Hey Guys!

I’m baaack! Long time no see!

Today, I’m gonna talk about a personal favorite topic, CLOTHING!

Clothes serve three fundamental functions. The first and most important is to shield from the elements. This looks different depending on what the environment looks like. Clothes in a desert look different from clothes designed for a forest or even a rain forest. 

In order to properly design clothing for your world, the first thing you must consider is what elements they are shielding against. In the cold northern taiga, it might be from the cold air and snow. In the hot deserts, it might be from the sun. Another way to think about this is, in order for people to thrive in this area, what do they need from their clothes. Thinking about this way, you might consider that in the hot desert, they not only need to shield from the sun, but also to help them keep cool. If you consider this need, the clothing needs to be made of light, breathable fabrics. It needs to be loose to allow the wind to cool you down and prehaps, it needs to be able to cover large amounts of skin. 

Here’s a picture of the ancient Egyptians, for an alternative look at what types of clothing may be worn in a hotter environment.

On the other hand, in a cold taiga, you’ll find layers and furs are of more use.

Here’s an example of the French in the 1200s, in what is a colder environment, but not necessarily taiga-level cold.

The second feature is functionality. Consider what kind of work, your people are doing. Dresses were common features throughout many societies for women, but they aren’t very effective in a mine or on the battlefield. Togas were common for Greek and Roman men, but only the men who didn’t have to work the fields or fight on the battlefield. Men whose work was more laborious, then say a scribe or a senator, often wore brais and tunics – clothes that were function to the work they were doing. In this way, you may very well find you have a divide in what clothing your people are wearing – lower classes may wear clothing more functional and upper classes, more ornamental.

Which brings us to the third feature: status. Clothing has been used throughout history to indicate status differences. Anything from the materials to dyes to embroidery to even the styles themselves can be used to distinguish the classes. This doesn’t just include functionality issues, but also affordability issues.

Here’s one of my favorite pictures of a maid getting scolded for wearing a crinoline, which wasn’t considered appropriate in the Victorian era, since they were considered for wealthy women.

Keep in mind, historically, the middle and lower classes could be anywhere between a decade to a few decades behind in styles to the upper class. The middle class and lower classes need to work with the clothing they already have and they may not be in the most fashionable silhouettes or patterns. Often their old clothes will have to be mended into new silhouettes, which creates its own differences.

Its worth considering what clothing each class can reasonably afford and if you are adding sumptuary laws, what is allowed to each class. What dyes can people afford? What fabrics? How often can they afford to buy clothes?

These three things allow us to create a general idea of what types of clothing people would be wearing. For example, back to our desert suggestion. Perhaps the upper crust would wear loose robes in rich linens in bright colors, and headdresses, while the lower classes might hemp or flax tunics, that aren’t dyed. 

From here, we can start thinking about the details:

How often is fashions changing? Historically, fashions typically slowly change over the course of a decade, but the further back in time you go, the longer you can stretch one fashion style. This brings up the question of, what are older people wearing compared to younger people. Often older generations will wear things that have become out of fashion, while younger people are more quick to pick up on new fashion trends.

A perfect example of this in film, is Pride and Prejudice, where the older noblewomen are all wearing fashions from the previous century, while all the younger crowd are wearing the more fashionable regency clothing.

Compare these:

Consider what different clothes are worn for different jobs or different occasions. Do people bring out their best dresses to religious activities? Do teachers wear something different from other people – like a uniform? What is the military uniform? Do the upper class wear different styles to dinner parties or just have different clothes in the evening (think mid-1820s, when the rich started wearing evening or to later formal events)? Do people have a traditional dress and how often is it worn? And so on.

As always, remember, in writing there’s no such thing as absolute advise. Enjoy your story and have fun writing!