A Question for Authors and Artists alike

[blitz_kreed]

Hello, I am blitzkreed the Author of Aurexis.

I am currently in the process of finishing up the first half and starting the second half of my Story's First Arc.

But that also comes along with the fact of properly drafting up designs for my Characters. I already do have a general idea of how my characters look, and majority of them have a sense of fashion that matches them in such a distinct way that you could say its another way of showing their personality.

Out of the 5 Important Cast Characters, 3 of them already have this sort of identity to the point I'm confident enough to not want to change their Outfits in anyway at all, even for Character Portraits.

However, 2 of them lack that Fashion Identity at the current moment.

To the point that I feel like I'm neglecting them even though they're probably the ones I've spent the most time making notes and ideas, as well as potential standalone stories for them.

Is there any advice that can help me properly materialise a general fashion sense for Characters? Have you ever had any problems with character fashion yourself?

It's also particularly due to the fact that they're somewhat unique when it comes to their Personalities considering the dark and somewhat gritty plot of my story.

[Kelheor]

I am not big on fashion, nor am I a huge fan of changing characters clothes (unless the character is into fashion themselves).
What works for me is:
A. What they are doing in the story and their background. If they are a soldier, they wear a uniform. If they are a soldier who previously was a monk, they might have a rosary. If they are a soldier daredevil pyromaniac soldier, they might have a red bandana, unbuttoned jacket, a dozen of different cigarette lighters on their belt.
How do they feel about their clothes? What clothes do they find comfortable?
Do they feel the need to change it if it's a uniform, because they are a rebel? Or do they stick to following rules? Do they need to unbutton a shirt because it's uncomfortable/they are untidy by nature? Are they feeling fancy or do they like it strict? Would they prefer to cover their body or show more skin?

B. Consistent color palette aka Color Coded for Your Convenience. You may choose 2-3 main colors for the character and make all their clothes in these colors. It makes everything a lot easier. They like blue? You also might think of the reason they wear this particular color if you want, like they might like red if they are a pyromaniac. An example with my characters. These two are a MC and deuteragonist. Gil wears orange because I wanted readers to notice his bright colors. His secondary colors are khaki (his pants usually), red for red Converse/backpack and white for small details. In the first season where Gil was little, he had an orange T-shirt with white triangles because it looked fun and triangles on orange represented nachos. Now these triangles appear on his hoodie and sneakers.
Summer wears blue, yellow and white. It's very much a contrast palette to Gil's. Blue means she wears denim, and Timberlands make good yellow shoes. She also likes triangles, so it's a common pattern on her clothes (and accessories) and she likes hairclips, so she wears a few together.
They are both wearing more or less comfy clothes because they are horror comic characters from a small Canadian town and they have to run a lot kinda jk but kinda not, but these two particular characters have the non-fancy outdoorsy wardrobe because that's how they are.

C. And of course, don't forget about the references. Go use your Pinterest if you are lost!

[jwabeasley]

Since you're a novelist rather than a cartoonist, I recommend not focusing too much on each character's sense of fashion. You need to create a memorable picture in the reader's mind, something that creates a shorthand that you can evoke later.

Fashion is so variable in its impressions on people that you'll get much farther by describing a character as stylish or a decade out of date than by listing clothing items that are such. Maybe a character has a leather jacket as his 'thing,' and his girlfriend associates the smell of it with him, or something along those lines. Maybe a character has giant spectacles that give them a bug-eyed impression or has missing buttons on their coat or greasy hair. But nobody needs to know that a character wears Levi's 505 jeans instead of 501 jeans, or whatever other specific fashion item.

[Furipon]

LoL I have a whole chapter using my MC buying the right Levis 501's as a backdrop!

[Furipon]

I think however that it all depends on the POV. If Fashion is really important to that character or they're perceptive, maybe a certain level of brand detail needs to be there. It's all about making us feel what the MC is experiencing at the moment, are they noticing something new about the person, describe that, be consistent with their habits, note when a character is breaking their habit, suddenly not wearing their mom's necklace etc.

Here's a litte snippet from a WIP of mine, Fashion concious but not knowledgable teen Leon next to his rich stickler friend Erik.

The bus smelled like Axe body spray and cigarette smoke clinging to everyone's clothes. Leon slouched in his seat, legs sprawled into the aisle, new-ish torn jeans and burgundy shirt making him feel almost put together. The friendship bracelet Karin gave him—woven purple and black—sat next to his plain chain. His Vans were scuffed to hell but whatever. He'd combed his hair sharp, parted crisp. Felt fly.
Smelled like Marlboros from waiting at the bus stop and Erik's Old Spice he'd borrowed because his own deodorant died.
Erik sat rigid next to him. Pale jeans that probably cost more than Leon's drum-kit back home. Blue denim shirt over a white tee, some tiny logo on the pocket Leon didn't recognize. Spring catalogue model. Hair combed back in a perfect side part with that expensive gel that smelled like bergamot or some shit.
His hands clutched his knees. White-knuckled.