#fashion worldbuilding

[lux-et-astra]

wizarding fashion

clothing norms - sleeves tend to be shorter, mostly to provide access to wand holsters - this changed during the war (dark marks) - thin material - having thinner and shorter clothes is a sign of privilege because good wizarding clothes tend to be enchanted to keep the wearer at a good temperature. having to wear jumpers or other temperature-specific clothes is a signal that the wearer is poorer, however this isn't as strong an indicator as some other fashion faux pas as they're also occasionally worn for comfort rather than warmth - high waisted shirts/blouses - wizarding shirts don't tend to be tucked in, they end where the trouser waist should start - again they ought to be enchanted to remain in the right position, but there's also not as much of a modesty culture (partially because showing more skin suggests better clothing enchantments therefore more wealth rather than less) - material is also often less hardy because mending it is so easy - although this isn't true for all wizarding clothing (tunics are often made of very thick, tough fabric)

semi-casual, day to day items - loose trousers (wide legs which come to the knee at the front and mid-calf on the back, usually are a fairly plain pattern with a wide, decorated band at the ends and the (high) waist. usually a light material) - shorts (usually come in a matched set with the trousers, so also have wide decorated bands at the ends and waist - these are a much more modern twist on the loose trousers, usually only seen on young people) - skirts (a range of lengths, although not usually below mid-calf, more generally not below the knee - tend to tie with laces that go a few inches down the left side. usually a light material) - tighter trousers (these come to the ankles and are a little more formal - part of school uniform for boys usually. a heavier material and not necessarily as high a waist. typically darker colours and almost always come with a waistcoat in adults, although some might skip the waistcoat if they're wearing them with closed robes) - underwear - pants tie with one cord at the top; bras are laced down the centre of the front

robes - everyday robes are almost always black - come with sleeves and without (sleeves usually only to the elbows, although that has changed in recent years) - typically edged with colours/decorations which convey some kind of allegiance - robes are part of graduation/matriculation and are often associated with guilds. potion masters' guild uses green robes, ministry uses purple robes. children tend to wear plain black robes - graduating from any school allows you to wear white edged robes. typically prestigious family houses may wear robes where the edge colour is striped with their colour of significance - open robes have the edging along the sides and around the hood; closed robes for men have the edging along the sides down the middle, whereas closed robes for women have the edging along the exposed edge. all robes also have edging around the bottom/skirt, but closed robes do not have edging around the collar - open robes are very different from closed robes - they have hoods whereas closed robes do not, and they tend to only fall to the knee or mid-calf, whereas closed robes all fall to the ankle (excepting some more modern designs, which are sniffed upon in high society) - will ALL have good pockets - closed robes for men are a straighter silhouette, fasten at the centre of the front with buttons, and have a mandarin collar usually. buttons tend to go down to about the waist, at which point the robe falls open - closed robes for women have a fuller skirt - the top bit fastens at the left of the front with buttons, and the robe then cuts down diagonally across the skirt section. it will twirl out but the robe will not fall open. collar is less prescriptive as women tend to wear blouses underneath, so some will have high collars, but some will sit underneath the shirt collar instead. - men tend to wear closed robes with tight trousers (in the past, the buttons would go all the way down and they wouldn't wear anything underneath - this has changed) - men don't tend to wear a shirt underneath, although they may wear a shorter tunic-style top (NOT a full tunic) - women tend to wear closed robes without trousers, although they will occasionally wear shirts underneath. women don't tend to wear tunic-style tops - if the robe has a high collar, they may wear a peasant blouse instead of a collared one

footwear - usual everyday footwear are ankle boots. these can look more or less like curly elf boots - typically depending on formality/age of wearer. older wizards stick to the older style which looks a little "sillier" to those more familiar with i.e. muggle culture - can be laced but more modern ones may have zips in the side - women's duelling boots go a little higher, more like combat boots - laced - men's duelling boots are almost thigh high typically - laced - the more laces, the better - again a sign of privilege to have laces you have to use magic to do properly - laced shoes are never school uniform and children don't tend to wear them until fourteen/fifteen

practical/formal - the tunic outfit - the tunic outfit is ostensibly worn when you're duelling/expecting to have to fight. thus it's part of the hit wizard/auror uniform, is typically worn in formal situations that aren't balls, and is more common among young people. - it's also a lot more common among wizards of prominent houses because it has a heritage aspect and is more removed from muggle culture - it wouldn't raise eyebrows in the street but it puts forward the same kind of image as a leather jacket or proper combat/steeltoed boots if the whole kit is worn, especially the gambeson. just the tunic without the gambeson is very normal and just like wearing jeans in a practicality kind of sense - for men, it comprises men's duelling boots, a tunic, tunic belt, a kind of gambeson, and possibly open sleeveless robes. for a full outfit a wand holster is worn on the wand arm and a bracer on the other - for women, it comprises women's duelling boots, a tunic, tunic belt, the same gambeson, and possibly open sleeveless robes, wand holster & bracer, but also duelling leggings - the tunic has fairly wide and long sleeves that stop a little before the elbow. it's typically made of heavy fabric and is in darker colours. men's tunics are longer than women's, because they don't tend to wear duelling leggings - tunics are never worn without a tunic belt but the belt signifies something very specific about the outfit. tunic belts are always enchanted in some way. something like a thick ribbon would be worn if the tunic was being worn in an everyday sense, or cord or rope. if it's being worn with the gambeson, a metal belt is better. not everyone has a lot of tunic belts to choose from as they're quite expensive so it's also a sign of privilege. - the gambeson is quite short because it sits just above the tunic belt, which sits above the hips. it has a high collar like men's closed robes (which are meant to evoke it), and no sleeves - if worn with sleeveless robes, they should cover the edge of the gambeson where it overlaps the tunic. it's usually made of thick quilted fabric, heavily enchanted, and features a crest on the front - commonly of one's school house, family house, or guild house. a plain or simply patterned gambeson suggests someone poor or unconnected; a gambeson with a group's symbol suggests a cohesive group or militia. death eaters wore gambesons with the dark mark. - duelling leggings are fairly thin but tight (usually black) leggings that come to just above the knee. they are enchanted to deflect most spells and came into use due to concerns in the olden days about protecting women's abilities to reproduce. it's become common nowadays for women to wear shorter versions underneath loose trousers or skirts (or even shorts sometimes) where they're not visible. - part of graduation involves receiving a full tunic kit. gryff: deep red tunic, gold belt, black gambeson with red background & gold lion, open robes edged with white. huff: mustard yellow tunic, black iron belt, black gambeson with mostly white badger, open robes edged with white. sly: deep green tunic, silver belt, black gambeson with green background & silver snake, open robes edged with white. rav: dark blue tunic, bronze belt, blue gambeson with bronze eagle, open robes edged with white. - styling the kit without the gambeson and boots makes it much less formal and accessible, as the tunics require much less washing. - some tunic belts (all metal, most cord, some rope, very few ribbon) are braided in house-specific patterns - belt braiders are highly respected artisans

formal occasions - the tunic kit with gambeson is kind of like wearing full military dress - it's appropriate for some occasions and people and not for others - sometimes dress robes are appropriate - these are fancier versions of closed robes - for women, dress robes always have a high collar and shouldn't be worn with anything underneath, they basically function as a wrap dress - they can be more exciting colours, do not have edging as a general rule although some still do, are often patterned, and ALWAYS fall to the ankle - while this is occasionally flouted in everyday robes it is never flouted in dress robes. (yet) - dress robes can also be made out of lighter material and almost never have pockets - dress robes are always sleeveless and show off the wand holster. some have taken to wearing bracers as well with dress robes in order to hide the dark mark, however it's a practice that was well-accepted by a lot of people - dress robes should only be worn with ankle boots rather than duelling boots - for balls, women tend to wear proper ball-gowns, while men wear two-piece dress robes: this is a jacket shirt in the same style as the top of normal dress robes, with some kind of enchanted tails - the aim of this shirt is for the actual material of the shirt to flow as fluidly as possible into the tails - and tight trousers underneath, which shouldn't attract as much attention as the tails so normally aren't patterned, but aren't restricted to being dark colours. these are also typically of a much lighter material than everyday tight trousers - because some people only have one set of dress robes, there are some tailors who will tailor one-piece dress robes temporarily into two-piece dress robes - this is usually quite noticeable but deemed better than not making the effort at all. the quality of tailoring varies based on how much you can spend on it.

uniform - most guilds don't necessarily require a uniform besides edged robes, although for formal occasions some might have guild-specific gambesons & belts or a specific style of dress robes - some professions do have a uniform - i.e. ministry officials tend to wear closed dress robes with a ministry pin detailing their specific role - these pins, when being worn, are trackable from a central ministry office, making it easy for people to tell when officials are in work and therefore available, and where to find them. aurors/hit wizards have a full tunic kit uniform - school boys have to wear plain black sleeveless robes with a house pin, tight black trousers, white shirt - school girls have to wear plain black sleeveless robes with a house pin, grey knee-length lace-up skirt (of a heavier material than usual wizarding skirts), white shirt - sporting uniforms usually evoke the tunic kit - they will typically include an underlayer, usually leggings and a tight shirt, with a high-collared sleeveless jersey to go over, bearing a team's crest. the jersey will usually fall to the tops of an athlete's thighs and they will usually wear boots akin to duelling boots but made of more flexible material

guild colours - potion masters: green (because the herbologists' guild is technically an affiliate of the potion masters' guild, they use olive green to distinguish themselves) - enchanters: blue (due to this, alchemists tend to use teal/turquoise edging - transfiguration specialists use a royal blue whereas charms specialists use a pale blue) - ministry: purple - merchants: gold (it's not gold because a lot of members of the merchants' guild are hufflepuffs, but that's a popular misconception) - duellists: red (the duellists' guild is technically higher in the guild hierarchy than the ministry, so hit wizards and aurors who are members of the guild at journeyman level or higher wear red edged robes rather than purple) - historians: orange - smiths: silver

[grandkhan221b]

I've been slowly obsessing more and more about asoiaf fashion in the past 6 month, and really developing in details how it would look in different regions, classes, etc (the North being the one I have the most complete picture on). And I wanted to put some of this to paper instead of endlessly turning it in my head before I go to sleep. Usually when I costume design it is confined to a specific character, I've never done like worldbuilding fashion design, but idk asoiaf really gets me going.

So here's the North ! I could have kept going and added more stuff, but if I try to spew all the shit that's in my head I'm never gonna finish this x) So I focused mostly on great houses/nobles fashion for this. Maybe I'll do a sheet for smallfolk or practical clothing like battle armour after I'm done with all the kindoms. I already have to continue the anti AI quest...

More asoiaf fashion

[theartingace]

Been working on some centaur clothes, exploring more options- especially for my much more clothing-focused Mountain Culture and Merchants And then for funzies DRESS-UP DOLL and way too much chatter!

First a couple Runner outfits - first the average casual harness most Runners would wear around home base, allows family members to rider comfortably at any time but more importantly the make and decorations are personal and declare group affiliations. Wearing no harness or at least a girthband basically says you are unridable or unaffiliated with a herd. Second image is an above-average armored battle harness- front end is plated for protection while charging, back end harness is all about additional contact points and stability for the rider to hook a foot in for their acrobatics.

Next, a comparison between Mountain robes and Merchant robes! The first, Mountain robes are heavy expertly woven rugs with lots of fiber decorations and fur and wool linings to keep comfy in their alpine homes- our model is quite a bit lankier than the usual Mountain folk so he gets less coverage but he'll stay cozy regardless. Second is the more svelt Merchant Trader robes! These are more light and loose linen fabrics, meant to block the sun in their more Mediterranean climate and more importantly- show wealth and status. Wrapped legs are common and almost entirely decorative.

And lastly: some assorted armors- this would be an EXTREMELY uncommon sight in my own headworld as the interactions between the metallurgy-rich eastern human kingdoms and the centaurs is usually pretty tense or business oriented at BEST and hostile to exploitative at worst so the chances of them crafting such large difficult pieces of fitted armor for any of them would be rare one-offs at most. But it's still fun to think about!

[marciaillust]

I added some colours to her :)

[itseghost]

i almost want to do an expression sheet for him so i force myself to expand past his rbf. but its so easy and fun to draw him with one

[elumish]

When you are considering fashion or beauty standards in the world that you're writing, remember that beauty and fashion standards are totally context-dependent, change quickly, and are often fairly arbitrary.

I think about eyebrows. We went in the U.S. from wanting pencil thin eyebrows to wanting thick eyebrows in my lifetime--which means that I went from my eyebrows being "manly" to them not being without actually doing anything.

If thin is beautiful in the world you're writing--why? If lighter skin is beautiful in the world you're writing--why? If straight hair is beautiful in the world you're writing--why? If showing more or less skin is beautiful in the world you're writing--why?

So consider the rest of the world that you're writing in. If certain fabrics are rare, those might be seen as more fashionable simply becuase there is a scarcity of them. If it's a world where being a farmer or outdoor laborer is seen as patriotic or virtuous, maybe being tanned, callused, or muscular is seen as beautiful for everyone.

But also a lot of our beauty standards have racist origins. Colorism in a lot of countries is a direct result of European imperialism. In some Western countries there is a preference for small noses and a dislike of larger noses that are often associated with, among other groups, the Jewish community. Enemy groups are often viewed as less desirable, and so people with associated features are often viewed as less beautiful.

At the same time, you have views on things like eyebrows and blush placement and bangs and peplums and high-waisted pants and jewelry and piercings and tattoos that are frequently changing based on a whole host of cultural reasons.

There are a lot of ways that you can go with fashion and beauty in your worldbuilding, but sticking with the beauty standards of the world you're writing in often ends up feeling out of place in the story.

[wanderingokali]

In the Rain Ravine towns, it's very common, particularly for Karktosu, to wear fancy mane covers, made of thin ropes woven into pretty shapes, with glass pieces beaded throughout. They serve to hold down the mane of those who let it grow long, and can also generally be a fashion statement. It's not uncommon for them the be passed down through a family and modified many times by the wearer to change or add patterns. In areas closer to the sea, they may be worn with a cloth that completely covers the mane underneath, protecting it from damage from salty air while out and about.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Word List: Fashion History

to try to include in your poem/story (pt. 1/3)

Adinkra - a flat, cotton textile that is stamped with symbols which create the meaning of the garment; produced by the Asante peoples in Ghana

Agal - a rope made from animal hair which wraps around a keffiya (square cloth) on the head and is worn typically by Bedouin men

Akwete - a decorative cloth with complex weave designs, creating intricate geometric patterns, made with many vibrant colors; it is usually made into wrappers for women to wear and it is made by the Igbo women of Nigeria

Aniline Dyes - synthetic, chemical dyes for garments first invented in the 19th century

Anorak - a jacket that typically has a hood, but not always, which was originally worn by the indigenous peoples of the Arctic designed to keep them warm and protected from harsh weather

Back Apron (Negbe) - an oval-shaped decorative pad worn by Mangbetu women over the buttocks in Central Africa

Backstrap Loom - a lightweight, mobile loom made of wood and a strap that is wrapped around the back; it only needed to be attached to a tree or a post for stability and to provide tension

Banyan - a loose-fitted informal robe or gown typically worn by men in the late 17th to the early 19th centuries

Barbette - a piece of linen which passes under the chin and is pinned at the sides, usually worn in conjunction with additional head coverings during the Middle Ages

Bark Cloth - fabric made out of bark from trees

Beadnet Dress - a decorative sheath dress made of beads worn in ancient Egypt

Bloomers - a bifurcated garment that were worn under dresses in the 19th century; they soon became a symbol of women’s rights because early activist Amelia Bloomer wore drawers long enough to stick out from under her dress

Bogolanfini - (bogolan- meaning cloth; fini- meaning mud) a cotton cloth made from strips of woven fabric, which are decorated with symbolic patterns using the mud-resist technique, sewn together at the selvage to create a fabric that is utilized during the main four stages of a West African Bamana woman’s life: puberty, marriage, motherhood, and death

Bombast/Bombasted - the padding used to structure clothing and create fashionable silhouettes in the 16th and 17th centuries

Boubou - an African robe made of one large rectangle of fabric with an opening in the center for the neck; when worn it drapes down over the shoulders and billows at the sleeves

Buff Coat - a leather version of the doublet that was often, but not exclusively, worn by people in the military in the 17th century

Bum Roll - a roll of padding tied around the hip line to hold a woman’s skirt out from the body in the late 16th and early 17th centuries

Burqa - an outer garment worn by Muslim women that covers the entire body, often with a cutout or mesh at the eyes

Busk - a flat length stay piece that was inserted into the front of a corset to keep it stiff from the 16th century to the early 20th century

Bustle - a pad or frame worn under a skirt puffing it out behind

Cage Crinoline - a hooped cage worn under petticoats in the 19th century to stiffen and extend the skirt

Caraco - 18th century women’s jacket, fitted around the torso and flared out after the waist

Carrick Coat - an overcoat with three to five cape collars popular in the 19th century and mostly worn for riding and travel–sometimes called a Garrick or coachman’s coat

Chantilly Lace - a kind of bobbin lace popularized in 18th century France; it is identifiable by its fine ground, outlined pattern, and abundant detail, and was generally made from black silk thread

Chaperon - a turban-like headdress worn during the Middle Ages in Western Europe

Chemisette - a piece of fabric worn under bodices in the 19th century to fill in low necklines for modesty and decoration

Chiton - an ancient Greek garment created from a single piece of cloth wrapped around the body and held together by pins at the shoulders

Chlamys - a rectangular cloak fastened at the neck or shoulder that wraps around the body like a cape

Chopines - high platform shoes worn mostly in Venice in the 16th & 17th centuries

Clavus/Clavi - decorative vertical stripes that ran over the shoulder on the front and back of a Late Roman or Byzantine tunic

Clocks/Clocking - decorative and strengthening embroidery on stockings in Europe and America during the 16th-19th centuries

Cochineal Dyes - come from the Cochineal beetle that is native to the Americas and is most commonly found on prickly pear cacti; when dried and crushed, it creates its famous red pigment that is used to dye textiles

Codpiece - originally created as the join between the two hoses at the groin, the codpiece eventually became an ornate piece of male dress in the 16th century

Cuirass Bodice - a form-fitting, long-waisted, boned bodice worn in the 1870s and 1880s–almost gives the appearance of armor as the name suggests

Dagging - an extremely popular decorative edging technique created by cutting that reached its height during the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Dalmatic Tunic - a t-shaped tunic with very wide sleeves; worn by both men and women during the Byzantine empire

Dashiki - a loose-fitting pullover tunic traditionally worn in West African cultures that was adopted by African diasporic communities as a symbol of African heritage in the 1960s and then more widely worn as a popular item of “ethnic” fashion

Dentalium Cape - or dentalium dress is a garment worn by Native American women that is made from the stringing together of dentalium shells in a circular pattern around the neck and across the chest and shoulders

Doublet - an often snug-fitting jacket that is shaped and fitted to a man’s body–worn mostly in the 15th to 17th centuries

Échelle - a decorative ladder of bows descending down the stomacher of a dress; worn during the late 17th and 18th centuries; sometimes spelled eschelle

If any of these words make their way into your next poem/story, please tag me, or leave a link in the replies. I would love to read them!

More: Fashion History ⚜ Word Lists

[rhinocio]

NOW WITH PODFIC ACCOMPANIMENT!

[sinjaangels]

Above, Omair standing on all fours with folded wings. Wings folded doesn't take any space and are tight.

Omair in uniform!

Scarabia dorm uniform.

Savanaclaw dorm uniform.

How to dress your harpy!

To most, it seems difficult for harpies to wear clothing. Most harpies prefer and are found to only being feathers and scales. Fluffiness is based on the species of bird. It is possible for harpies to wear clothing. 85 to 90 percent of harpies chose a feral lifestyle.

Typical harpy clothing is fitted to be streamlined for flight. Close to the body to retain balance and focus.

Harpies that have settled in a single location with more social interaction wear more clothing based on the weather and presentation. Being social creatures, all harpies, even if they are species that typically lives alone, live in groups. Some harpies live in proximity of other monsters. In social groups, wearing clothes is much easier with assistance.

Harpies can dressed themselves. On their wings are two or three "fingers" that can grip and hold. Not as dexterous as a human hand. Prefered clothing are ones that can be pulled on. They avoid buttons, zippers, and the like.

The major concern when it comes to clothes, are the wings. As mentioned previously, clothes must not hindered flying. No heavy fabrics! Sleeves must be wide enough to slip the wings through. As broad as the wings are unfolded, the wings are tightly folded like an accordian and the feathers are strong and flexible to bend.

Omair is on display wearing the Scarabia and Savanaclaw uniforms. Omair wears the Scarabia uniform because he is fond of Jamil.

If Omair's soul was percieved by the Dark Mirror, he would be sorted in Savanaclaw. Omair's persistence for freedom lead him to kill for it.

Parts of both uniforms were omitted. Omair is very active and does a lot of flying, crawling, and climbing. Also fighting. He could wear jewelry but he losses them. The second vest with the red flaps were removed. The belt has too much fabric and could catch on something. With the Savanaclaw uniform, Omair goes without the best. The leather feels heavy to Omair and the zipper annoys him. He doesn't want the vest flapping against his chest. Distracting! Instead of the belt, he wears the scarf.

[wbqotd]

Are any articles of clothing or jewelry worn for their (real or imagined) protection against magic?

[cadere-art]

Feathers of all kinds are abundantly produced by Uanlikri's fauna and abundantly used in adornments all over the continent. Good feathers (bright colours, durable, a practical size), however, are less common. South of the Kantishian mountains, however, feathers too small don't stop antioles from hunting small and colourful birds: some peoples, like the Xigdat, are well known for extremely delicate featherwork, but also for their bird taxidermy, turning whole birds into decorative tassels where the bird's full pattern and array of colours can be admired.

These two species of birds, though they look much like Earth's modern passerine birds, are actually enantiornithes and do not have beaks. Instead, they have delicate jaws filled with tiny teeth. Both these species are generalist insectivores, and very sought after for use as adornments.

Both these birds have been featured as adornments on Xigdat dress: closeups under the cut.

[wisteria-lodge]

What do you think a wizarding wedding would look like, and what do you think Lucius' and Narcissa's specifically looked like?

The book does show us Fleur and Bill's wedding, but that was a wartime shotgun-ish wedding in the peripherals of the story's focus. I'm also not ever sure how much of the details there are things joanne really thought about and decided to include in her representation of a Magical wedding, and how much of it are just modern social customs she might have considered the forever universal default and put in the book.

Narcissa and Lucius also seem to be the rare fictional couple who'd actually enjoy all the pedantry and tradition and specificities in a wedding to me. Seeing as you're writing a fic with them in it, I thought you'd probably already thought about this aspect of worldbuilding/character writing, so I hope you don't mind me asking abt it. Thanks and have a great day!!

Okay, I love this ask, and I'm going to lay it all out, but first I want to lay out my Reasoning.

Here are my rules, when it comes to expanding on/filling in the Harry Potter world building:

ONE: If we’re dealing with any sort of political or social structure, my reference is England, year 1700. 

This does make sense with the backstory we get: the Wizarding World split away from the Muggle world in the late 1600s, wizards live a really long time, and wizards also didn’t need an industrial revolution (because magic filled the place of tech) so they wouldn’t have gotten any of the social changes that happened because of the industrial revolution. 

Also, this particular time period generally fits with what we see on the page. Education, politics, the police force, mental health care - it all seems to work in a very 1700s way. We don’t have any electricity, there’s no industrialization. (Like, Umbridge’s pamphlets are made by hand. I mean obviously they’re made by magic, but an individual’s magic, they’re not assembled in a magical factory.) So when Draco brings up a “museum”...  it makes sense to me that he’s not not thinking of a modern museum with a ticketing department running off grants and public funding, full of typed-out little plaques written by scientists and historians, telling you the provenance of whatever you’re looking at. If we went to a museum in Wizarding World, I would expect the type of museum you saw in 1700: a cabinet of curiosities assembled by one single wealthy collector, arranged in some eccentric way, handwritten labels or no labels at all, very probably in a wing of a private house. That feels correct and in-universe to me. So… whenever someone asks me something like ‘how do taxes work in the Harry Potter universe,’ I take 1700 England as a starting place, and go from there. 

TWO: If we’re dealing with aesthetic details or inventions, I draw from England 1700 - 1880

There isn’t much that’s Victorian in the world building… but there’s plenty in the set dressing. We see lots of 1800s fashion: women wearing hats with birds and flowers on them, men wearing bowler hats and top hats. There are 1800s hedge mazes, most of the holiday decorations are from the late 1800s, we’ve got radios and trains… and I’m completely fine with all that. It seems to me that if you’re a wizard walking through the Muggle world, it’s a lot easier to see someone wearing a cool hat, and say ‘I would like a hat like that’  - versus walking around and picking up the concept of, idk unions. So cameras are okay: they’re 1800s. Note that Rita Skeeter’s photographer Bozo has a magical version of a 1850s camera

while Muggle born Colin Creevey has… a modded 1930s camera? To communicate that he’s got a foot in both worlds. 

My point is, if you saw someone riding a bicycle in Harry Potter, you would assume they brought it in from the Muggle world. Bicycles showed up in England in the 1880s, so that’s slightly too late. It’s important to the feel of the world to keep up a good chunk of separation between the aesthetics of the Wizarding World, and the aesthetics of the muggle world.

THREE: Gender politics/gendered customs basically don’t exist

This is one of the things that makes Harry Potter a J. K. Rowling fantasy world. Obviously, JKR the person has a lot to unpack about gender politics, and there are all kinds of Doylist differences between the way male and female characters are treated in the Harry Potter books. But in universe, there is no Watsonian benefit to being a guy or being a girl in any particular situation. We get gendered bathrooms (although the prefects’ bathroom and the locker rooms seem co-ed), gendered fashions, gendered dorms… and that’s basically it.  

Of course there are some very old and baked in gendered things I doubt JKR even thought about… a woman taking her husband’s last name for instance. (Honestly - I would have loved a posh doubled-barreled name for Draco. Draco Malfoy-Black sounds quite sharp and public schooly.) There’s a thing where Dumbledore mentions that the Blacks prefer it when a guy inherits… but in the same breath, he’s completely convinced Bellatrix is about to inherit, so clearly that isn’t that important.

The only other example I can think of is the way we’re told the unicorns prefer the female students. But, the boys in Professor Grubbly-Plank’s class unanimously think this is bullshit, and I would argue that the framing of the book supports this read. We haven’t seen magic work like this before, so did Professor G-P get it wrong? And/or just doesn’t want to deal with the boys? Presumably this is why we are happy Hagrid is coming back

FOUR: There is basically no organized religion/spirituality in the Wizarding World. 

The narrative does a lot of work to not tell us who the random officiant at Dumbledore's funeral and Bill and Fleur‘s wedding is. Who is he? Who does he represent? How do you find him? How does he have authority to do this? Not important, doesn’t matter, keep moving along. We are definitely in a world where there is a holiday named Christmas… but it’s like the women taking their husband's name thing, that seems too baked into JKR’s worldview to question. But there is no mention of any religious dimension, it’s just presents and feasts and balls. 

If I’m writing something that’s interested in what these guys consider to be the sacred underpinnings of their world (like something focusing on a wedding, for instance…) then I think I would end up expanding on important magical rituals. I’m thinking Fidelius, Unbreakable Vow, sacrificial magic. Not for nothing, but considering how much importance the moment where Severus and Narcissa make an Unbreakable Vow is given by both the narrative and the characters… it feels more like a wedding than the wedding does, and I’m not even a Severus/Narcissa shipper. 

*

So when it comes to weddings… I’ve honestly found it uniquely difficult to research the history there, because a lot of people are very motivated to suggest that every wedding tradition has some deep, meaningful ancient origin - or that it was just kind of always that way. Take the concept of a “best man” and the term “best man" for instance. That starts showing up in the 1780s (so it’s a social custom that doesn’t make my 1700 deadline.) Harry is of course filtering everything through his POV, but if I were writing a wedding thing, I’d want to say that Sirius is filling a different position. Like “godfather” seems a very legally important role in the wizarding society, so lean into that.  Maybe the “best man” equivalent at a wizard wedding is the person who you’ve picked to get custody of your kids if you die. 

We also see things like white wedding dresses and matching bridesmaid dresses being treated as an absolute given at Fleur’s wedding, when both of those things pretty much only exist because Queen Victoria did them in 1840. One interesting thing is that JKR doesn’t seem to do an exchange of rings, and she’s changed up that moment to make it more reminiscent of (I think) a handfasting ceremony? Which is fine, I can work with that. (Also rings are just treated very negatively across the board in the Harry Potter books. No idea why.)

But, in-universe, the Bill/Fleur wedding is really hard to use as a model for what a typical pureblood Wizarding wedding looks like. For all the reasons Anon mentions: It’s war time, it was put together very quickly, Harry is not paying the most attention, we don’t get to see the whole thing. I would also add in the fact that the Weasleys are political radicals, and at that point especially would be very politically motivated to have a wedding that looks more Muggle. 

Okay.  If I were writing a pureblood wedding… like Lucius and Narcissa’s wedding… what would I do.

First, I don’t think I want a typical wedding from the year 1700. I want 1700 does renaissance/medieval. (Kind of Sir Walter Scott.) I like this because it brings in/explains the Merlin thing - the purebloods all use ‘Merlin’ as an oath, so I guess Merlin (and Arthur, and that kind of romanticized middle ages) is important to them culturally. Also, medieval influences are going to make your wedding feel impressive and established… which is exactly what the Malfoys are after. Make sure everyone knows what an old family they are. All these pureblood families have crests, so put them everywhere, front and center. The decorations should be banners and flags with the crests of everyone attending, no florals.

I also love the idea of fossilized fashions, old-fashioned clothes that don’t come out except during a very ceremonial, traditional occasion. (Think of the ways that veils used to be a pretty normal part of a lady's wardrobe, but now you only see them during weddings.) I’d have it so that during a wizard wedding… all the ladies bring out their long, draping, evil enchantress sleeves and the guys are supposed to wear half-capes and swords. It’s also a good excuse to bring out all the really old family jewelry, of which I am sure the Malfoys have buckets.

I also want this to be a very magical wedding. Like, there are parts of it you straight-up could not participate in as muggle, because I think (sadly) that would be the vibe during the timeline of the main books. Weddings are for showing off, and part of that would be showing off your magical prowess. I’m thinking - light the dance floor on fire before the first dance, and then the couple has to perform a Flame Freezing charm. This tradition started as a screw-you to the Muggles after the witch trials… but now everybody just kinda does it because it looks really cool when the newlyweds dance on a bed of flame. Oh, and we’re definitely doing medieval-style palm-touching dances. No waltzing for the first dance at a traditional Malfoy wedding.

And they���ll go all out for the wedding feast, which will be long. The 1700s and middle ages were both really into food that did stuff - food that transformed, or food that looked like other food, or food that had birds flying out of it. So  just lean into that times a million with magic.

I am also such a sucker for slightly sentient magical houses, and Harry Potter absolutely has some of that, with the way Hogwarts (the building) has various ways to fight back against enemies and infiltrators. So I think a Malfoy wedding would definitely be taking place at Malfoy Manor, and that the house itself would be a part of the proceedings in some way. Like it’s got to accept the new family member (we know, from little moments like Umbridge being barred from Dumbledore‘s office… that sometimes magical buildings just reject you.) Integrating a new person into the new space would be a multi-step process. Maybe there’s a ceremony where they present the new person with the family spell books, and another one where they present them with keys to various parts of the house, etc.

You could tie this in with the idea of a bedding ceremony (which also hits my medieval + 1700s markers.) Maybe the house changes in some way when the couple first sleeps together, like it redecorates with the belongings of the person moving in, or grows them a rose garden or observatory so they feel more at home. I bet it’s fun for the guests to stick around and watch this change happen. (A trope like this might be especially fun in an arranged marriage or marriage-law type story.)

I’m thinking this would also be a very long wedding, and the wedding party is probably staying at the house for a week or so beforehand. That’s part of the flex, the family’s ability to adequately pay host to so many people for such a long period of time. Like that’s what a house like Malfoy Manor is for, there’s a reason those places were functionally small hotels. If at the end my old-school pureblood wedding feels like a modern muggle wedding... I don’t think I’ve done my job. A Muggleborn who’s been invited ought to have culture shock.

And yes. It goes without saying that Lucius and Narcissa would have eaten up all this pomp and circumstance, with a spoon.

[gwandas]

One missed opportunity in ACOSF was some sort of resentment/conflict between Emerie and Gwyn and addressing why there aren't any Illyrian females in the HoW.

How should Emerie feel upon meeting Gwyn -- someone who may not been from the Night Court since SJM never bothered to confirm where Sangravah is on a map -- who was cared for so well by the court Emerie was born and raised in? Obviously it's not Gwyn's fault that those same resources weren't provided to Emerie, but it's an interesting contrast between the two characters. After scraping by and fending off abusive family who want to exploit her, what is the diffference between her and Gwyn? Why aren't victims of wing clipping treated the same way as the priestesses in the HoW?

It would've been so juicy. Added an interesting dynamic to the Valkyrie relationship -- especially when you throw in how the NC chose to deal with Nesta's trauma. It would've been far more interesting to read about than three women bonding over smutty books I fear

[cireks]

Need some 100% waterproof pre-industrial boots? No worries, I got you.

[bruhstation]

special thanks to these pez dispensers for accompanying me during my stay at the hospital. glory to canada