#character clothes

A breakdown of the clothes and different layers my oc Seranie wears!

Over her underwear she wears a warm base layer, consisting of a cropped polo shirt, shorts and thigh high stockings. On top of this she wears a tie-on pocket; the kind that medieval women wore underneath their dresses! There she stores all kind of things, one of them being her wand.

Over this she wears an empire-waisted green dress. I'm unsure of the material but I'm thinking chiffon maybe? we'll see :)

And then if needed she uses a thick winter cloak lined with bear fur, bought in Northrend.

estaba probando diferentes estilos de ropa para lazul, las tematicas son de noble, mago y pirata

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So, Fashionable Reader, I have concocted a pictorial guide to possible outfits that a young lady of Prim’s rank might wear during this time period.

The images run with what she would need to put on, in order. Ready? Here we go…

On the bottom half:

1. 1890  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2. 1890s Stockings The Metropolitan Museum of Art

3. 1899 Garters  1899  The Chicago History Museum

4. 1895-1905 Oxfords   The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Note that shoes have to go on early? Well before the corset and also the rest of the dress for bending and hemming reasons.

Combination  1890s  The Metropolitan Museum of Ar

Combinations are a hard one for me, as an author.

Because they were ubiquitous undergarments at the time of the Custard Protocol books. They were the most common form of underwear.

However, the name and the concept is entirely lost to the modern mind set. Most of my readers would have no basis for comparison should I drop the word “combination” into, for example, a shape change or a nookie scene. I must, therefore, use the word in correct context so as to make it clear that is what the character is wearing. Or have it described to a foreign character. And yet, it’s not something that would be described. Sigh. Challenging.

On the upper half:

Bust Improvers  1890s  Whitaker Auction

Prim wouldn’t need these, but I include them because I think its fun that they exist at all!

5. Camisol  1895-1905  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

6. 1893  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Victorian Corsets: Some Facts & Myths

7. Sleeve Supports  1890s  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

And over the top:

8. 1895  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

9. 1894 Evening Dress  Charles Fredrick Worth, 1894  The Kyoto Costume Institute

10. 1890s  The Goldstein Museum of Design

11. 1895-1905  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

12. Muff and Hat  1890s  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Alternatively, here’s a look at more sporty options…

Stockings  1890s  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Combinations undergarment, England, 1875 – 1900

Corset 1890s Summer Corset   The Victoria & Albert Museu

Corset Cover  1895-1900  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

And sportswear on the outside:

Shirtwaist 1894 The Museum at FIT _ OMG that dress!

1890s Under The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Travel Suit  Jacques Doucet, 1895  The Victoria & Albert Museum

You don’t have to take the pictures as proof. Here’s some research to back it up…

Gwen Raverat at the end of the century describes the modest dress of a respectable female.

“Women were incredibly modest . . .  even with each other. You could see a friend in her petticoat, but nothing below that was considered decent. At school, the sidht of a person in her white frilly drawers caused shrieks of outraged virtue; and I should have thought it impossible to be seen downstairs in my dressing-gown.”

~ Judith Flanders The Victorian House (pg. 269)

americangothgirl-tumblr Catalog Photographs, Front and Back Views of Woman In Corset, c. 1880s. Albumen Prints

“This is what a young lady wore, with whom I shared a room one night…

Thick, long-legged woolen combinations.

Over them, white cotton combinations, with plenty of buttons and frills.

Very serious, bony, grey stays, with suspenders.

Black woolen stockings.

White cotton drawers, with buttons and frills.

White cotton ‘petticoat-bodice’, with embroidery, buttons and frills.

Rather short, white flannel, petticoat.

Long alpaca petticoat, with a flounce round the bottom.

Pink flannel blouse.

High, starched, white collar, fastened on with studs.

Navy blue tie.

Blue skirt, touching the ground, and fastened tightly to the blouse with a safety-pin behind.

Leather belt, very tight.

High button boots.”

~ Judith Flanders The Victorian House (pg. 269)

Undergarments ca. 1900-03  From the FIDM Museum

1898 Walking Suit, House of Worth, French, Made of silk and lace

For the Boudoir!

How about an alternate more sexy arrangement of underthings layer…

Here’s the first layer:

Brassiere  1910s  The Metropolitan Museum of Art copy

Drawers  1900s  The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Garter  1875-1825  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Stocking  1860  Les Arts Décoratifs

Over that would go the next layer of these items:

Corset  1900  The Metropolitan Museum of Art copy

Corset Cover  1910s  Antique Dress

Chemisette, Undersleeves, and Handkerchief  1860s  The Metropolitan Museum of Art copy

Over all of this she might wear this:

Negligee, 1908  From the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague

Dressing Gown  1897-1900  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Watch 100 Years of Lingerie in 3 Minutes

OK I know that’s a lot of research but you know how I feel about clothing!

This post originally appeared in two parts over on Retro Rack.

Yours in fluffy dresses,

Miss Gail

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Hey everyone, Abby here with another writing post! Today we’re talking about your characters, specifically the clothes they wear. I feel like this topic is something that’s usually a little overlooked when creating characters (so here we are).

There are definitely a lot of things you’ll want (or need) to keep in mind when you’re creating your character’s wardrobe, which is part of the reason this part of your character’s development is so difficult. One of the first things you’ll want to think of when creating their closet is the world’s culture. You’ll want to consider the more general topics first, things like:

Taboos

Things considered promiscuous (or adversely, prude)

Commonly seen

Professionality

These things are all going to play a huge role in the way each character dresses, and will also do a lot of development for you. If your character is more on the abstaining side, you won’t need to say that outright if you include things in her outfit that fall into that category. The same goes for more promiscuous characters; maybe they tend to wear clothes that show off certain things that, in the world’s culture, would be considered inviting.

But taboos are a different thing entirely. If you’re character’s wearing something that goes against social customs, there are two things you’ll want to keep in mind: the severity of the taboo and the way the character wears it. Whether or not they wear it proudly will say a lot about them.

Broad topics like the ones listed above aren’t the only thing you can consider, though. Going against taboos, create a general outline of how people commonly dress in your society. Decide whether or not everything looks more of less uniform, and how strange it would be if there was a character who tended to dress up (or down).

Note: The weather will play a huge role here. If your character's home is in a generally cold place, odds are they're going to own way more coats and warm clothes than shorts and sandals.

You’ll also get a huge look into your character’s accessories. They way they make their outfits there own is going to say a lot about them. Some things you could look at here include (but are not limited to):

Jackets

Bags

Jewelry

Glasses

If your character constantly wears a crap ton of accessories with their outfit, that’s okay. If they don’t that’s also okay. It’s all in their personality and what you think they would choose if they were real.

What about favorite items? I know for a solid two years, I had a three-sizes-too-big sweatshirt that I wore at least 2-3 times a week. (Thank goodness we’re part that phase, huh?) Maybe it’s not that extreme, or maybe it goes beyond that, but every character probably has that one favorite article of clothing. For me now, it’s my black combat boots that go with almost everything.

Note: The item doesn't have to go with everything. Sometimes your character tries and it doesn't work, other times they force it to. Again, it's all in the way you write them.

Now we look to makeup: how common is it? Is it more common for one gender over the other to wear it? How much do people tend to wear, and are the colors usually extreme? There are colors that stress natural beauty, and others that are all about the artificial “natural” look. Where does your world fall? Here you could also look into how strongly makeup products are marketed (if at all) and when people start wearing it (if they do at all).

Finally (for this post, definitely not overall), take a look at your character’s overall look. Is it more neutral, something that would blend easily into a crowd? Maybe they’re all about patterns and flashy colors, forcing themselves to stand out. Some people are all about sweatpants and t-shirts, others are all business. There are so many different ways for you to dress your characters; the best you can do is refuse to let the opportunity to express your character slip by.