What Do They Wear in Aviandria?–An Intro to Aviandrian Fashion

So, I’ve meant to write a post about this for years. Like, six or seven years. And I actually started to. Like, six or seven years ago. I started writing it in a small journal I had, and it began to go on and on and on and on. It took pages and pages. I don’t think I even finished before I decided it would probably bore everyone to tears and I stopped for a while. A long while. Now, I’ve written about a lot of other topics and decided it might be time to come back to this. However, at some point in those six or seven years, my journal managed to get lost (probably when I moved). This might be for the best. Perhaps I can keep it from getting too boring. Right now, my plan is to break it into bite-sized chunks, so this will probably be more of a series. In each post, I’ll talk about three different categories: men, women, and children.

For this post, I’ll do a fast introduction, which will briefly go over the base of all Aviandrian clothing. There might be variations in the type of fabric used or the exact shape and style of each thing, but all Aviandrian fashion will include these elements.

Men

Men’s clothes in Aviandria always include a fairly loose-fitting shirt and some moderately loose trousers. Sometimes the shirt is collard, sometimes it isn’t. They usually have a slit in front to allow the head to get through, which laces up. Buttons aren’t really a thing in Aviandria. Most shirts are long-sleeved, but the shape of the sleeves varies. Some are full (dare I say puffy?) while others are narrow and straight. It depends on personal preference, practicality, and the money available to spend on a shirt. Shirts go down to the upper-middle thigh and are not tucked in. Usually, a belt is worn at the waist, not to hold up pants, but more as a utility thing to hold pouches, knives, swords, etc. Pants are held up at the waist with a drawstring. They are loose without being baggy. They usually go to the top of the ankle, so they would seem slightly short to our standard. Boots are most commonly worn, but if they cannot be afforded, a moccasin-type shoe will do.

Women

The base of all women’s clothing in Aviandria is a full underdress, similar to what we know as a smock, shift, or chemise. Like all clothes, the materials and styles will differ because of personal preference, region, or circumstance. Like the men’s shirts, the sleeves can be either full (puffy) or straight, but unlike men’s shirts, shorter sleeves are common in warm weather. Also, like the men’s shirts, they occasionally have collars and are done up near the neck with the same lacing. They usually reach down to barely above the ankle, though in some places where outdoor work is more common, they can be three or four inches above the ankle. These underdress are always accompanied by an outer cover of some sort, though often it doesn’t completely cover the entire underdress. In fact, it isn’t uncommon for only the top or bottom half to be covered. This will be addressed in more detail in future posts. There are also a variety of options for footwear depending on the situation, so we will go over that in other posts too.

Children

The base of children’s clothes is almost identical to those of adults. The big difference is that younger children usually wear just the base. They don’t usually wear much of anything else over these simple ensembles. As they get older, things are added, and they become closer to the adult versions. This can happen in several stages. Babies and toddlers still in diapers usually are in dresses regardless of whether they are boys or girls because it is a lot easier to deal with diapers and potty training that way. Once they are done with diapers, the boys graduate to pants, and the girls can start having aprons or pinafore-type covers for their underdresses. Particulars will be covered in future posts.

Hopefully, this hasn’t put you to sleep too badly. This is stuff that is interesting to me because I love costume design and have always been interested in clothes from different time periods. It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so thank you for humoring me in my little rambles here.

What questions do you have about clothing in Aviandria? Are there any specific things you would like me to address?