#Don't get me wrong I like medieval style clothing as well

[nightwingcouldyounot]

Again what is it with the Medieval style clothing? 

The Amazons (and adjacent) have always been based on 'Ancient’ cultures style clothing. 

(Red Hood Outlaw 042)

[irish-dress-history]

Have you got any good resources for men’s clothing in Ireland (or even Scotland) during about the 1400’s-1600’s?

I have been trying to find anything that can give me better insight so I can recreate the clothing but so far I’m mostly seeing cheap rubbish costumes that are very clearly the generic “medieval” style that everyone goes to when they want to convey a vibe but don’t feel like doing historic accuracy.

Not to say there’s anything wrong with that but I’d like to really impress people in future gatherings that pertain to this time period

This is a tough one, unfortunately. The 2 best books for this have been out of print for decades and now sell second hand for $100+ USD. Your best bet for getting a hold of them is interlibrary loan. Neither of these books contains sewing patterns or construction information. They are:

Old Irish and Highland Dress by H. F. McClintock, 1st ed. 1943, 2nd ed 1950

Dress in Ireland by Mairead Dunlevy, 1st ed 1989, 2nd ed. 1999

The one book I know of that's still in print is Before the Kilt: How the Irish and Scots Dressed in the 16th Century by Gerald A. John Kelly. I haven't actually read it. I've heard it has some issues with the images being low resolution (probably because it was printed by a small press), but it does contain good primary source research. The only place I know of that sells legitimate sewing patterns is Reconstructing History. I haven't actually bought any, but I have heard that their sewing directions are not the easiest to follow, and some people have issues with the size grading. Their patterns for the wool garments are all based off of extant period garments. Based on more recent research, I don't their léine patterns are completely correct, but they are at least better than some of the léine patterns out there. (Avoid anyone who tells you to put drawstrings in the tops of the sleeves or that a man's léine should be hip-length.)

Websites of reenactors and historical costumers who have put serious research into their outfits:

https://saffroncloth.wordpress.com/

https://www.wildeirishe.com/

http://matsukazesewing.blogspot.com/2014/06/16th-century-irish-dress_19.html

https://www.thelastprince.ie/

http://www.claiomh.ie/

A couple of decent videos on 16th-early 17th c Irish dress:

Traditional Irish Clothing in the Gaelic Period

Depicting and Describing Dress in Early Modern Ireland by Dr. Katherine Bond

If you're planning on doing the 16th c, definitely check out Susan Flavin's research. It has great information on what types of textiles, dyes, and trims that were available in 16th c. Ireland. You can download a pdf of her dissertation here.

I'm sure you already know that 1400s-1600s is a long time period for dress history. Irish dress changed a lot during that period. If your goal is to make a single, well-researched outfit, I would recommend picking a period that's somewhere 1500s-1600. There are a lot fewer primary sources (extant garments, art, documents, etc) for 1400s Ireland. On the other hand if you enjoy making educated guesses, 1400s might be more fun. Just check out this neat 15th c. outfit from Strade Abbey, County Mayo:

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask. I can't guarantee I have answers, but I do have a bunch of random Irish-dress-history related articles for this period on my computer.

[yukidragon]

I always wonder about the time-line in mafia au with Bo and Jack

I know in aphrodesia they have cellphones but what about the mafia au?

What year do you think it is?

I think the year itself is meant to be ambiguous for Aprhodesia, as well as the other series by SnaccPop Studios. That's likely why we don't get exact ages for the male leads in their bios, and only Jack is given a birth year due to the year of his death playing an important part of the story.

I'll admit I don't know a lot about the lore of Aphrodesia yet, but I do know it definitely takes place in an alternate version of Earth. There's a lot of fantastical and sci-fi elements, including robots and angels becoming crime bosses in the city of St. Valen's. I don't think it's meant to really reflect our Earth's timeline, but instead be its own thing based off aesthetics, kind of like fantasy worlds tend to be based off of medieval aesthetics.

In that spirit, I don't bother trying to give the Mafia AU an actual year. This is an alternate Earth, with alternate events that mean the timeline as we know it on our world no longer really applies.

I mean, the clothing that Bo and Jack wear in the original piece of art Sauce made that started this AU is pretty timeless, in my opinion.

Isn't it so nifty? Full credit to Sauce as always for their stunning art and being cool with me using them in my rambles. In the spirit of supporting them and the rest of the team who makes such awesome visuals and ideas for us to play with, why not consider joining the SnaccPop Studios patreon? There's a whole bunch of artwork there that you can only see by joining.

Remember, don't share anything privately posted on the patreon. Doing that only hurts the team. Instead, just encourage others to sign up as well, or just spread word about these fun games and audio dramas they're making.

Anyway, this picture, as I recall, was inspired by this comic drawn by Rain over on twitter. As you can see, it's a different sort of crossover, but it has the same vibe of the Mafia AU.

Sauce then did something of a genre swap with their characters. Here we have Jack and Bo as a crime boss and wise guy respectively in an Aphrodesia-esque setting. This picture's sister image was Jambee wearing a kids-show appropriate thief costume, complete with a black and white striped shirt and domino mask, as if he was an antagonist character to the SunnyTime Crew.

While this AU is a crossover between Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack, DachaBo, and Aphrodesia, I don't worry too much about sticking close to whatever timeline any of the three actually have, or their original continuities. This crossover is about being inspired by some stylish art and letting whatever urge feels fun to me when it comes to pulpy mafia crime drama indulgence, with a nice splash of sci-fi and fantasy elements thrown on top.

As such, the timeline itself isn't all that set in stone yet. Even the original ramble's timeline of events when it comes to Alice's influence on the world isn't completely solid, as expanding the King family's lore changed some things in this follow up post. This universe, as well as its timeline, is very much a work in progress.

Also it's an excuse to have Jack be touch starved and need to have very intimate (and especially spicy) contact with his sunshine as often as possible.

In essence, the year is modern day, only modern day in this world isn't the same as our world. We have cell phones, computers, and the internet, but also some classy retro-style aesthetics for clubs and the like. Or at least that's how it is in my version of this AU. Others might take it a different way.

On that note, why don't I give a shout out to some of my fellow artists who have also played with this particular crossover?

Glassy Shards over on twitter has a really cool take on this AU, giving Bo this creepy "glitch" ability that allows him to no clip through realities. Her take on Bo is pretty creepy and intense, as you can see in this delightful art here and here.

Fun fact: it was actually Glassy's audio dramas that made me inclined to have Bo be more promiscuous, violent, and rebellious in my version of the Mafia AU. The audio dramas are really well done, which makes sense considering she was Bo's original VA. I suggest giving them a listen here, here, and here if you want to hear Bo be a very scary alpha on the hunt.

Lilith Rose on twitter made a fun comic, which really pops in her colorful and distinct art style. It's just another day in the city of St. Valens with some goons getting pummeled, and Bo falling for his puppy. Check it out here, here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, and a cute piece of art that isn't part of the comic, but Bo in suspenders and Lilith in a dancer outfit are just so cute.

CheriiHoney on twitter and here on tumblr also has an adorable comic for this crossover. Jack is lovestruck, and Bo is just dumbstruck. There's also this very delightfully spicy follow up picture of Jack being so yandere for his sunshine and Bo is still annoyed by his boss, hahaha.

I'm sure there's plenty more takes on this crossover out there. If you have any favorites I missed, feel free to tell me in a reblog. Also, consider checking out these awesome artists and leaving a kind word or two. It was Cherii's birthday yesterday, so you could also consider giving her a belated happy birthday as well.

One thing that always tickles me about this AU is how much we've inspired one another when adding to it. It's almost like a community project. Rain inspired Sauce who inspired so many others. We're paying it forward artistically, which is why I wanted to shout out so many of my fellow artists in this post who have given me so much inspiration. You're all awesome. Keep on creating. 💖

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[burnin0akleaves]

okay continuing the hot will vibes. tattoos? i've seen posts abt it a few times but i feel like some would be a vibe im just not sure what

Oh fuck yeah tattoos!! Alright this post was supposed to be horny and all but it turned into a character analysis/thought dump for some reason so I'm sorry about that lmao.

So, this is something I'm a little conflicted about because logically, I don't think Will could get tattoos? I did a little research on the history side of things and while tattoos have been around for long enough for Will to get one, the place doesn't seem to match. Lots of cultures had tattoos at that point but medieval Europe, not really. Over there tattoos were viewed as more rude and barbaric so the practice wasn't common. I'm not in any way an expert though, so feel free to tell me if I got anything wrong here.

Lets ignore that though, if they can drink coffee in RA they can probably get tattoos as well. But even with that, Will just... doesn't seem like the kind of guy to care enough?

Throughout the books he makes fun of Halt's greybeard and roughly cut hair so clearly he gives a bit of a shit about his looks. But also he prefers practicality over style and feels the most comfortable in plain clothing. In The Beast From Another Time this man literally says he will wear some clothes inside out to make them last through his visit so we can assume he cared less as he got older.

What I'm trying to get to is that I feel like it wouldn't be in character for him to want tattoos for the sake of looks when he doesn't care about anything more than the bare minimum. I guess he could have gotten one on impulse when he was younger but clearly he wouldn't have when he got older.

Also, as a ranger it would be best for him to not have many easily identifiable or attention attracting features. So we should also keep in mind that if he has tattoos, he probably wouldn't get them anywhere too visible.

So, not for the looks but what about meaning? Couldn't he get one for the meaning in a more hidden part of his body? Yeah I think so actually.

An oakleaf on his shoulder. A butterfly on his upper arm, the exact same place Horace's matching bear tattoo is. The word Alyss on his chest, written in the same code Will and her had to use back in Macindaw.

There are a LOT of options here, and I feel like all of them would look great on him. But again, they wouldn't be for the sake of getting looked at, it would be something Will got for himself. Well, some people would get to appreciate them in private still.

So yeah, it depends on how realistic you want to be! I think its a cool idea. I actually really want to flesh out some of the things I mentioned and design him a proper tattoo now.

[girlvinland]

Avalea! Glance, informal, roots, hair, favorite

Ava ;w;

glance: At first glance, what stands out most about your OC's appearance? What's their distinguishing feature?

Her eyes, definitely. They're a bit narrow and very striking with the pale gray color that they are. She has a very cute face in general that's somewhat heart-shaped. Her hair is probably noticeable to people outside of Carim since it's gray/silver and not so common on those who are younger.

-

informal: What's your OC's lazy-day look? How do they like to dress when they're winding down?

Since she comes from money, even her lazy-day clothes are nice. She would wear gowns that are a tiny bit shorter than normal and are made of lighter, more airy fabrics. Simple, flat shoes. She has a few shawls and robe-type garments for times when there is a chill in the air.

-

roots: Is your OC's look inspired by any specific style of clothing or fashion trend? What are the roots and/or inspiration for their look?

I would say so lol. I definitely tend to put her more in clothing that would not actually be in DS (except for a couple of weird characters that are unrelated to anything she is associated with) and fits with a more Victorian or Edwardian aesthetic (sometimes even later tbh). Don't get me wrong, I imagine her in Medieval style clothes as well, but I am guilty as charged. It is kind of fun to mix bits and pieces of those styles together for Ava.

-

hair: How does your OC wear their hair? Does it have some kind of meaning?

Ava wears it in a short bob, usually has a braid wrapped around the top or some sort of accessory like a ribbon or flower or headband. There's not much meaning to it in this case, she just likes it that way!

-

favorite: Does your OC have a favorite article of clothing or accessory? What is it? What's the meaning behind it? Do they wear it all the time or do they wear it sparingly to keep it safe?

I don't think I've ever given her anything like that, but I think it would be nice actually if she had some piece of jewelry that belonged to her mother and helped her feel close even when they're far apart. I'll have to give it some more thought before I put anything in place. So many of her things were gifts from her rancid father, so the things she either received from or shared with Leandra would be much more meaningful.

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Bimonthly Media Roundup

- Gurdians of the Galaxy 3 (Movie) - Family movie night for the last Marvel movie I'm willing to watch for a long while, I did enjoy the film although I think it's largely the weakest of the Gurdians trilogy, though in fairness that's in large part due to things outside of the writers control given what happened to the characters in the unrelated Marvel films. For the good parts I'm glad the characters still felt like they cared about eachother, with Nebula and Rocket in particular getting to show a lot of emotional growth, I loved to see more Mantis overall, it had a pretty good sense of humor, and I'm glad that the central cast all got narratively satisfying endings. For the not so good parts I really didn't enjoy alternate Gamora even if I do think they did the best they could with her in the sense of not pairing her off with Peter and letting her do her own thing - I just don't think she should have existed in general as it takes up such a weird space in the film. It's especially a bummer given how big of a role her and Nebulas sibling relationship played in the prior film only to have that all erased with very little interaction between the two here. Rockets backstory is appropriately tragic and the villain being a CEO playing god mad scientist is good but to be honest I didn't really buy his friendship with the other experiments given how generic their "we are friends who love each other" dialogue was. A lot of the big emotional beats just didn't hit like I felt they should, and the ending in particular had a lot of "they are doing this to set up cameos for future movies" moments that felt really in-organic. I don't know, the film is pretty well received so maybe it'll hit differently for me on repeated viewings but for now it kinda feels like the franchise that started with a bang and rose even higher in the sequel ended with a "eh, it was alright'.

- I'm in Love with the Villainess (Manga) - Caught up with the recent releases and uh hmm. I do like the central couple, the gimmick of a bully being unintentionally bullied by their victim being really into the bullying thing is quite funny and beyond that the two of them have heart and interesting personality traits, so that's cool. When the story is just them interacting it's great, particularly later on when the two become more familiar with each others eccentricates. Beyond that though the plot is kinda losing me with it's not exactly supportive portrayal of a class revolution. While the narrative doesn't seem to think the commoners are 'wrong' per say for wanting a more equal society, it does seem to be pretty wishy washy on how they should behave as 'violence isn't the answer' and 'can't we all get along' messages with a largely nice noble cast of characters and not particularly sympathetic commoners leads to a sorta pro nobility message overall which. you know. not great. Not that I particularly expected the lesbian medieval escapist series to be pro revolution, I just assumed they would stay away from politically relevant topics. I guess time will tell to see if they have something more nuanced and interesting to say than I'm giving them credit for given how early we are into the series.

- ENNEAD (Webcomic) - Twitter tells me that the most recent chapters feature a Horus face reveal which I'm hyped about, but the pages haven't been translated yet to my misfortune.

- Trash of the Count's Family (Webcomic) - Second season updates have arrived and I've missed Cale, nice to see him. The art style has changed a little so that the backgrounds and clothing are more detailed which is cool but I do have to say I miss the larger eyes of the old style that made the characters a bit cuter overall, even if the comic as a whole looks fantastic either way. Anyway Toonka's cool I like seeing him too.

- The Locked Tomb Series (Books) - Finished up Nona and man do I immediately want to go reread the whole series with all my gained context now. I've really enjoyed each novel in a totally different way, and truly love all the weird and interesting characters with the dramatic and yet very difficult to describe in a serious way plot points. I do so hope the books get a TV adaptation if for no other reason than to see so many of the actors pull double and triple duty in portraying all the body sharing antics going on. I need to highlight my favorite quotes on the second readthrough given the series has the nerve to be both hilariously clever and stunningly profound. For favorites I'd say Camilla and Gideon have my heart but really everyone is a joy in their own way, and I'm desperately hoping that Alecto has a happy end for at least most of them.

- Lego Monkie Kid (Cartoon) - Welp I binged through the rest of the series and I will say that seasons 3 and 4 addressed a lot of my issues with it in terms of narrative progression and introducing individual character backstories and arcs. Season 4 in particular was pretty great with the demon brotherhood plot introducing Azure as a competent and sympathetic villain and showing how flawed of a mentor figure Sun really is, as well as featuring some nice character (and design) growth for MK. I like pretty much everything about Macaque and his bitter divorcee vibes with Sun, Red Son and Mei teaming up was a surprisingly cute development, Pigsy and Tang remain as solid and adorable father figures, and I feel like the settings and overall animation looked stellar overall. I do have complaints that I don't really feel like voicing, but as a whole I quite enjoyed this show and will be looking forward to the fifth season - It is really excellent to see a Journey to the West successor actually utilize the series format as opposed to the attempts to cram it into a movie.

- Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Miles Edgeworth (Video Game) - Completed! I do think I liked this one more than the last one, largely because Sebastian was a fun and interesting little shit, though I'd still say it's on the lower end of the Ace Attorney games as a whole - There was just a lot of time wasting and unnecessary appearances of unlikable characters. I also liked a few of the new side characters and the overall look of the designs, though the actual villain motives were very questionable overall, even for the insane universe that is Ace Attorney.

- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Video Game) - Getting a little worn out with the sheer amount of content this has to be honest, I liked exploring the castle and fighting the ganon clones as well as the temples in general but theres still so much to do. That's not a bad thing exactly, but the burnout is hitting and I might have to pick it up later and do more of the final quest and post game content. I did like the physical appearance of the sages helping you in the castle though, that was nice.

- Project Runway All Stars (TV) - As a general rule I don't tend to like All Star as much as it'd predecessor, but this season has been pretty solid actually. The challenges have been fun and creative with solid looks across the board, and while I don't usually agree with the judges favorites we've at least been on the same page when it comes to the worst looks, so my faves have been mostly spared.

Listening to: Sway Cover and Eat Your Young Cover by Reinaeiry, Insane by Black Gryph0n, Wrecking Ball by Mother Mother, Comfort Zone by Fukase, Two Princes by Spin Doctors, World's Smallest Violin by AJR, Never Love an Anchor by The Crane Wives, Bad as the Boys by Tove Lo, Adore by Jasmine Thompson, Undress Rehearsal by Timeflies, Self Esteem by The Offspring, Lent by Autoheart.

[sanstropfremir]

I'm curious for your take on a fashion trend that always has been hanging out in the wings, but seems to have really taken off in K-Pop in particular the last few years.

It seems like every way I look these days, we're getting hit with luxury "looks" that are legit just the luxury brand printed all over a bland or non-innovative item. This definitely isn't new (it makes me think of the prevalence of those stupid - and stupidly expensive - Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts in the US back in the 2000s), but I feel like it's now seeping into K-Pop album concept photos and stage outfits in addition to just their every day fashion/sponsored photo shoots. In some cases it doesn't bother me as much because its a small addition (like Sunmi's triangle Prada barrettes in some of her latest comeback photos - I don't like the barrettes, but they work because the wider concept is great) or its used unconventionally (like TxT's latest concept photos, where you can see some of the usual brands but thrown together with unconventional pieces so they feel fresh).

But in other cases, it feels like they're just phoning it in by picking luxury clothing so they can say "look, we're expensive" and calling it a day. I'd submit the examples of The Boyz in some of their latest teasers, the latest Stray Kids concept photos, and quite a few of Blackpink's albums/promotions since they all have their own brand sponsors that they stick to these days. A lot of American celebrities are guilty of this as well so its not just K-Pop, but I honestly just don't expect more from Hollywood like I do from K-Pop.

It's clear that you can have effective styling without defaulting to the luxury branding (A.C.E comes to mind immediately), and there are plenty of luxury pieces that don't have their branding all over it that often allow the same luxury feel without shoving the brand in your face. So this branded merchandise trend really ends up rubbing me the wrong way.

What are your thoughts? I think my stance is clear, but I'd love a different perspective from someone that has a lot more background in fashion, particularly stage fashion, than myself.

anon ilu i have many thoughts on this topic but i don't think i've ever mentioned it before so thank you thank you for somehow reading my single braincell and asking about it!

basically for anyone who doesn't want to read me going off about luxury branding the tldr is yes i agree, i personally don't like branding in general and luxury branding especially. i don't own a single item of clothing or accessory with an obvious/recognizable brand logo and i haven't for probably over a decade now. now let's get into some nitty gritty.

in the current fashion climate i think most of the time it's tacky to display wealth so openly and obviously and it is one of the main factors in driving the machine of fashion consumerist culture. i also think it's a weak styling choice because it only has one association: money. 99% of the time it does not contribute anything meaningful to the artistic vision of the work and it's just to brag. sm stylists pull off luxury branding better than most other groups because they tend to integrate it well into the overall aesthetics of the specific mvs, and it's usually pretty sparing. with sm they use it more as a confirmation of the quality of the sm brand than just boasting about money in general. notable examples where i think visible branding works are kun's supreme jacket in kick back, and taemin's balenciaga 2017 in day and night, because both well integrated into the aesthetics of the videos and they're also offset by other looks. i also like the styling in bambam's ribbon, because although the whole mv is designer looks, he only uses one actually logo-ed one (louis vuitton escale summer 2020), which gives a visual indication of expense to anyone who isn't familiar with fashion. the only time i can think of an idol using a brand ironically is taemin's supreme instagram bad bitch outfit in advice, because he's parodying a specific look.

most of the clothing from designer houses is absent of logos, with the exception of a few (lv, gucci are the main offenders). but, there is the caveat that it does tend to be the ready to wear collections that have that kind of design. (ready to wear is the stuff that is available for off the rack purchase). here's a few examples:

taemin and key in balenciaga menswear ss2018 for story of light, taemin and ten in louis vuitton menswear ss2021 for advice and paint me naked.

in my opinion there's only one house that can get away with the irony of its own branding and that's balenciaga, because they consistently do the weirdest shit you could possibly think of. they have a collaboration with crocs. no i am not joking. the shoes for their fall 2021 collection are platemail stilettos. yes like the medieval armour. they launched that collection as a video game. they recently cleared their entire instagram but prior to that they were just letting models post cryptid blurry shots with no captions. there are designers that are doing interesting things, but very rarely is it with the physical branding itself. it's difficult because like i said before, it locks the audience into an extremely specific connotation and honestly most kpop stylists are not deft enough to work around that in a truly meaningful way.

the important things to hit in any styling are colour, harmony, and silhouette. thank you for bringing up a.c.e because i would have done it anyways, because their stylist is probably the best in the business right now. i talk about the basics here (of styling and of a.c.e in particular), but anon you are correct, a.c.e uses very very little branded styling and they look great. good styling is not about looking expensive, it's about looking the best as befitting of the concept.

but here's where we come to an important point. like with most things about kpop and western pop culture as a whole, luxury branding and streetwear as a trend has been appropriated from black hiphop artists and black streetwear fashion in the 90s and 00s. it started in the hood as a reclamation of items that were meant to be 'outside their station' (luxury) and an elevation of plainclothes that were available to them. sportswear by and large was always cheaper and mass produced, in comparision to day to day wear, which used more expensive materials and had more complicated construction. and was activities based only. it wasn't until around the 1860s that sportwear even existed at all, and even then it was not what you would think of as sportwear by modern standards. there was, up until the 1980s, a pretty strict unspoken dress code that if you wanted to be taken seriously in polite (white) society, you had to dress according to the class standards at the time. (this still exists by the way, it hasn't gone away at all, especially in relation to workplaces and black/natural hair). streetwear at the time was a form of celebration of black excellence and a subversion of white society. but like all innovations by black people, it got jacked by white america and now it's lost the meaning behind its context. on black bodies and paired with black achievements, branding is an important and relevant styling choice. on kpop boys? they're already lifting second hand at this point. do better.

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

I'm watching the entire series of Game of Thrones for the first time. I've made my way to season 3, making sure to watch as many commentaries as I can. Last night I listened  to the Set Design / Costume Design commentary for S3 Ep 4: "And Now His Watch is Ended".

I know most historical costume Enthusiasts / Critics either don't touch, or make exceptions for Fantasy productions and on the whole I agree with that. But something about the Game of Thrones costumes (and how the show's popularity has impacted costume design on productions actually set in the medieval / Renaissance time period) has just really been bothering me.

(Perhaps you see what I mean here with Contessina De Bardi in Medici: Master's of Florence and her sneaky mini structured neckline)

It may be a couple of things, but lots of the ... insights from Michele Clapton shed some light on this for me. I have a few questions.

First: North of the Wall, we spend some time in this episode with The Night's Watch at Craster's Keep. Of Craster's wives, Clapton said [Disclaimer this is not an *exact* quote because I couldn't find a transcript anywhere and my sister sent back the Netflix DVD and I do not have an idetic memory - but the important parts of the comment are, in my own estimation, accurate] : "With Craster's wives I got this idea of them just having bits of rabbit, whatever they can get, woven with grass..." this raises in my mind, SO many questions.

Firstly - we ARE north of the Wall, yes? Where,  as we have seen, the ground is just about ALWAYS covered in snow, or 90% mud. So where is the grass coming from? And also what they are wearing is so clearly not grass?

This also provides a segue into my second question.

Do sheep exist in Westeros?

Why is it that this show has such an aversion to wool? Every man wearing protective clothing is wearing Leather (or rather I should perhaps say "vegan leather"). Every Hearty Weave (TM) appears to be an attempt at Linen; and every Fine Lady is wearing Silk satin, or if you're Olenna, silk brocade (in obviously hot weather, because naturally elderly ladies benefit from heat stroke).

I've not seen one woollen cloak. Not. One wool... anything really. I ask myself "Why?"

100% natural wool is wondeful. It's naturally flame retardant; it keeps you warm; it breathes well; it's soft in a light weave; it's strong in a heavy one; its water repellent. So what is with this endemic erasure of wool? Even productions like 2018's Mary Queen of Scots have had costume designers like Alexandra Byrne who, when searching for a durable fabric for cold and rainy Scotland, came out with a wardrobe comprised entirely of DENIM. Which,  as we all know is the WARMEST AND MOST COMFORTABLE of fabrics when damp. Now we all know Byrne's real reason for using denim is because it's cheap. The problem is Byrne tried to justify it by saying all of that guff about wanting a fabric that wears well in rain (Which,  I cannot stress this enough- denim does not) and, of course because denim would be "ReLaTaBLe". But I digress.

All that aside, perhaps the things that bother me most are components and composition. Which is where we get into the wooly (heh) area of me being a person with interest in HISTORICAL costume, critiquing a FANTASY series.

So let's just get this out of the way: I'm not saying that anything that the costume Department did with this series was "Wrong" [with one exception, but we'll get to that when we get to it]. I'm just going to say that I don't like the way it was approached, and my reasons on WHY. 

I think I have a modicum of justification for my opinions here because, fantasy is fantasy, yes but the concepts of "Fantasy" and "Medieval" have become so strongly connected that the line between them has become so blurred in the modern mind as to be almost non-existent anymore. We're in a strange cycle here. "Fantasy" was directly inspired by Medieval and over the years took more and more creative wiggle room because, the great thing about fantasy is, you can make it whatever you want it to be aesthetically. But as Fantasy and Medieval have become so intertwined, more and more creative license has been taken with the latter, so that the original inspiration has become beholden to imitate the art it inspired.

But I'll save my pontification on the modern eye and Medieval fashion for another post, and try to keep on track only as far as this affects my feelings on Game of Thrones.

My justification is that GoT is not just inspired by Medieval England/Europe in the broad sense that most Fantasy of the Sword and Sorcery variety is; it was SPECIFICALLY inspired by ONE ERA of English History, The Wars of the Roses [15th century] (with character inspiration from other eras, as recent as the 16th century).

The thing about being interested in Historical Fashion is, once you know it, you can't UN-KNOW it. For example, my understanding of the medieval approach to clothing composition is "Cut as little as you need to because sewing is tedious". You don't want to have to sew more than you have to because what's the point of that? Practically no clothing in the medieval period was tailored because why bother doing that when you can just sinch it with a belt, or lace it up the sides? Is any of that applied here? Nah. Because when we look at Sansa's dresses, look at those obviously machine stitched, perfectly pristine seams. ~whistles~.

I'll never throw shade at a costume department for using sewing machines, but I will shade them for not bothering at all to make clothing for a universe that has no sewing machines look like it was made in a universe that has no sewing machines.

  I can agree with not holding Fantasy series to historical standards - to a point. To wit: as long as it's believable IN-UNIVERSE.

AS FAR AS WE KNOW, the GoT universe doesn't yet have Mechanized looms. Now I know that they make some pretty unreal lace in Myr, but I just can't think of any in-universe justification for the texture of Danny's blue number in season 3.

Another thing that bothers me is the proliferation of corsets and how those corsets are approached.

Here are some historical corset facts.

• the term 'corset' wasn't widely used to refer to structured undergarments outside of France until the late 18th century (1700's). Before tart they were called "stays" (16th-17th century) or "a pair of bodies" (15th-16th century)

• structured undergarments first appeared in the 15th century, as the bodice of under-dresses(kirtles) were lined with reed or Buckram to provide back and breast support and provide a smooth surface for the gown worn over it. It also provided a foundation for multiple layers of petticoats, so the waistbands wouldn't dig into your sides.

• Structured undergarments that existed independent of a kirtle or petticoat aren't in evidence until the 16th century (Elizabethan/Renaissance) and aren't widely used by all classes until the late 17th century.

• Most 16th-17th century boned foundation garments had straps, since they didn't reach down much farther than the natural waist,  unless they were designed with a high back.

• Corsets, stays and other structured undergarments were never worn without a shift/chemise/slip underneath because...

• Corsets chafe.

• Corsets are difficult to clean, but shifts are easy to launder. Shifts protect your skin from chafing and protect your very expensive corset from the oils produced by your skin

(Reproduction example of 15th century style kirtle, from Prior Attire. Source video here)

(Sansa's... corset here has this bizarre low back and 18th century style tabs on the bottom? It also seems to lace only down to her navel. Not quite sure what's going on here, it really doesn't seem to be supporting her at all.)

The reason I hate, hate, hate the way Sansa is costumed under her...  very suit-like gowns is  because she never ever is shown (so far) wearing anything under her corset; her gowns are all long-lined, flowing and loose fitting; and show only wears (usually) one petticoat under them. So in short, I dislike that Sansa wears a corset because Sansa has NO REASON to be wearing one.

◇◇◇◇Another Thing◇◇◇◇

I want to spotlight on a little thing from the commentary that really hits on one of my larger problems with the aesthetic interpretation of this show in general.

During one of the scenes with Stannis and Melisandre, Clapton mentions that they made Melisandre's hair a darker shade of red in season 3 than it was previously. She says the phrase "sort of makes her more earthy".

Yes. Let's make the FIRE priestess more EARTHY. LET'S JUST DO THAT. AS OF THIS SHOW ISN'T "EARTHY" enough.

There's this fantastic quote I read somewhere by GRRM about how he loves fantasy because it's colorful, where real life is gray and brown and olive and dull. Melisandre is arguably the most colourful character in the show/series. In the books, EVERYTHING about her is Red. And not just red. She's scarlet and crimson. When she's introduced there's this fantastic description of her wearing flowing robes of scarlet silk with slashes in it revealing a darker, blood red fabric underneath.

That was passed up for a monotone, very simply cut red gown and I can't stop asking myself why a designer would scrap something like that without even trying to pay homage to it.

This show just sort of takes everything colourful in Martin's world and MAKES it gray and dark for the sake of Gritty Realism (TM). I suppose that's part of trying to appeal to a wider audience, but I just find it increadibly visually uninteresting.

◇◇◇◇ONE MORE LITTLE THING◇◇◇◇

Is this the sofa from the Study in Clue?

???