Everdon Uniform

As the inner workings of Everdon Academy are very much a mystery to the public of both Crathlia and the world at large, I thought it would be nice to go relatively in-depth with one of the most recongizable aspects of life at the most exclusive school in the world: the uniform.
As I needed a proper example of the young men's dress, I asked for my fiancé Prince Victor's assistance. He co-wrote this article and is here to provide the male perspective (and as he's more sociable than I am, most of the examples are his or his friends'). His influence is mostly present in the first section, in which I detail the uniform we in the present day are expected to adhere to; in the second section, I indulge my love of dress history and go over what Everdon students of the past wore.

The Current Uniform

Boys' Everdon Uniform - perfect score by ReachingForStardust

Girls' Everdon Uniform - perfect score by ReachingForStardust

Particulars and Style

Everdon uniforms are made from the traditional Everdon gray wool, a light, warm-toned gray that sets us apart from adult noblemen (who typically wear darker grays, whites, and blacks) and adult noblewomen (who wear their clans' colors). Subtly different weaves are used for the different seasons in order to avoid excessive sweat, or, alternatively, to keep us warm. Red and gold, the Alderley colors, mark us as vassals of the royal clan.
Every Everdon student is expected to wear his or her family ring, made in the gemstones of the clans of their parents.

Young Men

Starting age ten when a young nobleman enters Everdon, he wears the sort of suits he'll wear for the rest of his life, albeit in different colors and different levels of formality. The current style emphasizes broad shoulders for the coat with padding, worn with trousers with a high waist and low crotch, cut loose at the top and tapering at the bottom.

Young Women

As far as style, adult noblewomen have many more choices, so the uniform is based upon one fashionable silhouette while incorperating most of the elements of the male counterpart. With the hourglass figure being currently desirable, the coat cinches at the natural waistline and the skirt is relatively full and pleated.

Deductions

I had terrible acne up until last year (I don't think I'm supposed to admit this publically but whatever), and I can't tell you how many times I got marked down to a B or a C for the day because of it. Callan tried everything to get rid of it, poor guy. Healers would get rid of the infection, and then it would pop back up seemingly overnight! I've gotten really, really good at making sure everything else looks spic and span, otherwise I'd be at an F for the day instead...

— Prince Victor Whitewave Alderley

After each meal and throughout the day, we're evaluated on our adherance to the uniform. Imperfections of any kind are not tolerated. Thus there exist many ways to lose points on personal appearance each day; we'll only touch on a few here. The number of points deducted is up to the evaluating teacher, with some who are more strict than others, and is dependent on the grossness (or obviousness) of the offence.
The following list is non-exhaustive and is based only on our own personal experiences and the experiences of those we know:

Body

• Ruffled hair
• Flyaways
• Visible acne (yes, even the boys)
• Makeup smudges/imperfections
• Makeup that is "distracting" or "cheap-looking" in any way
• Stubble on visible skin
• Any evidence of injury such as bruises or cuts (get a Healer)
• Dirt under nails
• Uneven nails
• Food in teeth
• Bad breath
• Body odor

Clothing

• Wrinkles
• Improper fit
• Crooked tie
• Scuffed/muddy shoes
• Improperly fastened/untied shoes
• Drooping socks (girls)
• Stain(s)
• Missing ring(s)

Uncle Duncan and his fellow Dissipator Duke Kyle Blackburn often tell me stories of how they attempted to get negative numbers in their personal appearance grades. Uncle Duncan once returned from break with a full beard, and both went to class in swimsuits a few times. They would've used this list as a checklist.

Construction

Neither Victor nor I know much about sewing or how the uniforms we wear daily are put together, but our valet and lady's maid (respectively) certainly do, considering that that's been their job since we began attending Everdon Academy. We thought it'd be best, then, to ask them what they had to say:

Properly tailoring Their Highnesses's uniforms was... I'll say a bit stressful, when I was little, because I was just learning how to sew and get a good fit. Prince Felix was my first, so by the time Prince Victor started at Everdon, I was a lot more skilled. I will say when they hit their growth spurts, it felt like I had to change things practically every week to keep everything fitting right!

— Callan Page Reeman, Prince Victor and Prince Felix's valet

We were expected to have everything perfect from the start, and it was our ladies who lost points for our mistakes. Honestly, most of the personal appearance grade rests upon our shoulders, and some ladies took that out on their maids. I was very lucky. The trickiest part of the girls' uniform is probably perfecting the hourglass fit. There's a flare to the jacket that you have to get just right.

— Janessa Colman Cornett, my lady's maid

Written by Cordelia Colbreak Evenbrook

Item type

Clothing / Accessory

Worn at

Everdon Academy

Related Ethnicity

Paragons

Ladies' Uniform

• A crisp, white, collared shirt made of cotton with no wrinkles present.
• A silk tie in Crathlian red.
• A collared suit jacket of wool in Everdon gray. On the right-hand breast, the school's crest (a three-pronged shield striped in gold and red) must be embriodered. Four buttons should fasten the jacket closed.
• A knee-length, pleated skirt of wool in matching Everdon gray with darker horizontal stripes and thin white vertical stripes, the Everdon plaid.
• White cotton knee socks. Must be tightly-fitting and never droop or need adjusting.
• Black leather shoes with a half-inch heel, closed by a strap around the ankle. Must be polished to shining.
• A family ring for the student's clans of origin.
• Hair is best worn up in a neat bun or updo, though other styles are acceptable as long as they are well-executed.
• Makeup should be kept simple, natural, and elegant. Tacky, bright colors are not tolerated.

Lords' Uniform

• A crisp, white, collared shirt made of cotton with no wrinkles present.
• A silk tie in Crathlian red.
• A collared suit jacket of wool in Everdon gray. On the right-hand breast, the school's crest must be embriodered. Four buttons should fasten the jacket closed.
• Trousers of the same wool.
• Black cotton socks.
• Black leather dress shoes with laces. Must be polished to shining.
• A family ring for the student's clans of origin.
• Hair must be short and neat.
• Must be clean-shaven.

Here Victor and I demonstrate some of the ways one might lose personal appearance points. Click on the images for the stories behind them. We perhaps had a bit too much fun with this...

Victor in Everdon Uniform - 75% for messy hair by ReachingForStardust

Victor in Everdon Uniform - 55% for crooked tie and wrinkled clothing by ReachingForStardust

Cordelia in Everdon Uniform - 65% for falling braid by ReachingForStardust

History

Over the past three hundred years of Everdon's existence, the expectations for what a student ought to wear have changed drastically. In fact, the shifting fashions of Everdon students mark the changes in the role of the nobility. Books could be and have been written about this subject. For the sake of space, I will focus on female apperal as it's changed the most, and that's where my area of expertise as an ametuer dress historian lies. The sketches are mine, based upon drawings and photographs from the given periods.

Pre-Uniform Clothing

Pre-Uniform Everdon Fashion by ReachingForStardust

On Colors

Note that the colors in this period were not standardized; a student could wear any color she liked, but typically wore the colors of her clans. I used Alderley colors alongside Mistgard purple, Rosmors pink, Redbreak salmon, and Blackburn crimson. The intent was to show a clan (in this case the Alderleys) progressing throughout time.

Early Combat Focus (1010 & 1080)

When Everdon was founded, the school primarily taught the art of combat to both noble Paragons and young shapeshifters. Thus the outfits worn by a historical noblewoman must strike a balance between a display of wealth to her peers and practicality, so that she might be ready for a fight at any moment. As shown, the slit-cape style (with a short skirt and a longer overskirt) was very popular among noblewomen, particularly those who chose to attend Everdon.

Industrialization (1130 & 1180)

With the advent of industrialization in the early 1100s, fashions began to shift, emphasizing wealth over practicality--note the prominence of the embriodery in the "Age of Steam" dress. Everdon began to focus on innovation over combat, encouraging students to use their abilities to invent new technologies. By the late 1100s (labeled "Fletcher's Rebellion"), skirts were widened with panniers, and the cape-slit style that had defined noble fashion for several centuries no longer made kicks and running more practical. It was a mere indicator that a young noble was attending Everdon. A similar effect is present in noblemen's fashion at the time, with tight-fitting silk breeches that were equally difficult to move in.

Aftermath (1190 & 1220)

By Fletcher's Rebellion and the turn of the century, the nobility found itself secure in its power through wealth, technology, and maneuvering. No longer did they need to rely on their bodies as a source of power. As the inventions of the previous century began to be viewed as below the nobility, Everdon's power training began to focus more on personal growth than any particular goal. The old slit-cape style that Everdon had clung to went out of fashion, and students wore the same dresses at Everdon as their mothers did in their day-to-day lives. The slit-cape style remained (with modifications) in dueling attire, now fully separate from day clothes.

Uniform Establishment

Historical Everdon Uniforms by ReachingForStardust

On Colors

As outlined in the rest of the article, with the introduction of the Everdon uniform, standardized colors were mandated. Gray was chosen as the primary color due to its lack of association with any particular clan, in a pale, warm-toned shade due to the youth of the students and the bright hope that they represent. The Alderley red of the tie was chosen to show alliegance to the Royal Clan.

First Uniform (1227-1249)

The establishment of the Everdon uniform came shortly after the new requirement that all Paragons who scored above 125 attend Everdon. Queen Mildred wanted to bring the nobility together, and the uniform would eliminate constant bickering among young nobles about fashion. The strict regulations were also argued to teach students how to conform exactly to expectation.

Jackets (1250-1279)

In 1250, a dark, wide-shouldered jacket was introduced for the ladies according to the fashion of the time. It did not match the boys' uniform, which was the chief argument for standardization in the years leading up to 1262. The new design was essentially the boys' uniform with a long skirt instead of trousers (along with a sleeker cut of jacket). It was also the first uniform to integrate Everdon's crest.

Everdon Plaid (1280-present)

Before the Colonization, plaid was a crucial piece of Crathlian culture and garments, denoting one's clan membership. Today, it's rarely used, but in 1280, a monochrome plaid called Everdon plaid was introduced into the girls' uniform as a tribute to our heritage.

Future Predictions

Humor me a bit as I speculate; I will have no input on the next uniform, so this is just an educated guess. Within a few years, fashion will certainly tire of the hourglass silhouette that has been so popular for the past decade. For a reactionary silhouette, I went with a waifish look, emphasizing straight lines rather than curves. Looking at the past fifty years, skirts keep getting shorter, with no signs of stopping, so I shortened the cut of both the skirt and the jacket. This has the effect of lengthening the legs and is indeed flattering on certain body types, which I think lends a bit of credibility to my little guess, but only time will tell.