Character clothing description

[Kouneko]

Hello there, came here asking for yours wisdom to how to describe a character clothing with out writing a printer image of it?

 

[TotallyHuman]

what's a printer image?

 

[Syringe]

As smoothly as possible. The flow matters, and you don't need to chuck it all in at once. You can slip in further details as the character interacts, plus maybe even chuck in what the dress says about them. Use the surroundings and other people to bounce off the character to make it feel as natural as possible.

But honestly, you can't really go wrong with dumping the visuals so long as it flows nicely and isn't a literal list. Keep the scene moving. Don't let it stay stagnant.

For example:

The hems of a woman's gorgeous green dress collapsed, but they never seemed to touch the ground. Pale embroideries of an unknown, yet familiar symbol of some sort of mythical beast. They were woven across the long hems of her dress. From one glance even the most ignorant would understand the authority associated with such a dress. (What the dress means/says about them)

"Silence." She commanded, dipping her hands into a flushed, hidden pocket where she drew a thin conducting wand. (Moving the scene whilst also further describing the character).

The woman's words carried power, and the clapping of her crystal shoes echoed in the hall where hundreds had gathered for the grand symphony. From the Queen herself, no less. A hidden magical instrument prevented her dress from ever touching the ground, gliding as if unaffected by gravity. The velvet whine of her dress' material were the only sound that played in her beloved auditorium. (Material, sound, other notable descriptions of the clothing. As the Queen, we understand that her clothing is practically perfect).

An entourage soon followed, each puppeted by ethereal strings with no conceivable origin. Upon closer inspection, one could find the shimmering of near invisible strings clasped between the fingers of her free, white-gloved hand. Their apparel were inferior to hers. Unlike her eyeless entourage, her dress had no frayed strands. It was utterly perfect. She ensured it was perfect. (Her clothing compared to others + other aspects).

Because tonight would be the night of her final encore.

(Finished, and we left a lot more to expand on later!)

i.e. The embroidery, which someone could recognize as something (affiliation, code, etc) later on; the strings which could elude to her either her power, or the material of her apparel; the strange way that her oversized dress seemingly floats, etc.)

Or if you mean something like an item description, then it's pretty much the same above, but with interaction. Like the MC sifts through the material of the green shirt, realizing it's made from leather. Or, honestly, you can just say something like 'medieval leather tunic', and describe anything unique like 'with a tint of gold'. Doesn't need to be too fancy unless it has some significant relevance and holds the code to nukes or something.

I hope this helps in some way!

 

[DonHon]

What is printer image? the most important question

 

[Corty]

what's a printer image?

What is printer image? the most important question

I got you fam!

 

[K5Rakitan]

Carefully

 

[Kouneko]

As smoothly as possible. The flow matters, and you don't need to chuck it all in at once. You can slip in further details as the character interacts, plus maybe even chuck in what the dress says about them. Use the surroundings and other people to bounce off the character to make it feel as natural as possible.

But honestly, you can't really go wrong with dumping the visuals so long as it flows nicely and isn't a literal list. Keep the scene moving. Don't let it stay stagnant.

For example:

The hems of a woman's gorgeous green dress collapsed, but they never seemed to touch the ground. Pale embroideries of an unknown, yet familiar symbol of some sort of mythical beast. They were woven across the long hems of her dress. From one glance even the most ignorant would understand the authority associated with such a dress. (What the dress means/says about them)

"Silence." She commanded, dipping her hands into a flushed, hidden pocket where she drew a thin conducting wand. (Moving the scene whilst also further describing the character).

The woman's words carried power, and the clapping of her crystal shoes echoed in the hall where hundreds had gathered for the grand symphony. From the Queen herself, no less. A hidden magical instrument prevented her dress from ever touching the ground, gliding as if unaffected by gravity. The velvet whine of her dress' material were the only sound that played in her beloved auditorium. (Material, sound, other notable descriptions of the clothing. As the Queen, we understand that her clothing is practically perfect).

An entourage soon followed, each puppeted by ethereal strings with no conceivable origin. Upon closer inspection, one could find the shimmering of near invisible strings clasped between the fingers of her free, white-gloved hand. Their apparel were inferior to hers. Unlike her eyeless entourage, her dress had no frayed strands. It was utterly perfect. She ensured it was perfect. (Her clothing compared to others + other aspects).

Because tonight would be the night of her final encore.

(Finished, and we left a lot more to expand on later!)

i.e. The embroidery, which someone could recognize as something (affiliation, code, etc) later on; the strings which could elude to her either her power, or the material of her apparel; the strange way that her oversized dress seemingly floats, etc.)

Or if you mean something like an item description, then it's pretty much the same above, but with interaction. Like the MC sifts through the material of the green shirt, realizing it's made from leather. Or, honestly, you can just say something like 'medieval leather tunic', and describe anything unique like 'with a tint of gold'. Doesn't need to be too fancy unless it has some significant relevance and holds the code to nukes or something.

I hope this helps in some way!

Thanks 4 the knowledge, now i can write the description with out making it sounds like a check list.

 

[melchi]

Just a little bit is enough to get the picture going.

Mismatched chuck tailors vs converse cloth and rubber shoes of blue and black with low socks

 

[Missivist]

As a reader, I might not care about the ordinary clothing of an ordinary character.
> Armor of a royal knight? Okay, impress me with the shiny!
> Princess wearing princess gown to princess ball? Okay, be fabulous!
> Goth character's tee-shirt is black? Builds the character, and seems easy to say.
> New character has medieval clothing in a modern setting? Or reverse? Also easy to write.
> Shoe brands, in an everyday setting? Not something I will care much about. How does that matter?
> Everybody's brand of shoes IS important to the story? Uhh.. I might drop that and move on. But you do you!
So, if it is important to the story, it is easy to integrate into the narrative. If not, it may not belong.