Delarys o'Shai
Northern
People in the northern holds tend to wear clothing fashioned from knit wool, animal skins, and a few layers of spun linen beneath it all. Northern peoples treasure memory, and at birth are given a leather strip. With each year of their life, they are given a small stone bead. Other kinds of beads are added for different events during their life, until the strip becomes a piece of jewelry that they will wear on their person.
Men tend to wear linen shirts, wool pants, and various overlayers of leather and wool garments. Often, a wool cloak is worn fastened at the top with a pin. These cloaks may have animal furs sewn along the neck and shoulders. Men will also wear boots, usually as high as the mid-calf, made of leather and lined with wool, or if one is wealthier, fine animal furs. Men wear woolen or fur head coverings to protect their ears, usually roughly the shape of the head with strips of thin leather or linen to tie the hat around the chin. Gloves are also common, with the cheapest made of knitted wools and the finest made of layers of fine furs, wool, and/or leathers. Some men will wear a simple woolen cuff around their neck, which can either pull over the head or be wrapped and tucked into the collar of the shirt.
Women wear an underlayer of a long-skirted, often sleeveless linen dress and a pair of tall linen socks that are tied at the tops above the knees. Fancier socks might use a garter or leather straps to hold them in place. Over that is typically a wool dress. For poorer women, they will also have a woolen coat or cloak lined along the neck, wrists, and ankles with fur. They usually wear a linen veil around their heads, put in place with a hat made of wool or fur around their heads. Some women will also wear a leather or cloth bodice over their wool dress if the style suits them, but this is a less traditional garment in the region and older women tend to dislike it. In the north, women's pockets run a lot larger, since they have more space under their skirts to hide them. They are usually worn between the undergarment and the dress, accessible through skirt slits. Dresses are sewn to have folds of cloth over these slits to keep them concealed and warm. Scarves made of wool or fur are commonly worn by women, most fashionably worn long and draped across the front of the body, reaching as low as the woman's knees but usually just hanging at the chest. Women in the north will often wear special garments to show their class. The common housewife, for example, would wear a key on a belt around her waist to signify her duties as a matron. A wealthy woman might wear a veil made of lace or silk instead of linen, or forgo the veil and wear a silk headwrap with a fur cap for the outdoors instead. Women that work jobs that require high mobility, such as hunting, can wear men's clothing without social alienation. Wealthier women might cater to the styles of the Noble Court, and incorporate special garments or embellishments accordingly.
Babies are dressed without regard to their sex, wearing a linen gown that extends far past their feet to be folded around their legs for warmth. After this layer, they are wrapped in a woolen blanket. Many of these blankets are designed to be wrapped around a mother's body, so the child can fit just beneath the edge of her cloak if she takes the child with her outside, the child's body resting against her chest and waist. Some women may also use a special fur-edged woolen wrap that allows the baby to be safely carried at her back, though this is usually reserved for travel. Over the woolen blanket, women may use an animal fur or one more woolen layer to keep their babies warm in particularly cold temperatures. Small knitted hats, socks, and hand socks can be made for babies as well, especially if they leave the house with their mother often.
Toddlers wear larger versions of what a baby would wear, but with linen pants with closed feet to protect the toes from a layer of chill. Toddlers and young children are given leather boots for wearing outside, usually crudely made due to their short length of use. When leather is unavailable, multiple layers of knitted wool can be used to form a sort of shoe. Over their linen gown, toddlers will wear a long wool tunic. Toddlers and small children will also get their first cloak, this one sewn together and designed to go over the head with a hood to prevent injury from cloakpins.
Children begin to wear clothing similar to adults, but with shorter socks that don't quite reach the knee. They also wear simple wool hats unless they are indoors, similar to a men's cap with the skull and ears covered, and a tie below the chin.
Northern nobility wears clothing more akin to other noble courts, donning warmer clothing mostly when they go outside in the form of heavily furred cloaks and embellished leather boots, which are usually lined in fine fur. Nobles of both genders will often wear a boot with a significant heel when outside, normally around 3-5 inches in height. Nobility are also more likely to prefer wearing long furs as scarves as opposed to woolen alternatives, and especially prefer showcasing the head, paws, and tail of an animal on these scarves.
Noble men in the region will usually wear socks that reach the knee, with a leather calf garter to hold them up. They wear a simple or ruffled linen shirt and short pants beneath their clothes. Over this, they wear a wear a short wool pants tucked into tall leather boots. Some of these short pants will even be buckled into the boot to prevent them from coming free. They will wear a loose woolen shirt with long sleeves, tucked into pants that reach the waist and usually have a series of buttons of buckled leather belts to hold them tight. Worn over this is often a fur-lined cloak or cape, or sometimes a fur-lined coat with a leather belt to hold it closed. These belts can be centerpieces for a noble man's outfits, with elaborate buckles, and will be worn over the waist of the pants. They can be as wide as five inches, and the wealthier nobles might have belts that are embellished with precious stones and metal rings. If a man chooses a cloak or cape instead, he may use chains encrusted with jewels or ropes of colorful fabric to hold the edges of his cloak/cape together and draw the eye to his chest or shoulders. Men will also wear leather gloves with fancy buckles at the wrists.
Noble women are dressed with a simple linen gown and thigh-high socks held up with a waist garter beneath their clothes. Over this could be any of a few prevalent styles in the north. Some women wear a ruffled linen shirt with large sleeves that cinch at the wrist with a series of ruffles around the hand. This is tucked into a skirt that begins below the breasts. This skirt may either flair out and stack in a series of layers all the way to their feet, or it can be tailored to be tight to the waist and ecentuated by thick belts or rows of buttons until it reaches the hips. These slimmer-fitting skirts are usually split in the front to make way for a set of layered skirts beneath. Women's belts can be wide like a man's, but tend on the thinner side with embroidery as well as jewels to embellish them. Women will sometimes where a lace or silk veil or headwrap with a fur cap in local fashion, though far more decorated and fine. They may also forgo a traditional headwrap to show off elaborate hairstyles and head jewelry instead. Women may wear gloves like a noble man, but this is usually reserved for outdoor activities. Over their dress, a woman is almost always wearing a cloak of some kind. Indoors, this is usually a short one, cropped to cover only the shoulders. These short cloaks are normally fastened in the front and fully made of furs. A longer cloak for outdoors can be made of wool and lined with fur, or made entirely of furs. Jeweled ropes and chains are used to embellish these cloaks.
Southern (General)
Southern common men tend to wear a linen shirt and simple cloth pants. In colder temperatures, they will wear a simple jacket of leather or cloth. A pocket is usually tied to the waist of their pants, and leather belts are common. Shoes are made of leather and reach just above the ankle. They are usually laced closed in the front with leather or cloth cord. Men can sometimes choose to wear a simple leather or cloth cap. In the winter, woolen alternatives to typical clothing will be worn, and simple knit gloves, hats, scarves, and socks help protect the body from cold.
Common women wear a linen undergarment, with a knee-length or ankle-length skirt and no sleeves with straps over the shoulders. Some women may opt for an undergarment with knee-length shorts rather than a skirt. Over this can be either a simple cloth dress with the skirt sewn to the top just above the hip, and a smooth figure. These dresses can vary in length, usually depending on the season. Alternatively, southern women may wear a simple tunic that reaches the thighs in length and a pair of leather or cloth pants. It's common for women to wear leather belts, sometimes for function and sometimes for fashion. A belt may be used to hold up pants, or a wide belt may be worn to keep a tunic close to the waist. With certain styles of dresses, a belt may be used to hang jewelry or beads over a skirt. Women can choose to wear a pocket at their belt like a man, or they can tie their pockets around their waist to hide them beneath their skirts, accessible through a slit in the seams of certain skirt styles. It is common for a woman to wear a light cloth overgarment above her dress to conceal skirt slits, such as an apron or a sleeveless over-tunic which can be fastened shut at the chest or waist. Women in the south tend to wear their hair loose or in braided styles. Veils are seldom worn except in special occasions or by widows.
Wealthier men might take inspiration from styles of dress outside of the region and wear high waisted pants, heeled shoes, and fur on their jackets. They might incorporate some jewelry into their wardrobes, but social class restricts them from dressing too finely.
Wealthy women are known to wear furs in the winter to mimic the styles of the North, but toned down for the milder temperatures. Long scarves in the winter are a particularly strong trend during the winter seasons. Wealthy women take pride in their seasonal wardrobes. In the summer, light and airy skirts are worn, as short as knee length. There is usually only one skirt layered over the underskirt, and sometimes a woman may choose to wear linen shorts instead of an underskirt.
Commoners and wealthy folk alike wear woven baskets big and small. The wealthy would wear a small and elaborately woven one at their hip to hold small things, a piece which usually showcases a blend of skilled and intricately patterned weaves, decorative strands with beads or cloth strips or hanging jewels, dyed reeds, etc. The straps of these hanging basket may be long to wear over the shoulder, made of braided cloth or leather, or short to fasten to a belt. Commoners might carry a small and simple hip basket in lieu of a pocket, and frequently used large baskets strapped with leather or strips of cloth to the back for carrying trade goods, groceries, travelling gear, etc. Some baskets are woven to be carried with the hands, with handles at the sides, and some are designed to be balanced upon the shoulder or overhead. Basket weavers in the region use field grasses or river reeds and local dyes to create beautiful patterns and lovely changes in weaving pattern and texture. Some skilled weavers will even weave in bits of cloth or beaded strands to ornament a more expensive basket.
Mountainlands
Mountaintops
Mountaintop dress generally has a lot of thick furs and long coats across class and genders, with large belts around the waist to hold everything closed which often have loops to carry weapons, supply bags, decorative jewelry or articles, etc.
Commoners wear patchleather garments more often than not, made from the scraps of finer products that can be sold for profit. Similarly, furs of rough quality or scraps of finer furs can be patched together to make the edging and lining of coats. Commoners of both sexes wear similar clothes, with a linen shirt and pants against the skin, long sleeved and loose except for the tight cuffs at wrist and ankle. Over this is a knee-length wool tunic and pants with stirrups that hold the cuff of the pants to the bottom of the foot, usually dyed and embroidered with lovely patterns. Sometimes a pair of leather pants with fur lining may be worn instead, with a wool stirrup to keep the cuffs held down. A pair of leather boots lined with either fur or wool are common, often as high as the knee to prevent snow falling into the shoe. Many boots have a small pocket for a work knife or other long tool. Elbow-length wool gloves are worn and sometimes fastened around the arm with leather straps and buckles for laborers who work long in the cold. Over all of this is the coat, a knee or mid-shin length garment that is heavier than coats in most other regions. The outside of the coat is generally leather, but sometimes made of wool or fur instead. The lining is almost always fur, though wool is occasionally substituted. The lining is sewn in squares or triangles, or sometimes in unshapen patches, with each patch holding a pocket of feathers or loose wool to stuff the coat and offer more warmth. Unstuffed coats exist but are hardly usable in the colder months on the mountaintops. Coats usually have some fur at the cuffs, collar, and bottom edge, and some even have a strap holding the sleeves of the coat down using the thumb or middle finger. Coats may have cloth buttons to hold them closed, or a series of tied straps across the front of the body. A long open slit is usually kept in front of the legs to allow movement, though there is sometimes a loose piece of wool is sewn to cover the inside of the slit and held shut with buttons. This cloth is loose enough to drape closed in the standing position and still extend far enough to allow a wide range of movement. Coats may have a built in pocket accessible from the outside and buttoned closed for travel. A thick belt is fastened around the waist, usually made of leather or of beautifully knitted wool. This belt is held closed with a buckle, or sometimes more creative fastenings. Ornamental belts might merely be long and decorated strips of leather or cloth that wraps around the waist and is held shut with a tightly tied smaller band of cloth or sometimes even a metal belt designed specifically to hold such a piece closed. These belts often have loops or fastenings to hold jewelry, small bags, weapons, etc. Scarves are often worn around the head, neck, and face with most outdoors having only their eyes visible. Special face coverings may also be made that are easier to wear, though usually more expensive and sometimes even ornamental. Beads made of lovely stones may be sewn into embroidered clothing to add a touch of beauty.
Wealthy people wear this clothing, but far more ornamental and decorated, with more rare and expensive materials such as whole leather and fine furs, intricate and amazing embroidery and even embroidered beadwork. Similarly, the wealthy may wear jewelry, but in this region are seldom pierced due to the effect of the cold on metal piercings.
Valleys
People in the valley lands have an assortment of different fashion styles that take a lot of input from the neighboring regions.
Traditionally, the valley peoples were a blend of plains nomads, farm settlements, and the odd cave dwelling tribe.
Plains nomads wear loose clothing that incorporates the wool of the animals they follow across the plains. These animals usually include Dashta Bison, various species of Ram, and a small number of nomadic tribes don't follow any particular animal and only travel to keep the cultural traditions of their forefathers who may have chased one beast or another before losing their herds. They wear short or long ponchos of woven wool, pants made of wool, leather, or woven grass. Traditionally, they never wore shirts, but these days women and some other tribal people will wear small tops made of wool, grass, purchased linen ornamented with beads or leather fringes, or leather. Tribes these days frequently trade with established settlements and have incorporated linen into their wardrobes, favoring its lightness during the hotter months. Some of the tribal people also wear simple linen skirts. Over any leg garment, it is common for them to wear leather or beaded belts that rest at the hip and extend to the upper or mid thigh, with build in pockets and loops for hanging pouches, bottles, and sheathing daggers made of bone or forged metal. Plains nomads may also wear decorative headwear using found objects, animal parts( fur, feathers, animal tails, bones), beads, and leather strips.
Farm settlements traditionally have simple and practical clothing that can be changed to suit the seasons. Farm settlements and plains nomads have some shared cultural garments due to their close contact with one another over the last century. For example, farm settlements also employ the use of short and long ponchos and fringed accents on leather garments such as shoes, bags, and protective leather pants and jackets. Otherwise, these settlers typically wear light linen garments with complex embroidery to decorate them. Men usually wear linen tunics and pants made of linen, cotton, or wool. Women wear a simple linen under-dress with a more complex linen dress over the top of it. These outer dresses are usually sewn to have shaped sleeves that force the cloth into loose bubbled shapes that hold it somewhat off the skin. They are either knee or ankle length, tailored to have a loose chest area and a more fitted waistline that is suited to be worn with or without a belt. Skirts tend to have multiple sections and layers to shape them in various ways depending on the creativity and whim of the seamstress. The simplest skirts have similar shaping given to the sleeves and chest, with loose and tight areas of cloth that can either form the illusion of layers or give a wavy shape to the silhouette. Necklines vary from resting on the collarbone to dipping rather deep with a scooped or square shape. Rarely, an extremely modest neckline at the base of the throat can be found with colored string woven into the hem of the neckline to hang loose for tying the front of the opening shut. Embroidery is employed to make these dresses more cohesive, with the more focused areas for embroidery being the neckline, the arms from the mid-upper arm to the ends of the sleeves or anywhere between, the waist, the hem of a shirt or tunic, the hem of a skirt, and any section or region of a skirt seen fit to create a certain artistic vision. Men and women both employ geometric patterns, stripes and crosshatches, lattice weaves, flowers, and sometimes animals or trees in their embroidery. Rarer patterns include more 'elfish' curves or humanoid shapes. Belts are commonly worn, with pouches or pockets attached more often than not. Common folk can usually only afford a simple leather belt or a simple embroidered cloth belt, but wealthier citizens wear belts of fine decorated leather set with stones and gems or incredibly detailed cloth belts that may feature precious metal threads in the embroidery.
Cave dwellers tended to dress more warmly and incorporated woven plant fibers and furs in their garments, often wearing furs around the shoulders held in place with metal pins. They would wear more fitted clothing that wouldn't snag so easily in enclosed spaces, with coarse-clothed garments that were tailored to fit the chest, arms, and legs. The clothing is typically ornamented with metal rings, polished stone beads, etc. Cave dwellers give special attention to shoes and the use of helmets, garments that are considered important for their protective purposes. Shoes are woven from leather and coarse fabric to completely cover the feet and ankles, with leather padding on the bottom and the along the back of the leg to protect against sharp stones and provide support and cushion to avoid leg injury. They sometimes have a metal plate attached to the top of the shoe, sometimes with decorative beads and stones used to ornament leather strings that hold the plate in place. This is to provide extra protection against falling stones. Headgear is usually made of thick leather, sometimes with small furs attached for cosmetic purposes. Stronger helmets are made of metal, but are reserved for members of the tribe that have more dangerous jobs in the caves. Some cave dwelling tribes are more assimilated into society these days and will wear garments from outside their culture as well.
Non-traditional fashions are commonly blended into the everyday wear of both wealthy citizens and commoners alike. Some desert garments like glass beads, silk, and woven reed pieces made their way into the fashion of areas closer to the desert or touched by desert trade. Riverlands and Mountain clothing infiltrated the northwestern regions. Forest garments came from the northern borders of the plains. Common garments that infiltrated the garb of most of the region include the use of hidden pockets accessible through sewn-in slits in skirts for women, small head kerchiefs to hold back hair, knit socks, several styles of leather shoes, etc.
Riverlands
The Riverlands are known for their horse riding and river-based food production, such as fishing and small paddies attached to river valleys. Their clothing tends to be designed with these things in mind, and it is very common for women to either wear linen pants beneath their skirts or forgo the skirt entirely and wear cotton pants. Knee or calf length pants and skirts are frequently worn in areas bordering the rivers, to keep people from suffering wet clothing when they have to wade into paddies or shallow parts of the rivers and to help protect against drowning due to heavy clothes. Garments of the area are typically made of light materials like linen, dyed dark colors to keep them from becoming too transparent. Men wear linen tunics and pants with a simple cloth undergarment. Women wear a pear of linen short pants beneath a knee or calf-length pair of linen or cotton pants or skirt with a light linen shirt. It's common for working women to wear an apron as well, often the sort that covers both the front and back of the body and ties at either side of the waist. Small kerchiefs or cloth bands are worn by both genders to keep hair and sweat out of the face while working. Wearing a small piece of cloth above each elbow is also pretty common, a measure to keep water from traveling up the arm when working in the paddies as they may reach over their heads to hold their harvest baskets up. Also, shallow baskets made of river reeds are frequently worn by paddy workers, designed to fit onto reed hats that many workers wear over their cloth head coverings. These baskets are used to hold some types of crop that can be grown in the paddies, such as reeds, grains, or cranberries. Many paddy workers wear the reed hats that these baskets fit into, which are shaped much like the baskets but with a round indent at the top to keep the basket more steadily in place. A simple cloth band is used to tie the basket and the hat together to avoid it falling off the worker's head, but very experienced paddy workers can easily balance it without the assistance of a tie.
Folk in the riding parts of the Riverlands wear gear more suited to horseback or ranching activities, such as pants made of tough materials like leather or rough-spun wool or cotton.
Desert
Hills
Forest of Lys'Aka
Anix
Mirui'd'ra
Comments