Writing About Clothing

[LOCOFOOL]

How do you describe clothing in writing? What kind of clothing to I want to use in a fantasy book? It is a world of my own design so how crazy or modern can I get with the clothing? I hope these questions make sense and communicate to everyone the issue I’m facing. This has been a major intimidation factor in my writing.

If anyone here could give me any examples that would be great, I can't seem to think back to the books I've read and think of any examples.

Thanks for you're help in advance.

 

[gavintonks]

The reason is that the clothing is not the story unless the clothing is part of the story. The only time clothing becomes important is if it is important to the story or is supportive to your character.
He wore a multi-coloured patched jacket, she had a skin tight black leather one piece suit that she had to be zipped or literally spray painted into
His loose fitting cotton shirt was a godsend as it took the arrow

 

[LOCOFOOL]

So I shouldn't worry to much about it? I should leave it up to the readers imagination unless something eventful happens in the story where I would have describe the clothing.
Thanks for the examples too.

 

[Penpilot]

Descriptions of clothing should be used when they add something to the picture you're trying to paint of the character and the world they live in. Saying a person wears cloths adorned with jewels says something different about them than if they were wearing rags or a knight wearing finely polished armor vs armor that's dented and rusted.

Descriptions in general say something about the point of view character describing them too. A character describing a person's clothing as 'fancy crap' vs. 'fine silks of the most precious and adored variety' says something about who they are too.

 

[Subcreator]

I included descriptions of clothing in my story, but only because it showed class differences, and in the case of one character, there is a symbolic reason in the color of the clothing, as well as the fact that the specific dress is intentional on the part of the character for the scene.

 

[LOCOFOOL]

So you don't have to get to detailed in the type of clothing or anything like that?

 

[Subcreator]

No, I wouldn't say you do. For instance, I described my characters as wearing, "green robes", "a red sleeveless dress", and "a tunic and rough breeches." If it's particularly important, such as a significant article of clothing, i.e. a relic or prince's robe that affects the plot, then describing it is important. If it's just to give the look of a character, than a general description of the outfit would be better. "Rough leather and old cotton clothes", "a farmer's hat and simple clothing", and "bright red and violet silks" are some examples.

 

[Chilari]

I tend to use fairly generic terms when mentioning clothing - gowns, jackets, occasionally riding breeches, the sort of things that describe a type of clothing which can vary widely across time and place. An early medieval jacket is different from a shakespearean jacket is different from a dinner jacket is different from a denim jacket. To that I add qualifiers - colours, whether it's smart, loose, tight, worn through, and so on to give an impression of who this person is through what they're wearing. For my main character I also use changes of clothing to establish a little about society and drive home how wealthy she is that she can afford to have different sets of clothing dependong on the time of day, the weather, whether she's indoors or outdoors, whether she's riding, walking or travelling by carriage, and so on.

As for when I mention it, it depends. Occasionally on the introduction of a character to establish a little about them to both reader and main character. In a couple of instances where it's not the clothes that are important, but some other factor - such as my main character dressing in riding breeches when she gets up very early one morning because she can't put on most of her dresses without her maid. And then maybe at some action scene I'll write in the future her clothes might get damaged in a fight or while fleeing enemies, at which point I'll mention what type of piece of clothing is damaged - and will also mention clothing if it gets in the way of fighting or fleeing.

Other than that, if clothing can be used to set a scene or is in some way important - such as at a ball, everyone is wearing their best, discussion might even linger on the latest fashions and who is left behind, who is wearing the same dress as they wore last year, who looks stupid because they took the new fashion too far, that sort of thing. But in that sort of situation, I'd rather do it through dialogue than state that someone is wearing a red dress with lots of jewels or a bright blue jacket two sizes too small, because then I can get in impressions of characters talking and being talked about at the same time, and establish what someone having a bejewelled red dress means - is it s scandal? The latest fashion? Does it stand out too much for a woman of her standing? Or is it well chosen because she's the hostess and should stand out? This can be better conveyed through dialogue.

But if I were you, I wouldn't go into too much detail with clothing as a general rule. You don't need to say more than the style, the colour, perhaps the type of fabric, and maybe one distinguishing feature even if the clothing is important to the scene, say because it's a ball or because your characters have kidnapped someone and they think it's the prince and want to ransom him but he denies it and they're examining his clothes which are very princely, to pluck a random example from the ether. If you're spending a whole paragraph describing each article of clothing your readers will get bored. Even if you've designed their clothing as part of worldbuilding, it's irrelevant. Useful if you were writing a comic maybe, but the novel is not a visual medium. So keep is concise.

 

[gavintonks]

as the author you can write what ever you wish, but it is recommended that you ensure the writing is part of the story, so if she is a known manufactuer of clothing you can add a description, but if you write a clothing manual that is not a story

 

[JCFarnham]

I've often found two schools of thought concerning the description of clothes, and, as with a lot of these discussion it appears to come down to "minimalist vs [insert the right opposite]".

The minimalist crew would prefer no unnecessary clothing description. You set the scene, the status of the character, whatever, with a short tag that can be easily recalled by your readers and move on with the storytelling. They would rather the long jacket if mentioned became a plot point.

The other side (the one I don't have a name for.. eh..) is a crew who DO describe the clothing, sometimes incredibly vividly, sometimes for the sake of it with no apologise. These are the authors who use their descriptions to either characterise the pov character, or evoke then senses in some meaningful way. I'd imagine they are also on the "art" side of things.

The bottom line is reader experience. Storytelling is good for that, but so is taking the time to be descriptive depending on the person (it's just not particularly in vogue right now).

I personally think you are missing huge opportunities to characterise if you don't ensure you have heavy hitting, multipurpose descriptions of things like clothing. I would never do entire paragraphs, or use the bathroom scene cliche, but the simple sentance in the direction of clothing can be incredibly important.

Say you meet a character for the first time, you could ignore description and TELL us he's homeless (through the pov of your protagonist of course), and to be fair that could be equally as rewarding. Or you could emphasise something like "piss-soaked tunic" and leave the rest to imagination. That simple tag can however be multipurposed. With out it, their would be next to no characterisation of homeless character, but with it, we are immediately transported via our 5 senses to, I don't know, perhaps a past experience, or maybe you just have a good imagination. People have their own opinions of the piss-soaked kind of homeless gentleman, and subsequently their own opinions on what should happen next based on what they know. It bares saying again: use phrases that do the heavy lifting for you.

A description shouldn't just be a description.

It's a neat little cheat and once you've used it, you're then free to break down those prejudged expectations your readers are building. which can also be pretty cool, imo.

 

[Mindfire]

The other side (the one I don't have a name for.. eh..) is a crew who DO describe the clothing, sometimes incredibly vividly, sometimes for the sake of it with no apologise. These are the authors who use their descriptions to either characterise the pov character, or evoke then senses in some meaningful way. I'd imagine they are also on the "art" side of things.

Purple Prose-ist? Purple Poet? Rambler?

 

[Caged Maiden]

I love clothing more than anyone I know, and I too use a minimalist way to describe it in writing. You can see the evidence here: Caged Maiden's Album: Costumes

But in writing, you do your reader a disservice by mentioning too much in the way of details. You actually mar their picture in their head.

So my theory is like the others', that you ought to mention clothing when it bears relevance to the character's perspective, and the scene.

As far as how to describe clothes, if you need help, google historical terms and find the right words for the garments, then keep your descriptions minimal. I've written this before, but it is still the best example I can give:

I once wrote a scene where I described a woman's clothing as "An over-sized man's shirt and linen knickers". I didn't care whether the reader pictured a shirt with button collar and wrists, a yoke, a gathered neckline... I didn't care whether they saw the knickers as knee-length, shorts or calf-length. All I cared about was that they knew she was comfortable in borrowed underwear while she recovered from a horrible ordeal.

That's the point you need to make, how the clothes affect the scene.

When your character notices dress, as we do, how does he see it? Does he roll his eyes when his friend tries to mount a horse in a billowy satin and velvet gown, noting how her slippers will be ruined before sundown? Does he turn up his nose at a beggar in a holey coat and stained trousers?

These are the importance of clothing. No one cares to notice the contrasting color of the linen thread, stitched so finely the embroidery... Stick with more generic terms which convey a lot. A fine tailored velvet doublet, paned trousers so big they looked almost comical, tights that left nothing to the imagination, a gown so wide she barely fit through the door, the hides of a thousand weasels upon the royal robe, a house dress twenty years out of fashion, leather armor that creaked and moaned like an old woman, mismatched sleeves she might have taken off a beggar, the smell of sheep hanging thick on his tattered shirt, etc. These are descriptions which pull people into the atmosphere, use senses besides just sight, and give the POV character's experience and flavor. Just saying the static description of clothing isn't helpful to the reader. I hope that those simple plain descriptions conjured images for you, I didn't really try hard, but I gave it go.

Best wishes.

 

[BWFoster78]

I say, as long as you're in the privacy of your own home, do what you want.

Oops, misread that. Thought it was writing WITHOUT clothing...

 

[JCFarnham]

Purple Prose-ist? Purple Poet? Rambler?

All words that add bias. Purple prose suggests something is "overdone" about the description, which isn't necessary the case. In some situations I've found Mieville to be this kind of writer (shock!). I don't know if you would call him purple, I certainly wouldn't, but there you have it.

Both have their own merits, etc. etc.

 

[Steerpike]

Yeah, heavy description or dense word usage doesn't automatically equate to purple prose, though manner amateur writers who provide critiques tend to confuse the issue.

 

[Helen]

How do you describe clothing in writing?

It's not the clothing itself but what it represents.

Characters start off wearing one type of clothing and as they change, so that is shown through their clothing.

Saw LAWLESS last night. Suggest you watch it and keep an eye on Jack's clothing. Even Maggie's. As Jack grows from boy to man, so his clothing changes.

Clothing is an outer symbol of the inner self.

Hope that helps.

 

[Twilight Goblin]

In my story, cloths are an important distinction of where someone comes from.

 

[SeverinR]

clothing tells about the character and the culture.

Men wearing robes, versus kilts(tunics), versus pirate pants(tunics), versus jeans(t-shirt), versus space suits.
Each one tells of society.

Pick the culture you like and mention it. But the book shouldn't be a continuous fashion show description.

Military uniforms can be described also, the more plain being the peon, the more elaborate the officer/royal.

 

[wordwalker]

The questions may be: how much story effect do the clothes have each time, and how much does your style want to get into it overall?

Clothes are the very first thing people see about a character, so they have immense power to shape their reaction to him (or at least summarize what they're noticing anyway), if there's anything that catches their eye. If someone blends in, you could say very little-- but if he stands out in any way, you have to say at least enough about why to capture the feel of it. (If a poor or fake noble can't quite get by in high society, you pretty much have to pick at least one detail of fashion that everyone spots as wrong. But if a courtier stumbles by the docks you might leave it at standing out "in his silks.") And it isn't always about blending in; if he's wearing more or less armor that's a serious plot point if a fight starts, and sometimes clothes show who's has been on the road too long or isn't prepared for the weather.

The rest is style. Like people said, you can say a lot or say a little and leave the rest implied, and it could be for fine characterization or just to tie the outfit to your world. But I do think a lot of style is consistency; if you start going a lot into clothes --or anything-- it looks odder and odder to gloss over one outfit. Which means if you really want to describe everything else and know nothing about clothes (or on the other hand, you adore clothes and never really looked at a horse or tree) you might want to research a few of the basics to even things up.

Or sometimes it's pacing, and a moment needs to say more or fewer details just because it's that moment.

 

[Guru Coyote]

I am all for "triggering" the reader's imagination by evocative and brief description. Tell me what the clothing means, not so much what it looks like.
But that requires that the reader's imagination has a frame of reference, they need to be more or less familiar with the culture, or at least with one similar enough. It's a different story when the culture you are writing about is radically different from any the reader will know. In that case you'd need to either build a new sense of clothing in the readers mind... or fall back on analogues. This is a bit like the discussion about languages... we do not actually write what the character says, but what it's equivalent would be in English.