If done right you could even use these elements alone with clothing of today to sell a futuristic look. Clothing reflects the resources available in a specific time and place. What I would like to ask is how you would go about describing very specific details on more complex clothing? 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. Achieving glory in battle was one way of earning a knighthood. Heating to the perfect temperature was key. These are deep questions. In fact, you should be putting lots of thought and development into protagonists because thats who the story is about.But how much thought have you given to your tertiary characters? 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. But it provided an odd sense of security. - 'Stealth'. They also wear talismans, jewelry, and other objects. Some wore a trapper a covering of full chain mailand down the line, some horses even had their own plated armor. You may have imagined a man in an expensive suit or a woman in designer clothes. Were trying to avoid, Isabell gazed out the window, and by the way, she was wearing a white terry cloth robe.. Advertisements. To illustrate this let's take a standard men's suit as an example. 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. What exactly are you trying to communicate about the character, setting, or situation? Trendy: Modern, fashionable, and up-to-date outfits. Press J to jump to the feed. 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. We have all sorts of headphone designs to reflect our clothing styles and just wearing or not wearing a headphone will completely change how a character is often perceived. The same goes for other types of technology that could realistically be incorporated into the design of your character's clothing. As with body armor, great efforts were made with the designs of helmets. In visual mediums like TV or comics, cool outfits are on-screen the whole time, and they're the first and most obvious impression you'll get of the character, so they have a big impact on how the character is perceived. Another similar and perhaps way more popular example of this is Steampunk. The eye slits were narrow to prevent all sizes of arrowheads from finding their way through. Are they overalls or coveralls? 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 . 1. Vividly describing the colors of your character's clothing can enliven ordinary writing. "A dress" (or using "the" to refer to a particular "garment") means an item of clothing that is normally worn by women. That said, once you describe how a person dresses you shouldn't really keep doing it unless it is relevant to the plot. It may be apocryphal, but Harold Godwinson is said to have done just that at the battle of Hastings in 1066. In 2021 his debut novel, Pariah's Lament, an epic fantasy, was published by Of Metal and Magic. Blunt, Once quenched, the steel was re-heated to make it more resilient. We naturally link clothing and identity, which is why wardrobe is such an effective tool for building a vivid character. Similarly, find out (or, if youre creating a fantasy world, create) the garments your characters would wear in a particular time and place. The answer can guide you towards certain fashion trends to inspire your characters wardrobe. Help your readers feel the relaxed, organic cotton or the memory foam slipper, and theyll feel your characters priorities deep in their own souls. A few small details of clothing may distinguish your characters from each other, highlighting their personalities. Nudity was often either a complete taboo or just common place in many cultures throughout history, so by changing these taboos (and others) you immediately create a fictional piece. Is this purely for cinematic effect or would some leaders remove their helmets to show their faces to their soldiers? 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. By playing around with this you quickly create very subtle, but more unique fantasy-themed items. 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. Its a bit OCD of me. As well see below, one of the best things about using medieval armor in a fantasy story is the freedom to elevate it in some way. If all else fails use Google images and find some visual aids and inspiration sources, they can work wonders. You can also check out some of my other guides too, like: If you have any questions about this guide on fantasy armor, please get in touch. Get an image of a blank shirt and simply draw the lines on it, it'll form a great base to work with. Finally there's the aspect of fashion to take into account. Helpful links to blog posts, articles, videos and guides are shared every day. Heres how to describe clothing in writing to show your readers the world to which your character belongs. 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. Have fun with it. Only in certain situations is a description even needed. Our imaginations can do a surprising amount with just a few key details. Ill add it to my to do list . It's your creation, your imagination and your time you use and spend, so make sure you use and spend it on something you enjoy. Only the most sophisticated, Dr. Urbino among them, wore their ordinary clothes. The reader does not need the full outfit in one go. I never thought of there being a uniform for Midwestern ladyness. Such coats were made from brass or iron, though steel was deemed best due to its toughness. It's easy to try this out too, at least the simple line version. They can be important too.If you want to breathe life into your stories, it's time to give tertiary characters a little love. Another type of cheap armor, one up from gambesons, was boiled leather, also known as cuir bouilli. Required fields are marked *. stylish, expensive clothing, yet not specific to a certain time or place. Since it's a friends' get-together, let's wear casual attire. Like say a vest with mirrored sequins and rhinestones, but they all go in a pattern and you feel the need to describe the pattern line by line? I'm talking about the jagged, triangular shapes you find on some stealth planes or the digital camouflage patterns. These detail could suggest that your character is miserly or down-to-earth despite their wealth. For more information, please see our Much of the clothing we wear today were either rare or completely nonexistent a hundred years ago. For example, the corset wasn't popular until the 16th century and while earlier versions can be found incredibly early they weren't common place. We see the contrast between the characters friends reaction and the advisory words of Gems aunt. We therefore see in the fantasy genre characters equipped with grand helmets and beautiful pieces of plate armor. 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? You can use visual description to make a character more vivid in the readers minds eye. Community . An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. 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? - Change lengths. Dr. Urbino in Marquezs example above fits the latter category. It makes for a more entertaining read. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed, We mentioned gambesons above. Changes in characters clothing can help revealcharacter development. They give you the chance to offer comic relief, a dash of wisdom, and just some good old fashioned friendship., Sidekick characters. You dont need it to sign up. 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). Cookie Notice 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. Well come to this below. In other words, research. This usually involves dresses from some time pre-renaissance and a tunic or shirt paired with trousers for men and women who are doing warrior stuff. 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. Maybe a bracelet represents a character's relationship to her mother. Dragon scales, fiery furs and feathers and other elements can quickly turn a standard item into a fantasy one. How were women treated in the Middle Ages? But for writers like me who get stuck in the white socks, green dress rut, heres a quick reminder: Details about fabric, fit, quality, and color are super effective when it comes to creating a sense of character, place, or moment. What is a good way to do Show not tell in a first person POV state? One of the first things I learned when I moved to L.A. is that writers do not dress professionally for big meetings in Hollywood. Without decriptions of the clothing it's a bit boring, the novel becomes a list of people the reader can't imagine doing things. Or they could be frantically running errands in leggings and a t-shirt. With all that armor, its often assumed the medieval knight was immobile. ^.^ So as a way of trying to control them and their behaviour, the code of chivalry and honour was introduced. Heres a great visual guide on female fantasy armor by YouTuber Shadiversity. Your articles are always very informative. I dont mean camisoles and cardigans. Richie also runs The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, a podcast devoted to helping writers improve their craft. For example, think about a wealthy person and how that person might dress. See how Dickens contrasts the fact-obsessed, overbearingteacher Thomas Gradgrind and his wifes personalities through (among other details) their clothing description. Figurative language . The shrewd king essentially licensed out parcels of his land as rewards to his warriors in exchange for their military service. All of these advancements will become more and more common as time goes on, so it'd make sense for them to be part of our clothing in the future. Or at least they know what century theyre in. Non-visual senses are big, too. And ninety-nine percent of the clothing descriptions in your first draft are just jeans. I get it. He is old but stylish. The good news is that attire is not only important, its also kind of fun when you start digging into it. You could even move the buttons to the side and have it close diagonally instead. 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. His writing offers a masterclass in how to describe clothing in stories. Fully geared up, you were a walking fortress. Clean, powerful strikes were needed to disable a foe wearing mail. 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. Vision in such helmets was extremely limited, but this was the cost of added protection. Your trust fund character might be completely confident showing up to a party in board shorts and flip-flops. This is great! On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. 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. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. With the major shapes in the thumbnails defined, choose the one that best exemplifies the feeling you're looking for. Ready to sketch vivid characters for your novel? 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. - Break up clothing into more separate pieces and give them their own styles. A scarlet pantsuit. With historical fiction one interesting aspect is to bring back the reader to that time period. 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. That works. And what weve covered here today is only just the tip of the iceberg. Just click this link and dont even think about touching your wallet. Do your characters care deeply about looking respectable, or are they more afraid of putting on airs? - Use lines to break up a piece of clothing and create a kind of mosaic. One character might demonstrate their power by showing up to prom in a designer gown. Sweaters or jumpers? I saw Jesus Christ Superstar a long time ago and Jesus was in a sharp black suit. Does your character need to hide? But Ive also noticed that artful clothing description does make a character, a setting, and even a moment more engaging. So below, well take a look at the relationship between the genre of fantasy and medieval armor. - 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. 04. Sure, it helps your reader to know how you picture a character. The fantasy genre borrows an awful lot from medieval history. is because we get stuck on what things look like. Never hose for men and probably never puffy breeches. A common (wood) elvish theme is to have lots of green tints, flowery elements and intricate embroidery. 80s-inspired. For fantasy stories to be more believable, we need to understand how it interacts with our characters, especially if theyre enchanted. Consider whether your characters attire might serve as a symbol, highlight a theme, or represent a conflict. 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. Wearing a suit of armor was like being in your own private world. Do your main characters tend to steal the show in your novels? Yet Dr. Urbinos status as a respected doctor is earned he has nothing to prove by dressing smarter. Examples of the prior are Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey and to some degree Star Wars and Tron. The geographical setting might suggest that your characters are expected to abide by strict rules for modesty or are celebrated for being wild and free. A pair of starched Wranglers. You may have seen steelworkers doing this after forging the likes of blades and horseshoes. Get it right, and you transport your readers to a vivid world. As a result, feudal England became rife with young murderous men. Stockings, long gloves, scarves or separate layers of clothing make a huge difference. And its in designs that you can really go wild with your own fantasy armor. Metallic works well too, but make sure any metal bits or metallic looking bits are smooth and clean looking too, otherwise it might look too historic. Excuse the on hold background music. - Use nudity. I tend to avoid describing clothing. Follow edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:43. Mail was particularly effective against glancing blows. Nylon and polyester fabrics weren't invented until almost the mid 20th century for example. 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. These were worn on their own by those wanting greater speed and flexibility, but also by those unable to afford stronger 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. But it can also be fun to play with the confidence and ease that comes with wealth. 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. Who doesnt like being comfortable when killing? 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. An anxious college student buys a flower crown in the hopes of feeling young and free at Coachella. Thanks Benjamin! 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). One reason clothing descriptions can start to feel like a tedious laundry list (see what I did there?) Separate and enlarge it, turn down the Opacity of the layer . Once blue, it is quenched a second time, permanently fixing its hardness. See more ideas about character description, fantasy fashion, fantasy clothing. These shallow details help us go pretty deep on character. Slog through another meaningless day in a world where nothing matters? Heating to the perfect temperature was key. Most clothing throughout history consisted of longer pieces of fabric and with minimal tailoring and cuts. You can even use different pieces of clothing to cover up body parts differently. I really loved this article, but I have one question, it was very helpful. Am I trying to blow the interview? 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. Here are five examples: 1. Great points. clothed and we should definitely be using them to portray our characters personalities. So this really reaffirmed that approach for me. So its unsurprising to see soldiers wielding swords and axes and shooting bows. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Can you imagine tweaking this to make your own set of fantasy armor? Pingback: Fantasy Weapons - Medieval, Magic And Other Types - Richie Billing, Helping writers on their journey and readers find their next favourite story.. Mail was lightweight and flexible. (Has denim been invented yet? Whenever other races or species are involved, like elves and trolls, it's often best to give them clothing that differs from whatever humans (and other races) wear, even if those differences are subtle. Maybe a bit of both. Your email address will not be published. What your character wears can tell us a lot about how they feel or how they want to feel. 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. Fashionable: Clothes representing a current style in fashion. Strips of leather were boiled in water, though some sources record oil and wax being used, and even animal urine. show how hard is to escape in a narrow street. - Convert future clothing to a historic version. Use your first-person narrators senses sight, hearing, touch, etc. Baggy jeans. - 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). and our 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. 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. As the battle continued through the day, a rumor grew that Harold had died or fled the field, I forget which. Now, for the feedbackit depends what POV you're writing in. I second the idea of describing the reactions of the characters to the city. The last minute change suggests an indecisive nature. Mantel creates a vivid sense of the wealth that the church amassed in these times. The senses were deadened: sight limited, sound muffled, breathing stifled (depending on the type of helmet). His pants are simple and narrow and reach down to his hard leather shoes. Im struggling to properly figure out how to describe clothing for a fantasy setting Im trying to create. Delighted to hear youre finding this useful. Stiff with embroidery, strewn with pearls, encrusted with gemstones, they seem to stand by themselves. Either way, their goal is to be desirable, whatever desirable means in this situation. Think the previously mentioned Fifth Element and Hunger Games clothing versus Star Trek, Star Wars and so on clothing. What would high stakes clothing look like in your story? Technology goes beyond simply what kind of clothes could be made though, it also relates to how technology is incorporated into style in general. Whats the respected uniform, and does your character wear it? However, you can tell your reader interesting things through a mismatch: A wealthy character might show off their expensive clothing. Its a good time. So let's delve deeper into the details of how to actually figure out what your character wears. Use the Character section of the Idea Finder to develop quick story ideas and flesh out your storys cast. 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. In battle, you are trying to strike a moving target, so mail was sufficient as most blows were glancing ones. Through fashion terms you can understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. 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. Sometimes the simplest changes are enough to create something completely new and ideal for a particular universe. 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. Any suggestions on how to properly do this? 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. 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 But the biggest challenge can sometimes be simply making something look futuristic or historic fantasy-ish, which is the main focus of this guide. Not really. Beyond medieval Europe, you have the Far East, the Romans, Viking Before you know it youll have designed a full set of fantasy roman or viking armor. Youre not infodumping. Both can lose clout simply by the way their peers respond to their wardrobe choices. A warrior had to fight the enemy, and to fight his armor as well would be too distracting. What the description shows is that many of the inviteesplay at status through fancy dress. Not to mention the social status of a person. When youre shopping for yourself, you know what you like but you dont know how to describe it. 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. Heres a superb glossary, with pictures, of all types of armor. I'll make a separate point for sci-fi/futuristic clothing and fantasy/historic clothing. As with mail, steel was the best material due to its hardness, which was obtained by heating the steel to extreme temperatures and then submerging it into cold water, a process known as quenching. Thanks, Teresa, and for sharing that great example from the stage. Arrows will bounce off steel crafted in such a wayunless from close range, as we discussed last week. The clothes a person wears tellsus many things: their status in life, for example, or their cultural affiliation or identity. Subtle clothing changes can signal character development quite effectively in some scenarios. ). Given that I am writing alone in my apartment, you might rightfully conclude that my goal is to be comfortable. Love this topic!! Heres a cool video on making leather fantasy armor by YouTuber, Prince Armory. (Huh.). A person who doesn't want to draw attention to themselves would dress completely differently today than they would even a few decades ago. Clothing is one of the easiest and most immediate ways to establish an historical setting. Particularly in genres such as historical fiction and fantasy, clothing can help to create other worlds (or a long gone era of our own). You can weave clothing description into your process when using our story planner for writers. 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. Something like this: As you can see, a knights armor is made up of a lot of different pieces. 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. Maybe your character is snuggled up in their fleece pajamas while the blizzard rages outside. Now on the other end of the spectrum we have fantasy clothing and more history based clothing. Why this arguably works better is the details of getting dressed tell us multiple details about Gem. And here are some great concepts for female fantasy armor. Coats of plated armor soon came about, which consisted of a series of plates linked on top of one another. Abi Wurdeman is the author of Cross-Section of a Human Heart: A Memoir of Early Adulthood, as well as the novella, Holiday Gifts for Insufferable People. 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. But thats the case wherever you go. The fact Gem goes with jeans and a tee could suggest that she trusts her aunts advice. Besides knowing who we design for we also have to know what the rules for designing are within the universe of our characters. Only the most powerful strikes could pierce such armor. 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.

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