Help me learn to dress fictitious people
May 31, 2011 10:55 AM Subscribe
Fashion/fabric/color/clothes/shoes literacy for dummies for writers?
I'm fairly illiterate in the above things -- my productive color vocabulary doesn't get beyond a Crayola 8-box unless I think really hard, and I just plain don't notice most things about clothes.
But I'm also a writer and I think this is my largest, most glaring blind spot limiting what characters I could write -- I know lots of people walk through a world in which there's a lot of communication going on through clothing. And I know I probably won't ever write a convincing viewpoint character who's a Vogue editor, but I'd like to do better than having everyone be as blind to it as I am.
So what are books or other sources that variously:
I'm fairly illiterate in the above things -- my productive color vocabulary doesn't get beyond a Crayola 8-box unless I think really hard, and I just plain don't notice most things about clothes.
But I'm also a writer and I think this is my largest, most glaring blind spot limiting what characters I could write -- I know lots of people walk through a world in which there's a lot of communication going on through clothing. And I know I probably won't ever write a convincing viewpoint character who's a Vogue editor, but I'd like to do better than having everyone be as blind to it as I am.
So what are books or other sources that variously:
- teach the basics (is there a good visual dictionary?)
- discuss fashion and clothing choice as language and the whys of the choices people make
- give historical perspective
- have good fictional or non-fictional representations of narrative voices of people who are sensitive to fashion
Best answer: Fashion Lexicon provides an interesting, quick overview with good keywords to use in searches; and the biblio links to good sources for further research too.
I used to work (more) with vintage couture and jewellery at an auction house, and had a shelf of books ranging from not particularly serious illustrated fashion dictionaries to more complicated textile reference books, to books that (at the time) were considered "the Bible" of their field(s). They were there for me to reference for accurate but brief and well, descriptive descriptions of the items being auctioned. Books like this one, which covered historical costumes were, well, referency, and helpful - but really, it was based on an accumulation of knowledge from handling clothing, jewellery and objets de vertu for years and years, to asking questions of the experts at places like the Textile Museum, to looking at hundreds and hundreds of vintage photos, sharing knowledge with others in the field at places like Jewelry Camp, and talking with the people who actually wore the stuff - all this over the course of my career. You probably know more than you think you do, but if you're going to give more graphic or vivid descriptions of such things more prominence in your writing, that's where the research is going to come in. So, broadening your general scope is always a good idea, but if you had a more specific character, time period, culture or scene in mind, then I could point you toward better sources, perhaps.
I have written from time to time (and did teach classes on understanding vintage things for laypeople at the ROM), and I don't think this knowledge necessarily needs to come out of your head - they are details that can be filled in later with research. And so I'd say that while reading everything and anything about fashion that you can get your hands on will eventually and of course be helpful and possibly inspiring (the fashion & style book section is one of my favourite shelves when I visit a Barnes & Noble), in my case, I know more about a character's clothing, say, from the day I spent with a woman who was letting go of her wardrobe as her husband was passing away and she had to decide whether or not to let go of the Maggy Reeves dress she had custom made and wore to her daughter's wedding, than I would from any reference book. She told me all about the day, and how she chose the dress and about all the minute decisions involved, and showed me the wedding pictures with her in it. So, I described the dress in the catalog with the technical terms and used the reference books for the right words, but sold the dress to a person with an evocative description of her experience. I spent ten hours with her that day, and missed a date with my soon-to-be husband to learn about her in her end days with hers. I could write a hundred stories that came from that day.
And this anecdote is informative too, in that the minute variations in things can be so culturally specific that it's definitely best practice to research any references to specific (or forays into) style or fashion, so good luck!
posted by peagood at 12:04 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
I used to work (more) with vintage couture and jewellery at an auction house, and had a shelf of books ranging from not particularly serious illustrated fashion dictionaries to more complicated textile reference books, to books that (at the time) were considered "the Bible" of their field(s). They were there for me to reference for accurate but brief and well, descriptive descriptions of the items being auctioned. Books like this one, which covered historical costumes were, well, referency, and helpful - but really, it was based on an accumulation of knowledge from handling clothing, jewellery and objets de vertu for years and years, to asking questions of the experts at places like the Textile Museum, to looking at hundreds and hundreds of vintage photos, sharing knowledge with others in the field at places like Jewelry Camp, and talking with the people who actually wore the stuff - all this over the course of my career. You probably know more than you think you do, but if you're going to give more graphic or vivid descriptions of such things more prominence in your writing, that's where the research is going to come in. So, broadening your general scope is always a good idea, but if you had a more specific character, time period, culture or scene in mind, then I could point you toward better sources, perhaps.
I have written from time to time (and did teach classes on understanding vintage things for laypeople at the ROM), and I don't think this knowledge necessarily needs to come out of your head - they are details that can be filled in later with research. And so I'd say that while reading everything and anything about fashion that you can get your hands on will eventually and of course be helpful and possibly inspiring (the fashion & style book section is one of my favourite shelves when I visit a Barnes & Noble), in my case, I know more about a character's clothing, say, from the day I spent with a woman who was letting go of her wardrobe as her husband was passing away and she had to decide whether or not to let go of the Maggy Reeves dress she had custom made and wore to her daughter's wedding, than I would from any reference book. She told me all about the day, and how she chose the dress and about all the minute decisions involved, and showed me the wedding pictures with her in it. So, I described the dress in the catalog with the technical terms and used the reference books for the right words, but sold the dress to a person with an evocative description of her experience. I spent ten hours with her that day, and missed a date with my soon-to-be husband to learn about her in her end days with hers. I could write a hundred stories that came from that day.
And this anecdote is informative too, in that the minute variations in things can be so culturally specific that it's definitely best practice to research any references to specific (or forays into) style or fashion, so good luck!
posted by peagood at 12:04 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Aside from actual references, I still think your best bet is having someone knowledgeable look over what you've written and give you a "yes" or "no." Better yet, multiple knowledgeable someones. Just write freely, then ask for feedback. (See below for an example of someone who didn't really care.)
If you're writing something contemporary, you also might try the What Not To Wear stuff (both American and UK), as much as for the don'ts/befores as the dos/afters. On the TV shows, or with "real" people instead of just models, they get into stories a bit -- "I've been too occupied with my kids to pay attention to fashion" or "I love bright patterns because I hate being invisible." That kind of character detail could be really helpful.
Clearly, it's not just the things your characters wear, but how they get them and what they do with them. You'll especially want to be careful of time and place, particularly if you want your writing to stand the test of time.
The one example that drove me batty was Ann Packer's The Dive from Clausen's Pier. It's supposed to be set here in Madison, so the mere fact that the main character goes to a fabric store on State St. (our main shopping/eating/bar drag downtown) was ludicrous in itself. But then she decided to sew herself a jumper (the American jumper -- a sort of loose, skirted overall to go over another shirt) and I thought, "Huh? Is she a 62-year-old kindergarten teacher or a college student?" Sure, I know people who might do such a thing, but it seemed so weird to have that be a trait of this sort of all-American Midwestern girl, even one in turmoil.
Linda Grant's books -- which I haven't read myself, but I know come highly recommended -- might give you a good eye on the role clothes can play for many people. Try the nonfiction stories from The Thoughtful Dresser. She had a blog, too, though I'm not sure if it's still up.
posted by Madamina at 1:50 PM on May 31, 2011
If you're writing something contemporary, you also might try the What Not To Wear stuff (both American and UK), as much as for the don'ts/befores as the dos/afters. On the TV shows, or with "real" people instead of just models, they get into stories a bit -- "I've been too occupied with my kids to pay attention to fashion" or "I love bright patterns because I hate being invisible." That kind of character detail could be really helpful.
Clearly, it's not just the things your characters wear, but how they get them and what they do with them. You'll especially want to be careful of time and place, particularly if you want your writing to stand the test of time.
The one example that drove me batty was Ann Packer's The Dive from Clausen's Pier. It's supposed to be set here in Madison, so the mere fact that the main character goes to a fabric store on State St. (our main shopping/eating/bar drag downtown) was ludicrous in itself. But then she decided to sew herself a jumper (the American jumper -- a sort of loose, skirted overall to go over another shirt) and I thought, "Huh? Is she a 62-year-old kindergarten teacher or a college student?" Sure, I know people who might do such a thing, but it seemed so weird to have that be a trait of this sort of all-American Midwestern girl, even one in turmoil.
Linda Grant's books -- which I haven't read myself, but I know come highly recommended -- might give you a good eye on the role clothes can play for many people. Try the nonfiction stories from The Thoughtful Dresser. She had a blog, too, though I'm not sure if it's still up.
posted by Madamina at 1:50 PM on May 31, 2011
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posted by brozek at 11:05 AM on May 31, 2011