Think the previously mentioned Fifth Element and Hunger Games clothing versus Star Trek, Star Wars and so on clothing. Shoes made with bendable displays already exist, allowing you to change your shoe's design on the fly. Clothes can betray our greatest joys and our deepest insecurities. Or is it really important for a reader to know the specific pattern? I tried to add as much variety as possible, but without turning the whole description into a mess. 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. 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. 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. In my case my character is new in town and this description of clothing doesnt come until hes getting ready for the party in chapter 4 and its in the context of getting dressed, there are reasons behind it, the party is a very big deal for him getting his foot in the door with other teens in town and he wants to be impressive or maybe wants lot of attention with all the sparklies. You find that its about more than throwing out fashion terms and listing articles of clothing. In other words, research. Maybe their goal is to entice a mate. Although such armor exists in fantasy worlds, its important to understand how things work in the real world, even at a basic level. 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. Also, don't feel like you have to include every point I've made. Even the non-conformists are influenced by societal norms. Just click the button below to find out more. You suddenly know which details to include, which to leave out, and whether to call it a blood-red cloak or a goji berry wrap. With historical fiction one interesting aspect is to bring back the reader to that time period. Knights were, indeed, hard to defeat in battle. Great points. Excuse the on hold background music. Thus, "a dress" is inappropriate for a (male) prince, unless he is pretending to be a woman. Theyre just too important defensively. Thanks, Teresa, and for sharing that great example from the stage. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. Only when youre keeping secrets in fiction, you can make them even darker and deeper than any you might ever have in real life. Non-visual senses are big, too. More on that in a bit. Are the characters of your dystopian novel forced to make do with burlap and mud? As with body armor, great efforts were made with the designs of helmets. First and foremost we need to know who we're designing for. Stylish: Elegant and sophisticated clothing to grab attention. A jacket or coat of mail was usually worn with a hood, or coif, of the same material to protect the head and neck. And its in designs that you can really go wild with your own fantasy armor. Press J to jump to the feed. Particularly in genres such as historical fiction and fantasy, clothing can help to create other worlds (or a long gone era of our own). Ive always wondered that too! Examples of the prior are Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey and to some degree Star Wars and Tron. Well cover everything from helmets and plate armor to chainmail. You can quickly convey a number of things about your characters based on the clothing they wear. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. 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. Dont worry, thats not a trick question. 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. We already have spray on clothing technology. Besides knowing who we design for we also have to know what the rules for designing are within the universe of our characters. Its a good time. 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. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. I once wrote about imbuing everyday objects with meaning because talisman create great opportunities for symbolism! But it provided an odd sense of security. Make sure you know whats hot and whats not in your specific setting, as well as what specific words the locals would use. Heating to the perfect temperature was key. Another might claim power by striding in wearing torn jeans and a tank top. 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. That works. 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. Tell us how the wool of your protagonists sheath dress scratches the skin on the underside of her arm. 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. That was the theory. When youre shopping for yourself, you know what you like but you dont know how to describe it. Baggy jeans. Some materials are used more than others, some colors are more desirable than others and some accessories are more desirable than others and these all changed throughout time. Pingback: A fantasy writers guide to weaponry Richie Billing. Clothing is one of the easiest and most immediate ways to establish an historical setting. But they werent administrators. Make it look very clean and smooth and it immediately feels more modern. Describe these in passing to add visual colour and authenticity to your character descriptions. A self-conscious kid tries to disappear inside their oversized sweatshirt. 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. Its okay if Todds checks his designer watch three pages after you mention his silk tie. Each suit was tailored to the individual. By playing around with this you quickly create very subtle, but more unique fantasy-themed items. Yet Dr. Urbinos status as a respected doctor is earned he has nothing to prove by dressing smarter. For more information, please see our Affordable . 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. 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. Like Dostoyevsky, think how something as small as a characters change of clothing can affecttheir own or others behaviour. Of course there are more ways to alter historic designs and the middle ages aren't the only period to draw inspiration from. Something like this: As you can see, a knights armor is made up of a lot of different pieces. The time period of your story. Great article. What backstory or character motivations could combinations of appearance and reality suggest? "White tunics" have been worn from 2016 to a good forty thousand years ago. But as the show moved forward the suit got more ragged the jacket was open, then gone, the shirt cuffs undone, half the buttons undone and I think by the end when he was on the cross the shirt was gone. Privacy Policy. This is great! If youre trying to learn how to describe clothing in writing, youre probably like me: Youve only pretended to know what organza is. Lets talk about how to describe clothing in writing organically. Ha-ha! Pre-empt this by illustrating everything in layers and completing each layer of clothing. Katerina is affronted by Amalias fine dress because it is new and shows pride. All this to say: there is substantial storytelling power in a coral Life is Good t-shirt. Which brings me to my next point. Heres a cool video on making leather fantasy armor by YouTuber, Prince Armory. Examples of the latter are The Fifth Element and The Hunger Games. The more you know about real clothing and armor, the more tools in your bag of tricks for describing awesome fantasy pieces. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. The Victorian author Charles Dickens is widely regarded as a master of characterization, for good reason. I'm talking about the jagged, triangular shapes you find on some stealth planes or the digital camouflage patterns. Here are five examples: 1. It's what we're slowly doing today. The tragedy of Azincourt, for example, occurred because of a poorly-chosen battleground that had flooded. A four-layer, bubble-gum pink taffeta skirt. Even things like tattoos, hair colors, eye colors and so on can help with this. Your trust fund character might be completely confident showing up to a party in board shorts and flip-flops. A possible source of conflict for a story, perhaps! Only in certain situations is a description even needed. Expensive indeed, and heavystronger horses had to be bred to handle the weight. Like Marquez, compare and contrast characters clothes to reveal important details about their social status or position. Use the Character section of the Idea Finder to develop quick story ideas and flesh out your storys cast. Your character might also have a job or hobby that requires protective clothing. 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. Stockings, long gloves, scarves or separate layers of clothing make a huge difference. I mentioned my online writing group at the beginning of this guide. The clothes a person wears tellsus many things: their status in life, for example, or their cultural affiliation or identity. A scarlet pantsuit. Since it's a friends' get-together, let's wear casual attire. This is a fun one. Clothing reflects the resources available in a specific time and place. Clothing description in a story is useful because it often gives additional information about a character that you might otherwise tell. It can be as simple as making a dress shorter, a jacket longer or sleeves wider and longer. For example, a meticulously dressed character who is discovered in a disheveled and poorly dressed state. Help your readers feel the relaxed, organic cotton or the memory foam slipper, and theyll feel your characters priorities deep in their own souls. Think of the process like dressing a doll: start at the beginning and up build the layers. 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. 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. Your article is really great. Glasses, headsets, lenses, jewelry, belts and so on can all help sell the futuristic look. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. - Use nudity. One character might demonstrate their power by showing up to prom in a designer gown. But it makes a good story. They also wear talismans, jewelry, and other objects. The final design with all its layers will often hide elements of the clothing that a client may want to see later. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? Odds are, youve got a character who dresses to stay alive. How do they change, and how does their clothing reflect that change? I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. These small but mighty players can add depth, complexity, and a fresh perspective to your plot. The image you create has to play a role in the narrative.Consider the character arc. Nov 1, 2019 - Explore Arisa Nightingale's board "Male Fantasy Outfit Concepts & Designs", followed by 456 people on Pinterest. The fact that Some had pointed snouts, the purpose of which was to deflect arrows when walking into arrow storms. (Has denim been invented yet? 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. Otherwise they wont take you seriously as an artist.. Allrightsreserved, create an authentic sense of time and place, Use fashion and clothing history archives, https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7bbcc198c936bc1af3fbda128514c44fcfc10f0513ea31cad7c21ae61ba0ab0.jpg, 1: Use clothing to show status and position, 2: Build (or thwart) expectations using clothing descriptions, 3: Describe clothing to contrastcharacters personalities, 4: Show clothing to avoid over-relying on telling, 5: Change characters clothing to highlight character development, 6: Use clothing details to recreate authentic setting, 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. 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. When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. Fashion trends come and go and they often return later, albeit in a slightly different form. Fashionable: Clothes representing a current style in fashion. Besides, these are all just guidelines meant to spark some inspiration in you. With the major shapes in the thumbnails defined, choose the one that best exemplifies the feeling you're looking for. It gives you an idea of the capabilities that armor can have. Hopefully, you now have more wardrobe ideas for your characters than just red shirt, blue pants. But what about the process of actually sharing these details in your novel? Clothing description is something I have to actively choose to create, too. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. At a quarter to six, Gem pulled off the low-cut top Emma had wolf-whistled and clappedat when theyd met for their usual weekend catch-up. Showing what your characters are wearing can be a great way to show your readers what they might be up to that day without having to actually narrate anything. Think armor, bulletproof vests, and bandoliers. Nylon and polyester fabrics weren't invented until almost the mid 20th century for example. Make it mandatory to hold up a piece of clothing. Because it actually is possible. Mail was lightweight and flexible. Get an image of a blank shirt and simply draw the lines on it, it'll form a great base to work with. I like the way you wrote this information. The good news is that attire is not only important, its also kind of fun when you start digging into it.
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