Pathfinder

Kellid fashion in Numeria

The Kellid people of Numeria pose an interesting fashion challenge.  On the one hand, they dress in natural hides and leathers.  On the other, they have a frikken space ship crashed in their back yard.  They’re known to distrust magic, but do they distrust technology as well?

kellidNicholas K (this one is from Fall 2013, Ready to Wear) works as well for the Kellid of Numeria as for the Kellid of Realm of the Mammoth Lords, like Amiri.

Are the Kellid who live close to the Silver Mount influenced by its fashion? As a spaceship, presumably it has clothes inside.  Do the Kellid and/or Technic League raid it for complete clothes, for materials to make clothes from, or let it alone (sartorially speaking)?

 

 

I kind of got attached to the idea of the Kellid gathering bits of detritus from the wreckage and having no use for it as technology, weaving into their clothing as adornment.  (Cliche, but there you have it)

kel3 kel2 kel4

(Alexander McQueen Spring 2014 Ready to Wear, Lanvin Spring 2011 Ready to Wear, Lanvin Fall 2009 Ready To Wear)

Will There Be Polyester?

June is rapidly approaching and a goblin’s thoughts turn to Numeria.  The campaign setting book comes out next month. So, before I get spoilered, it’s time to start making ridiculous statements about what I expect for the Fashions of Numeria.

The official boards are full of question and speculations about the region.  Mostly about lightsabers. But so far, no one has asked the Most Important Question:  Will there be polyester?  Or its less important (ie: not Fashion related) parent question:  Will there be plastic? Logic would suggest, “yes”, because (here on Earth) it’s hard to imagine building a spaceship without knowing how to process petroleum.  The Shory were able to get cities airborne using magic, but I far as I know, those weren’t space faring.

ubiquitous jumpsuitAccording to all the documentaries I’ve seen (like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Forbidden Planet, and Galaxy Quest) the first thing space faring people need are sleek, polyester jumpsuits. Jumpsuits were “a thing” on the Runways in about 2010 (*shudder*), so there were plenty to choose from.  I looked at about 300 images (who said fashion blogging was easy?) of over 2000 to find the perfect one.  I was honestly, truly trying not to use another McQueen, but this jumpsuit (from his Fall 2004 Ready to Wear collection) is Retro-Futuristic perfection.

 

3dprint

This dress is from Iris van Herpen and has a really great dark futuristic look.  Also.  It’s 3D printed. So that’s awesome.

If polyester jumpsuits don’t convince you, here’s another reason to include  plastic in Golarion. It conjures up some fantastic mental images.  The Sandpoint goblins on Junk Beach… now picture them with making nets out of old six pack rings that washed up on the beach.

Kimlé

(Lying on the couch, drinking excellent coffee, staring out the window at the rain, writing about imaginary fabric in an imaginary world, until I leave for my Pathfinder game. Today may be perfect)

As far as I can tell, kimlé gets its first mention in the Inner Sea Gods book.  It is described in the section on the clothing of Gozreh‘s worshipers:  “… at least one garment is usually made of kimlé, a linen-like cloth made of a sea plant the church cultivates.”  Sean K Reynolds et al (2014). Inner Sea Gods, p 73. Paizo, Inc.

There’s so much in that one sentence, and my game doesn’t start for hours, so here goes.

Cleric of Gozreh

Cleric of Gozreh

Gozreh (in a nutshell) [digression: great, now I’m imagining that like the picture of Venus on the half shell]: a god of nature, sea, and weather and is depicted as either male or female, depending on the context.

“at least one garment” & “the church cultivates”:  This implies that kimlé may not be readily available, and is specifically cultivated for liturgical garb.

“linen-like cloth”: This presumably means it is a bast fibre, like linen and ramie. [digression: also stinging nettles which explains The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Anderson.  I never understood the mechanics of making nettles into fabric.] Bast fibres are the inner bark of plants, softened (mechanically or chemically) and spun into yarn to be woven (or knit) into fabric.  Bast fibres share several properties which distinguish them from cotton.  Bast fibres are stronger and don’t pill. They also feel cool to the touch and absorb moisture without feeling wet (very useful if you’re worshiping a sea goddess).  However, they can be coarse (depending on the internal shape of the plant) but get softer with use.

“sea plant”:  The natural colour of of linen is light brown, or um…. “linen”.  I’d like to imagine that the green in the cleric’s robes shown is the natural, unbleached state of kimlé.

One thing not mentioned in the sentence is name of the plant that produces kimlé.  English has a long tradition of using different words for the finished product and source material, eg: cattle vs beef, sheep vs mutton, flax vs linen. (The Norman Invasion is responsible for most of that, but this is the Fashions of Golarion, not the Languages of Golarion.) So does kimlé come from the kimlé plant, or some other plant?

There is (at least) one magic item made of kimlé and another that should be (and is, as of now, in my game version of Golarion).  The Kimlé Coat (Inner Sea Gods, pg 252) helps with swimming and water breathing.  The Featherscale Cloak (Inner Sea Gods, pg 264) does all kinds of neat bird- and fish-related things (including shape shifting), but is described as “heavy linen”.

 

Holy Cow

Today’s word is “mozzetta” (Tomorrow’s will be: “kimlé”)

I’ve been reading (the important parts of) Inner Sea Gods. Each of the 20 main Golarion gods gets a paragraph or two about their temples.  And (more importantly) the fashions favored by their followers, both liturgical and secular.  I got about half way through (to Nethys) when the craziest thing happened: I learned a new fashion word — mozzetta. *sigh* Schooled in fashion vocabulary by an RPG book.  I feel shame as a free action.  Do I have to turn in my fashion card?

I was obviously distraught, because later the same day I ran the Erylium encounter in “Rise of the Runelords”, and every single PC survived. To add insult to injury, they weren’t even interested in the silk dress they found.  What’s a tiny creature doing with a medium sized dress? (In this case, she was using it as a nest)  Where did she get it?  This could be the biggest Fashion Mystery in Sandpoint since Father Zantus’s turtleneck!

Speaking of, I told one of my players about learning a new word, and without missing a beat she asked, “Does it mean ‘anachronistic blue turtleneck’?”.

Unrelatedly, wanna see a picture of a cow wearing a mozzetta?  F. Wesley Schneider has one.  That’s gotta be a mozzetta, right?  I kind of hope they don’t correct it so my witch can get a robe that comes with a stylish, bovine animal companion.

HSF #2 — Innovation – Raglan Sleeve

This post introduced some of the technological innovations that appear in Father Zantus’s turtleneck.  This post will explore Raglan Sleeves.

The most notable characteristic of Raglan sleeves, are that they attack to the neck of the shirt, rather than at the shoulder.  Shirts with Raglan sleeves have no shoulder seam, because the front and back pieces attach to the sleeve. (Oblig Wikipedia link).

The origin story of the raglan sleeve can be found here, among other places.  The super short version:  Lord Raglan lost his arm in the mid 1815s.  His tailor made him a custom coat with this new style of sleeve that would be easier for him to put on and take off.  I was half expecting to find references to earlier raglan sleeves, on the assumptions that, like Mathematical Theorems, sleeves are never named for their originator.  (Stigler’s law). I didn’t find any, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

Almost-raglan spencer

Early 19th century spencer, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I did, however find some “so close, yet so far” examples.  These both come from the early 19th century, the same period where Raglan lost his arm.  This spencer (the tiny little jacket) and dress are have so little in the way of shoulders, that the sleeves attach to a couple of inches of fabric around the neckline.  They didn’t make that final step of eliminating the neck band altogether.

Almost raglan sleeve dress

Dress, 1810-1915, also from The Met.

 

That Hat — Part 2

In the first post about That Hat, I engaged in idle speculation of the origins of the hat, but that ends now that I have the adventure.

I got my copy of “The Half Dead City” today, and (of course) the first thing I did was flip to the magic items section to see what magical properties That Hat had. Alas, That Hat is not magical. It belongs to an NPC (a wizard) who has a stat block, and no magic hat listed.

Here is the Truly Important (read: Fashion Related) information from her bio:

[she] eschews court gowns in favor of a Taldan dandy’s idea of an adventurer’s outfit. (Half-Dead City, by Jim Groves. pg 59)

Nailed It! Hats Off (Ha!) to whoever designed her look, and to the artists who brought her to life in the AP. She looks fantastically impractically foppish.

The only way That Hat would be more epic, is if it was being worm by a flumph.

If I wanted to declare That Hat to be magical, here’s how I would re-fluff wizard spells to use That Hat. These came from the generic wizard spell list, so don’t take them as spoilers as to which spells she has.

  • Charm Person/Hypnotism/Sleep — The target is distracted and enthralled by That Hat. (Hmm…. I must have failed my saving throw). The undulating movement of the feather in an unseen wind commands the target’s attention.
  • Comprehend Languages — The end of feather on That Hat inserts itself in the caster’s ear, and whispers translations, like a Bablefish.
  • Disguise Self/Alter Self — That Hat wraps itself around the caster’s face and moulds itself into the desired disguise.
  • Eagle’s Splendor — That Hat reveals itself in its true glory, granting a CHA bonus to the wearer.
  • Endure Elements — That Hat is well insulated in the winter and it’s massive surface dissipates heat in the summer.
  • Erase — The feather sweeps away the target writing.
  • Floating Disk — That Hat can magically float carrying a load.
  • Hiedeous Laughter — The target it tickled by the That Hat’s feather.
  • Mount — Assuming the caster isn’t worried about looking magical, That Hat expands and functions like a flying carpet.
  • Obscure Object/Nondetection — Putting That Hat over an object blocks scrying.
  • Prestidigitation — When the wearer of That Hat casts prestigitation to clean, the feather extends (as if it’s not long enough) and acts like a feather duster. Perfect for exploring dusty, old Osirian tombs.
  • Shield/Mage Armour/Protection From Arrows — That Hat swoops down in front of the caster, blocking missiles and attacks.

That’s levels 1 and 2.  Any ideas for 3 and higher?

HSF #2 — Innovation – Knit Fabric

Last post introduced some of the technological innovations that appear in Father Zantus’s turtleneck.  Now I’m going to delve into one of them: knit fabric.

Chanel 1924

Chanel 1924

Knitted garments have existed for thousands of years. This article has a thorough history and analysis of the history of knitting.  She concludes that knitting began in Egypt around 1000 CE. (For comparison, fabric woven on looms dates at least to 5000 BCE) The earliest knitting was done with multiple needles to create tubes of stretchy fabric, for socks and gloves.  Knitted undershirts didn’t appear until the 1500s.  Until knitting machines came on the scene in the 1600s, knitting fabric was more time consuming than weaving it, and so was reserved for smaller items that required stretchy fabric and luxury goods.

Knit fabric only became common in the Victorian Era (as underwear) and not until the 1910s as clothing. It was scandalous when Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli popularized it for outerwear.

Father Zantus’s Turtleneck

Father ZantusHSF #2 — Innovation

Introduction

This is the image that started this project. This is Father Zantus, the Cleric of Desna in Sandpoint, and an NPC in Rise of the Runelords. And he seems to be wearing a modern looking blue turtleneck sweater.  This lead me to the question:  What is the earliest this sweater could have existed on Earth, and assuming a quasi-medieval setting for Varisia.  I tried to make an adventure hook out of this fascinating fashion mystery, but my players refused to take the bait, and opted for goblin hunting instead.

Four technologies stand out in this turtleneck as possibly being anachronistic:

  1. Jersey Fabric
  2. Raglan Sleeve
  3. Turtleneck
  4. Bright Blue dye

I’ll explore each one in a post of its own.

 

That Hat

That Hat

“The Half-Dead City” Cover

The cover (by Tyler Jacobson) of the first book in The Mummy’s Mask AP was unveiled to gasps of “That Hat!”  And not just from me.  My hastily cropped and shrunk version can’t possibly do it justice, go look at the original.  It’s worth it.  Yes, the hat is fantastic, but everything else about her clothes are equally fantastic.

My initial reaction to this outfit was “Cavalier” (no, not Alain), but thinking harder, the influences are more varied than that, but all around the 17th century.  I was blinded by the feather and the turned down boots (and gloves). The shorter, fuller breeches look inspired by the earlier 17th century, as opposed to the later 17th century Cavalier inspiration of the overall look.

Cavalier Fashion

Portrait of Lord John Stuart and his brother Lord Bernard Stuart (Anthony van Dyck)

She would easily fit in with these two, if her pants covered her knees and her spats were actually boots. And she had more lace. (And no self-respecting Cavalier would be seen with pulled-back hair)

I’m really curious what the bottom of her jacket looks like.  I wish she wasn’t holding a book in front.  Is it squared off, like the tiny bolero she’s wearing?  Does it flounce into a semi bustle and cascade down her legs? Does it just angle back from the from opening into the tail we can see?  If this AP follows the patters of the previous ones, she’s a major character throughout the all 6 volumes.  So with any luck we’ll see more her in more art.

Researching this page I found a great side-by-side from A Chichi Life of the Dior 2009 Spring and works from the Dutch Masters.

All I can say about this look from that Dior collection is: “That Hat!”

Dior Hat

Christian Dior, Spring 2009 Couture (from style.com)

Image Sources:

Paizo’s Adventure Path page Tomb raiding in Osirion. A rival adventuring party. Great hats.  What’s not to love?

Wikipedia’s entry: Cavalier The historical context for the fashion inspiration.

Style.com’s page on Dior Spring 2009 Gorgeous extravagance.  Or extravagant gorgeousness.