Clothing

I love clothes so I’m going to talk about them.

Remember that wearing armor outside of when you’re expecting battle is a major social faux pas. You will be wearing plain clothes for the majority of your time, except when you foresee combat coming.

Dynastic Clothing

Dynasts favor various forms of robes and tunics rather than the gaudy styles favored by the patricians.

All types and styles are present in Dynastic wear, as Dynasts prefer to stand out. For those who don’t spend too long thinking about their wardrobe, a kimono or a daopao are always safe options.

Dynasts are able to afford fine footwear, so they often wear heavy boots, nice sandals, or other indicators of status. Hats are very common, but not as fancy as the ones worn by patricians.

Like with patrician clothing, men’s cuts tend to be slinky and tight to emphasize their shape to potential suitors, while women tend to prefer loose and flowing clothing with elegant appeal.

In general, Dynastic clothing tends to be more about subtle indicators of status. Unlike patricians, no one in the Dynasty has anything to prove.

Patrician Clothing

Realm style is at its most austentatious with the patriciate. Stuck between the peasantry and the Dynasty, the patricians show off their wealth and status with bold garments.

The archetypal patrician garments are the toga and the sari. Multilayered and colorful, these garments are what you picture when you think of “the patriciate.” In addition to these, more tradition or less sartorially-minded patricians wear shenyi, daopaos, and kimonos, much like the Dynasty.

Able to afford nice footwear, the patriciate make ample use of sandals and stylish footwear to show off their status.

Headgear is a big deal for patrician fashion. Take note:

Peasant Clothing

Peasant fashion is simple and minimal.

When doing labor, most peasants wear a tunic and pantaloons. Usually the pantaloons are plain undyed cloth and the tunic is a plain color, something that they won’t mind getting dirty with work.

When relaxing, peasants might wear zhiduo:

or ruqun:

In coastal regions where the weather is nice, sarongs are always popular, and many men and women strip to the waist to put up with the temperature. Elsewhere, the heavier jeonbok vest – with long sleeves and which I can’t find a good picture for – is common to keep the weather out.

Wealthy peasants try to dress like patricians.

Most peasants go barefoot; those who wear shoes often wear sandals or foot wrappings.

Many peasants wear wide conical hats like you think of when you think of Vietnam, a kufi cloth hat, or headbands.