M0th-b0nes - Hi :)

Worldbuilding: Clothes and Beauty

Every society has a standard of beauty.  Whether or not everyone meets that standard, it does normally affect fashion and clothes.  While things such as climate also have a play on fashion, knowing the standards of beauty in your character’s culture can add a depth to that character and give perspective on what he or she calls “beautiful.”  Also, it will give something of an image of what the character likes to wear. In this list, I have written a list of questions pertaining to fashion.  It’s not an exhaustive list, however.  The goal is to get you working on the fashion of your world.

Have fun, be creative and detailed, and answer questions not listed!

Because my computer crashed and lost the prepared list, the questions are not directly taken from the NaNoWriMo website. However, some of the questions are asked from memory.  Others sounded like questions I had.

How does the weather affect clothing?

What kind of designs are common on clothing? Detailed embroidery?  Different dyes?  Logos?  Beads?  Sequins?

What would someone wear to a dance? Are there different kinds of dances that would require different kinds of clothes?

What would someone wear to a dinner party?

What is appropriate every day clothing?

What kind of clothes would the rich wear?

What kind of clothes would the poor wear?

What kind of clothes would those in between wear?

What clothing distinguishes someone as a noble or in a position of authority?

What is normally appropriate for children to wear?

What would one wear to a wedding or a funeral? Do the guests wear something different than the two getting married?  Does the person marrying the couple wear something different from the rest of the people?  Does the bride get all fancy?  How is the dead body dressed?

What kind of shoes do the people wear? Do people have different shoes for different occasions?

What is the significance of tattoos? Are they taboo?  Indicate a warrior?  Indicate a married couple?  Just another part of fashion?

What is the significance of piercings? Is it a status symbol?  What places normally get pierced?  What do they normally put in the piercings?

What kind of jewelry is worn? Earrings?  Necklaces?  Bracelets?  Nose rings?  Toe rings?  Crowns?

What does jewelry signify?

What features are admired? Symmetrical faces?  Slim bodies?  Tall or short?  Are certain kind of skin colors admired?  Certain colors of hair?  Long or short nails?  Small feet?

How does it differ with gender?

What kind of hairstyles are in fashion?

Does hairstyle indicate status in society?

What kind of fabrics are worn?

What fabrics are consider luxurious? Silk? Satin? Velvet?  Dragon hair?

What are some clothes that only certain people wear? Do priests have a certain uniform?  The military?

What are some ways people beautify themselves?

What kind of perfumes and/or colognes are worn?

What kind of soaps do people put in their bathes?

How often do people bathe?

What kind of hair care is there?

What kind of makeup do people use?

What is makeup made of? Modern ingredients?  Magic?  Crushed up beetles?  Powdered flower?  Ink?

How has magic affected fashion?

They killed our neighbor and his family because they were going home but it seems like it's a bad area Unfortunately banned and they were all killed

types of fantasy subgenres - writing help

high / epic fantasy - a genre of fantasy that holds its own world and creatures. examples of this could be J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR, or C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia

low fantasy - a genre where there are regular magical happenings in "our" world—such as a magical school, or people with magical abilities. this could be found in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, or Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away

urban fantasy - essentially low fantasy, only it takes place in an urban setting such as a big city. an example of this is Cassandra Clare's City of Bones

sword and sorcery - fantasy that is centred around swords, magic, and witchcraft. it is a subgenre of high fantasy. a book is Robert E. Howard's Conan series

dark fantasy - fantasy elements mixed with horror. The Atlas Six, by Olivia Blake

fable - a story with a moral lesson

arthurian fantasy - anything derived from the tales of King Arthur (the Sword in the Stone, etc.)

crosswords fantasy - essentially where the main character crosses between their world and a fantasy world. an example of this could be Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

dragon fantasy - what it sounds like.

historical fantasy - a cross between the historical fiction and low fantasy subgeneres. it could be set in a royal court filled with goblins, for example, in a time that was once present on earth.

people see news of 200+ palestinians being killed in one attack and scroll or think about it for about a minute then move on. but if 200+ people died in an attack in the west it would be mainstream news and all people spoke about for weeks. i know the numbers of palestinians being killed are astronomical and its impossible to keep up (which is absolutely sickeningly horrifying, there are no words), but the lack of value placed in palestinians lives and disregard shown is insane

Ahhh! Why do I do this to my self?

I redrawn

09.15.2023/01.01.2023

Admiring himself

(via)

Worldbuilding Questions

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Since it's Worldbuilding Wednesday, I've decided to write up a bunch of questions that might work for participants might work in WBW. Admittedly, much of these are oriented towards fantasy and non-Earth societies and cultures, but! Still useful.

I was heavily inspired by this list by the SFWA.

What is considered a normal family unit in your culture(s)?

What sort of magical creatures exist in your world? (Dragons, fair folk, spirits, etc)

What does a right of passage look like in your culture(s)?

How does someone propose marriage in your culture(s)? How long do they stay engaged, and what marks the marriage?

What weather-based customs exist in your culture(s)?

What customs surround death and burial? Are the people of your culture(s) even buried?

What distinguishes a formal dinner from a casual one?

What foods are considered taboo in your culture(s)?

If your culture is largely unable to get safe, clean water, what is considered a good substitute?

Are any gestures considered rude or vulgar? Why?

What is a way to show respect? To whom is it owed (parents, teachers, rank superiors, etc)?

When a visitor comes by, how are they greeted and treated? Is there special ceremony?

What is something your culture never talks about when talking to an acquaintance (e.x. religion)? What is something they always do (e.x. asking after the health of someone's family)?

What is considered courteous to gift to a visitor, if any?

How are people with magical talent treated?

How intertwined is magic and science, and how does this effect the views of it?

What is the calendar like? What celebrations are there?

What is the best way to get around? What's the cheapest?

Do many people own pets, like cats and dogs? What about magical pets?

How is war declared by a certain culture?

Does your culture have a concept of sin? If so, what do they consider a sin versus virtue?

What's a major historical event that changed the course of the culture forever?

If your world has magic, how did it get there? Was it always there? Or did it come about through other means (science gone wrong, melding of a separate plane of existence, etc)?

What is one major flaw or loophole in the law? Have people taken advantage of it?

How would a state of emergency be declared? Who can do it? Under what circumstances can it be declared?

This is the type of theatrical nonsense Jayce was up to whenever he saw Mel with other people during those 7 years before they got together, singing 2000s rnb in the shower, sitting his hand on the glass. Just astronomically down bad.