Clothing and fashion in Scarterra
Eventually this will be an index page for many specific articles about Scarterran clothing
I plan to write more specific articles about specific types of clothing and fashion in Scarterra. This is a broad overview article, and overtime I plan to add new related sub articles on this one by one.
Like medieval Earth and pretty much every era and location of real world Earth, clothing is a major indicator of status in Scarterra.
There are many different status levels associated with clothing, so a tiny change in clothing can denote a small change in status and there are countless variations signifying wealth, social class, age, marital status, profession, and any number of things.
Each color and style of clothing symbolizes different things, but in general the more expensive clothing is, the higher status it connotes.
In terms of material, cheapest to most expensive is generally hemp, leather, linen (flax), and silk. Wool in Scarterra comes in a huge variety with low grade wool almost as cheap to buy as hemp cloth and the finest and rarest wool is almost as valuable as silk. It's not always obvious by looking what material an article of clothing is made of. Color is the biggest signifier of status.
Most expensive to least expensive, colors in Scarterra generally follow this ranking: bright purple, dull purple, bright orange, bright green, white, bright blue, light orange, bright yellow, bright red, dark black, dark gray, vibrant brown, pale green, dull or rusty red, pale yellow, dull brown, off-white/light gray, dull brown.
(Notice the obvious trend that bright colors tend to be expensive than dull colors)
The ranking is not a guideline, not a rule, in most Scarterran locations, indigo (used in making high quality blue dye) is usually imported, but people live near an indigo plantation can buy blue cloth much cheaper than other people.
by me with Midjourney
Complex designs on clothing require more materials and labor, so they are more expensive, and thus signify status. Baggy clothing takes less time and material to make than form fitting clothing and baggy clothing is easier to pass second hand from owner to owner, so form fitting clothing is generally higher status than loose clothing.
Execution
Scarterran haggling scene by Zeta Gardner
Participants
It is common and movies and television series depicting historical fiction or fantasy worlds supposedly inspired by real world history to make peasants or lower class people dressed in dull brown.
There is a kernel of truth in this. In medieval Europe and many other preindustrial Earth societies, brown was considered a low status color, but this doesn't mean peasants only dressed in brown. If you peruse real world medieval art in an internet search engine or a book of art history, you will note that peasants wore a wide variety of colors. This painting below is fairly famous, but it is hardly the only medieval painting showing peasants wearing fairly bright colors while out in the fields.
Like real world humans, most Scarterrans have an attraction to bright colors and will wear the bright colors that they can afford.
Medieval art of farm workers (public domain) by unknown artist
Clothing related articles
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