When heated, steel turns from yellow, to brown, to blue, to red. Even the non-conformists are influenced by societal norms. Each suit was tailored to the individual. By using fur for decoration you quickly create fictional pieces in no time. This idea of knights becoming lords was introduced in England by William the Conqueror. Love this topic!! 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. Youre not infodumping. Other elements you could include are mood-based changes (exists today), clothing that uses lights or glowing elements (exists today), clothing that can be repaired or changed on the go (exists today), smart technology woven into the fabric of clothing (exists today), changing colors (think chameleons) whenever you feel like it (exists today, kind of). So have fun with that. The complete opposite is true for fantasy and historic clothing. A vintage polka dot dress with a sweetheart neckline. The padded material could absorb blows from blunt weapons and provided some protection from cuts, but against well-forged weapons they were useless. But you may run into difficulties when it comes to the practicalities. 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. Shoes made with bendable displays already exist, allowing you to change your shoe's design on the fly. The unsung hero of so many stories. 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. Jeans and a tee it was. 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. Like all forms of exposition, your goal is to deliver this information without pulling the reader out of the story. Baggy jeans. Like Borges would say, 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? (Would people living in this area have access to leather goods? Game of Thrones/A Song Of Ice And Fire is one series that wonderfully explores fantasy armor and weapons. Thanks, Teresa, and for sharing that great example from the stage. It's something we have today as well, but they're oddly uncommon and work great for more futuristic looks. Thus, "a dress" is inappropriate for a (male) prince, unless he is pretending to be a woman. PsstDoes Your Character Have a Secret? That said, once you describe how a person dresses you shouldn't really keep doing it unless it is relevant to the plot. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town. - Geometry. Thanks Liv, Im glad you found this helpful. A band t-shirt. 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. So this really reaffirmed that approach for me. Which of these clothing types is your character most likely to reach for when starting their day? Sweaters or jumpers? 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. What would high stakes clothing look like in your story? This is a heavy generalization of course and entirely based on Western culture of today, but these rules may not apply at all in a fictional universe, no matter if it's futuristic or based on a historic setting. Casual. Make it look very clean and smooth and it immediately feels more modern. Very informative. Your email address will not be published. To make it futuristic you could change where the buttons are, they're normally quite low and form a v-neck line when buttoned up, how about moving them to the top and creating an upside down V shape at the bottom. It's what we're slowly doing today. Chain mail is a great piece of fantasy armor to use in your stories purely because of its flexibility. We'll 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. To add to the previous mosaic part stealth technology can provide great patterns. 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. Lets delve further into these ideas about describing characters dress: Think of your characters clothing like an actors costume in a play. It was my understanding that they quenched in oil, not water. Affordable . If all else fails use Google images and find some visual aids and inspiration sources, they can work wonders. 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. The aim is to arm you with what you need to enrich your tales with brilliant detail. 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. They can tell us what era they live in, and even a persons current state of mind or intent. 1. Clothes that are suitable for everyday wear rather than formal occasions. But your reader is going to picture something whether you guide them or not. My story feels like its set more in medieval times, but I don't want my characters running around in full out tunics and. Technology goes beyond simply what kind of clothes could be made though, it also relates to how technology is incorporated into style in general. - Break up clothing into more separate pieces and give them their own styles. This includes items like steel-toed boots, heavy denim, or tech-forward, snag-resistant superhero spandex. First and foremost we need to know who we're designing for. 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. 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. The only cloak in the world made with silk spun by the cat-sized spiders that live in the forbidden mountains. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. Choose A Chapter The Fantasy Genre And Medieval Armor Chain Mail Plated Armor Helmets Other Types Of Armor The Medieval Knight Your character might also have a job or hobby that requires protective clothing. We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. 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. If it fits your universe it usually works, so don't be afraid of doing something different. The clothing itself can be just standard medieval gear, but with these elements they immediately look (wood) elvish. It's part of culture, so it's definitely something to keep in mind since your fictional universes will have some form of culture as well. And if you dont write historical fiction? Impoverished with children to care for, she uses her last money to give her husband a dignified funeral. Adding these other bits of lesser-known fantasy armor to your stories can really add extra depth to your worldbuilding. Not to pile on, but dont forget to make sure you know which materials wereand werentavailable in the world of your novel. Pingback: A fantasy writers guide to weaponry Richie Billing. 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. Youll be blown away by the number of awesome things on there. But there is so much more to the experience of clothing than that. Much of the clothing we wear today were either rare or completely nonexistent a hundred years ago. True, it all depends on your purpose. - Change lengths. Besides, these are all just guidelines meant to spark some inspiration in you. With historical fiction one interesting aspect is to bring back the reader to that time period. A self-conscious kid tries to disappear inside their oversized sweatshirt. 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. Do your characters care deeply about looking respectable, or are they more afraid of putting on airs? Its all in the craft.Its good that youre here to learn how to describe clothing in writing, because its a powerful tool. This description generator will create a mostly random description of either a dress or a suit, fit for formal occasions and other fancy needs. Stiff with embroidery, strewn with pearls, encrusted with gemstones, they seem to stand by themselves. Are the characters of your dystopian novel forced to make do with burlap and mud? Given that I am writing alone in my apartment, you might rightfully conclude that my goal is to be comfortable. That cloth ribbon tied around their waist? William the Conquerors society was shaped with war in mind. For fantasy stories to be more believable, we need to understand how it interacts with our characters, especially if theyre enchanted. Sometimes they're more interesting and lovable than the main characters themselves and end up stealing the show., Secrets. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. "Garb" or "dress" (without an article) is a rather drab abstract noun for what a person is wearing. In some cases because they simply didn't have the technology for it, in others because it was too expensive and/or time consuming for the average person. Its hard to really appreciate just how sickeningly awful medieval warfare would have been. Here are five examples: 1. On the other hand you may wish to add layers for the same purpose. The eye slits were narrow to prevent all sizes of arrowheads from finding their way through. That decorative belt? I'm talking about the jagged, triangular shapes you find on some stealth planes or the digital camouflage patterns. Join Kickstart your Novel and get professional feedback on your first three chapters and story synopsis, plus workbooks and videos. Use fashion and clothing history archives if necessary. We already have spray on clothing technology. We see the contrast between the characters friends reaction and the advisory words of Gems aunt. Character description may change over the course of a story to emphasize a characters arc. Further reading How To Write Fight Scenes. In other words: To describe a fantasy world, use either neutral terms, or made up words. Now turn the edges a different color or make them light up and you immediately have a more futuristic looking suit. The answer to this question gives you a ton of clarity. In one single piece of clothing description (a pink-eyed bundle of shawls), Dickens conveys how timid and ailing Mrs. Gradgrind is in contrast to her bullish, overbearing husband. Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. In reality, a medieval lord could pretty much do what they liked. The important thing to remember is to remain in the character's point of view. A jacket or coat of mail was usually worn with a hood, or coif, of the same material to protect the head and neck. Maybe your character heads out on the town wearing a daring leopard print jumpsuit, only to have their best friend immediately ask where they got the kitty costume.. They give you the chance to offer comic relief, a dash of wisdom, and just some good old fashioned friendship., Sidekick characters. This is often enough to make something look more futuristic, especially if used on something that looks glossy, shiny and/or smooth.