they wear. Ready to sketch vivid characters for your novel? Have fun with it. Youre working essential details into the narrative at the moment when they are most relevant. 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A self-conscious kid tries to disappear inside their oversized sweatshirt. 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 some ways you can develop those unique ideas: In this section, well take a look at some cool pieces of knight armor in fantasy that people have designed over the years, to give you even more inspiration for your own designs. It's easy to try this out too, at least the simple line version. Changes in characters clothing can help revealcharacter development. 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. So below, well take a look at the relationship between the genre of fantasy and medieval armor. Such simple things, but the clothes really helped show Jesus plight. There is simply more characterization, not only of Gem but the other characters, too. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth. Chain mail is a great piece of fantasy armor to use in your stories purely because of its flexibility. The reason we fuss over physical descriptions is not because its so important that the readers imagination gets it right. One way is to avoid what we call filter words. Describing clothing - Creative Writing Forums Fully geared up, you were a walking fortress. Do they need a ghillie suit to blend into the natural environment? How long do they need their clothes to last? What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. Community . Lets talk about how to describe clothing in writing organically. Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. If a knight fell from a horse, he could quite easily pick himself up, not stuck on the ground like a tortoise knocked on its shell. A band t-shirt. How to Give Your Characters Style: Describing Clothing in Writing It was pretty easy to make, though laborious, and easy to repair. 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 . (Hopefully, I dont really know your life, so maybe not. You find that its about more than throwing out fashion terms and listing articles of clothing. Writing Tips on Describing Clothes - Pen and the Pad Similar to how pixelated designs tend to look more futuristic so do designs full of geometrical shapes. Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story. What are the rules of your characters world? He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town. Before I delve into the more detailed aspects of creating clothing there's one final thing to keep in mind and that is that fashion repeats itself. Just click the button below to find out more. Armor, therefore, wasnt that heavya full suit weighed approximately 50 pounds, which is around 3 to 4 stone. But I find looking back in time to the likes of the medieval period can provide some wonderful and unique ideas. 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. Maybe your character is snuggled up in their fleece pajamas while the blizzard rages outside. To navigate your way through this guide, just click the links below. Thus his plain dress is, ironically, indicative of higher status. If you want futuristic fantasy simply follow the sci-fi/futuristic tips more or mix and match both sides. Amalias dress thus comes across as insensitive to her; malicious even. Follow edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:43. - 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. Obviously clothing is extremely varied, especially dresses. I can only imagine the pain of the chafing! One reason clothing descriptions can start to feel like a tedious laundry list (see what I did there?) It can genuinely be tough to come up with cool ideas for epic fantasy armor without drifting back to things that weve seen in the likes of Dungeons and Dragons, The Elder Scrolls and movies like Lord of the Rings. Baggy jeans. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt weapons and provided some protection from cuts, but against well-forged weapons they were useless. It took leaving the Midwest to recognize it. 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. As a quick question, in film you see a lot of heroes and leaders not wearing helmets.