Fictional Fashion

From the "Random Quirks" thread:

To summarize: Clothes make the...world? Or at least, they can flesh out a setting quite a bit. This thread is for discussing that kind of thing.

Cyborgs are more likely to express themselves with customizations to their cyberframes such as paintjobs or sculpted armor. When it comes to clothing, they will often go with bulky clothing that doesn't draw too much attention and doesn't get snagged on moving parts. Cloaks are a universal part of cyborg fashion, just so long as the 'borg doesn't have shoulder mounted weapons or excessively bulky flight systems. Robes come in close second, while capes will rise and fall out of style, but are often seen as just a fire hazard.

Psykers tend to go a number of directions, depending upon their training. Untrained psykers will do anything it takes to expand their abilities, not wishing to be stuck bending spoons while their neighbors can bend spacetime. These people go for very plain clothing that is soft to the touch and provides very little distraction. Military or corporate trained psykers have more leeway with fashion. Kinetics in particular enjoy dressing to match their powers. Cryos will go for An Ice Suit, Pyros will either dress in ironic firefighter hardsuits or highly flammable clothes in warm color schemes in order to show off the control they have over their powers. Those who focus on basic telekinesis will integrate blades and spikes into their clothing that can detach and be wielded by the Kinetic for an impromptu Flechette Storm or full scale Storm of Blades. As they grow in power, the capability for Impossibly Cool Clothes escalates.

Since Scanners don't have flashy powers, they prefer to dress conservatively, but will often add something that marks them as a bit off to deliberately unsettle opponents. Scanners prefer dark and somber clothes with face concealing accessories. Surgical gloves are also popular. Because a Scanner's powers work better on opponents who are in a state of emotional unease, dressing in a subtly intimidating manner serves a practical advantage. Clerics mostly either go for traditional martial arts garb, nice business suits, or whatever dress code their Clan calls for. Because the Clerical Arts put emphasis on the synthesis of form and function, Clerics like to dress to impress. A Cleric's suit is a marvel of engineering and tailoring, blending quality thread work and nanotech age materials to make a seemingly indestructible suit capable of carrying an arbitrary number of concealed weapons.

New Pyrrhius: Despite being a heavily diverse area, the territories surrounding the Homeworld are often heavily affected by it. There may not be a greater proponent to the integration of the hardsuit into formal and casual dress than New Pyrrhius. This is because Pyrrhius is a classic case of a Death World that is militarized to the extreme, not to mention the fact that it is the homeworld for a government that has faced decades of brutal war and centuries of civil unrest. More utilitarian Brutalist fashion with a military chic streak dominated New Pyrrhius. However, New Pyrrhius is a very diverse nation. Many people who trace their heritage back to the tribes that lived in the inhospitable wilderness before their forces assimilation by the early Militocracy dress in a clutter of tribal pieces while those whose families were once of noble blood still have archaic military dress and ancestral monoblades.

edited 4th Dec '14 9:27:25 PM by MaxwellDaring

I realized I had forgotten Ghoul fashion. Ghouls wear Black Cloaks, gloves, and thick sunglasses-at least, the ones active during the day, due to their racial photosensitivity. After dark, they dress closer to human fashions.

edited 4th Dec '14 6:51:26 PM by dvorak

Endless Fashion: Many Motung pilots tend to avoid heavy customization so many of them stick to painting their Motungs, especially if not in use for Military. The result is 3-4 meter tall humanoid robots with bright red colours (some believing it to make their motung faster by at least 3 times).

Deadzone Silence Fashion: Many pilots in setting favor the standard pilot suit, which appears to be a simple bodysuit, but is actually equipped with a buffer layer for added protection inside their machine, includes a battery back with a standard life cycle of 48 hours utilizing all of the functions, including a GPS and specialized heating pads. Said suit battery packs also feature specialized vacuums to help the suit reduce space by literally conforming it to the body through vacuum pressure, and even feature ports for recharging the battery and attaching oxygen tanks and helmets for tough environments.

One place I'm toying with has little in the way of a standard fashion and most people just dress how they feel comfortable, in styles ranging from Early 16th Century to Early 21st Century - and strange admixtures thereof - to the point that any public venue looks like a costume party and the main streets look like the town is hosting a conference for historical enactors.

It's nothing unusual to see a person in full Punk regalia complete with colourful "mohawk" crest talking with someone wearing 18th Century breaches, frock coat and tricorn hat - or a 19th Century styled three-piece suit with top hat.

Second-hand clothing stores look like the BBC's wardrobe department and tailors do a booming trade catering to those rich enough to get their new clothes made to suit their tastes.

The nearest to homogenous "fashion" would be "off-the-rack" clothes that just run to a variety of tops, bottoms, jackets etc for both sexes. The poorer people would wear these or an anachronistic mish-mash of whatever style second-hand clothes fit their body and their budget.

That's not to say individual cliques won't have their own ideas about what is "fashionable" - it's just that the majority of the population doesn't give a rat's arse what those cliques think.

Many people would agree that one should never be seen in public without a hat - but would disagree on what style that hat should be (or whether one's waistcoat should be short or long, plain or brocade...)

Seriously, it borders on Costume Porn...

And on the "porn" side of the border, to boot...

A few ideas I've had:

• Neutral-coloured jackets, but with oversized, garish lapels.
• Neutral-coloured jackets with either ruffed or rolled collars.

Would hairstyles fall under "fashion"? The setting I'm currently working on seems to have a lot of different attitudes on hair, especially body and facial hair...

Heck yeah, hair counts as fashion.

I wrote how people decorate mecha in one of my settings so go ahead.

my only real experience with fashion so far is in regards to nation-identifying features;

the high empress of the eastern empire really cares for her hair, and enjoys dying it multiple colors at a time- a practice that caught on in the empire. though there is at one smaller nation that was eventually annexed by the empire that already did that and feel like their identity has been stolen whenever an outsider mis-identifies them as part of the empire, which they clearly do ''not'' consider themselves as.

people in the northern republic show a fondness for either chokers or flower motifs.

due to the facial tattoos acolytes, missionaries and clergymen in the theocracy are required to gain, tattoos are seen as a desireable (though, facial tattoos are forbidden for those not official members of the religion) and a particular terrorist group that identifies its members by certain facial tattoos often claim to be theocracy missionaries to avoid standing out (unless they're in the more vitriolic parts of the republic or the theocracy itself)

I'm the Shoe person.

Other fashion in my fantasy country: formal attire for women include layered skirts, an often heavily decorated underskirt that hits above the ankle, and an overskirt that is usually either in panels with slits so the under skirt can be seen, or is shorter than the underskirt. Men usually have hose over cannions, but since the book is set at a girls only boarding school (it's a letter story) we don't see much of men's fashion.

Jewelry is important too. Pendants are not very common, necklaces are usually Torcs or hard collar necklaces, or perhaps strings of beads. Anklets are more common than bracelets for the same reason shoes are usually the fanciest part of an outfit: these people like feet. who knows why, I sure don't. strangely, rings are just not really a thing there. Earcuffs are worn by men and women. Right ear has one for decoration or whatever, if one chooses, but an ear cuff in the left ear—usually a plain band—is the equivalent of a wedding ring.

Nicely thought out.

thanks! It's a letter story between two girls in different countries rife with culture shock, so I tried to have a lot of details. Also I really, really like earcuffs and torcs and wanted to put them in something I wrote.

The Orck obsession with big coats largely boils down to "how much armor can I get away with wearing while in a social situation?". This has led to some odd fashion rules, such as "you're never fully dressed without your gorget" and "never wear a sash when a bandoleer will do".

Nekomatas have a racial phobia about having their abdomens exposed, and will at the very least get extra-long kilt wraps. For some, this isn't enough, and buy armor plates to strap over their midsections. Removing these belly coverings is a sign of the deepest, most abiding trust, to the point that it's not considered rude to keep them on inside; the more substantial the covering the more intimate the removal.

edited 13th Dec '14 3:30:00 PM by dvorak

The Kin tend to wear a lot less clothing than humans (and related humanoids), mainly because most of them already have fur. Typical articles of clothing are simple cloth wraps and kilts, with poncho-style overgarments worn in especially harsh weather. Preferred patterns and colors vary by breed. Rabbitkin favor clothing in earth tones but with intricate tartan-like patterns woven into the fabric. Catkin prefer solid color and shiny fabrics, while wolfkin tend to gravitate towards patterns that look a little like camo mottling. Ratkin wear drab grey robes and cloaks outside but when at home like to change into "housewear" that is a garish (to human eyes) mess of high-contrast colors and geometric shapes, described by one anthropologist as "the visual equivalent of Dubstep".

In the melting-pot city of New Sanctuary, the merging of Kin and sanctuarian human(-oid) clothing styles with Earth fashion has resulted in "fusion" styles that have started to draw the interest of many of Earth's most notable fashion designers, although Lizardkin outfits (i.e. no clothes beyond than some belts and slings to carry stuff...the Lizardkin homeland is a tropical jungle, after all) probably won't break through into the mainstream market anytime soon.

Everyone tends to adopt a "when in Rome" approach to fashion when abroad. It's not uncommon to pack nothing but skirts when humans head to the Tribelands; and Kobolds will get a shirt, vest, and trousers for a trip to the Kingdom. Both will get fit for an armored Greatcoat and a gorget if going to the Dominion. Some cultures refuse to do this, however. Elves absolutely need their robes and irrigators, to keep themselves as moist as possible for example; and Dwarves don't understand casual clothing. As mentioned above, no matter what else they may be wearing, Nekomatas will have their stomachs protected.

edited 13th Dec '14 3:57:47 PM by dvorak

The rulers of the Empire of the Southern Cross don't wear crowns; they were masks, representing their being blessed by the Sun and the Moon. There's a different one for the style of the ruler:

Emperor's Mask:
For when he's married: It is made of gold porcelain and covers his entire face, and has a rectangular-shaped amethyst in center of the forehead
For when he's unmarried and rules by himself: It is similar to the previous kind, but is made of platinum porcelain and has two additional amethysts on each cheekbone

Empress's Mask:
Consort: It is made of silver porcelain and covers the upper half of her face, including her upper lip, and an elliptical-shaped ruby adorns the center of the forehead
Regnant: It is also made of platinum porcelain, and has elliptical-shaped red diamonds on the outer edges of the eye holes as well as the ruby

I like this thread, it's exciting!

Edited by TairaMai on Nov 5th 2020 at 7:13:52 PM

Kobolds and Nekomata wear a very odd sort of footwear. Since both have hind paws rather than feet, their "boots" are in fact a sort of high-heeled shoe, strapped tightly to the bridge of the foot until it reaches the ankle. Very few actually wear such things, but they are helpful in absorbing recoil.

A short while ago, I made a list of all the outfits my characters have ever worn. :) ^_^;;

The uniform of Silence Industries is pretty lax, so long as you are wearing appropriate gear for your job within the facility and it conforms to the black and white standard set by the CEO (A masked man who people question why he is in charge) then you are set. This has lead to some people imitating the CEO's masked style with various masks of their own. This is encouraged as entertaining and the boss has no issue, so long as they aren't interrupting anything important.

So like WH40K's purity seals and that?

edited 18th Dec '14 2:16:47 AM by dvorak

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. ^_^;; Among the citizenry of the Empire of the Southern Cross, the people dress in the style of America and the United Kingdom during the 1900s-1910s.

@ dvorak: It's part of their value system, for Martissians religious scriptures and iconography are both a good luck charm and a thing of beauty to be shared. Some do use patternes, quotes and scenes to 'ward off evil' especially those who've converted to human religious.

edited 18th Dec '14 10:05:10 AM by TairaMai