Notes on Fashion & Status

First: The Callanthe like bright colours, and they like to mix them. They're hampered only by not having advanced chemical dyeing techniques. This drawing, from the Peacock King, is what they'd wear if they could manage those colours.

I was looking at Russian historical garb today, and I've noticed a trend: most historical clothing seems to be based on "put on layer after layer of the same basic pattern until you're warm." This makes sense: having a summer & winter wardrobe separate of one another is expensive.

Clothing and status:

So the side the shirts close on indicates skilled worker vs. unskilled labor.

Fabric would also be an indication of status: silk is expensive in any world.

Add on to that pants. I'm thinking that pants are worn by those for whom long skirts would get in the way - those who ride, and those who labor manually. So an emperor and a farmer might wear very similar outfits, but the emperor's silk tunic closes over the right shoulder, and the farmer's hemp tunic over the left.

I'm still up in the air on embroidery/beading/etc. And hats! Hats are great for warmth. But. I don't see the modesty issue coming up in quite the same way. I <3 beanies, but if I go with them, we hearken back more and more to China.

ETA: Terminology! Turkish, modern English, any one of the medieval European? Is it a kirtle or a cote or a qipao or a tunica or a liene or a...?

ETA: Qitari.

ETA: Neat site on qipao http://qipao.info/