by Brant LaDorn

To the Arts Treatises

The artwork and fashions in this treatise are original creations done by Laura Oliver. Her incredible imagination brought the few brief descriptions of Caradorian fashion that we gave her into vivid reality. She is currently in the process of creating her own exciting line of clothes and accessories that feature hemp and organically grown fibres.
You can learn more about Laura Oliver at the Art Gallery.

Many commoners scoff at fashion as naught more than the whimsies of the higher-born. But fashion serves as a powerful force. At its highest, fashion teaches us about historical mores and attitudes, as well as serves to mark where true power lies in the world. For fashion exists because those who look up to others attempt to imitate those they respect. The leader in fashion is often the leader in other worldly affairs.

Here in Aranor, we’ve become the bastion of fashion. What is worn here is soon mimicked in Faol, Moraithe, and Masalla. But before Aranor, it was the province of Masalla, and the city of Mina’s Quay in particular, where fashion trends were born.

In observing these fashions, we can trace the influences and values of the ages as they were affected by the discoveries of new lands, the presence or lack of wealth, and the personalities of Masallan rulership.

Our story begins a thousand years ago, when the Loredae family ruled Masalla. They had taken their reign from the Avorines, who were the first to bring some semblance of rulership to the scattered tribes on the isle.

Loredae Era

The Loredaes were the first to mark a difference between themselves and the common folk using dress. Up to that time, everyone wore furs and brain-tanned leathers, and there was no noticeable difference between the dress of a huntsman and that of, say, King Avorine. But the Loredaes thought to change everything – including the possibility of being mistaken for someone of lesser power. The extraction of fibers from various plants had been experimented with, but linen was the first cloth fine enough for wear. The technology of the time, however, made the creation of the cloth extremely difficult and expensive. The Loredaes utilized this fact to clothe themselves in a fabric that was totally unavailable to anyone of lesser station. At the same time they applied their wealth to training alchemists, who, utilizing distillations and essences, created formulations which tanned leather to a fine state of preservation, and did so without any of the unpleasant smell associated with brain tanning. By hiring craftspeople who spent days stretching and rubbing the hides, and by applying their alchemists to creating dyes, the Loredaes took leather to a new level. While the commoners wore brown or tan coloured skins that were thick, stiff, and sometimes rancid in smell, the Loredaes garbed themselves in leather that was buttery soft, richly dyed, and sweet to the smell.

Their plan to separate themselves from the common stock worked – perhaps too well. With the Loredae’s newfound fondness for pointing out the difference between themselves and others, a discontent rose among the common class. Uprisings were common, and the Loredaes faltered under the lack of support from the people. They held power for only two centuries before the Alais line quietly usurped the throne, promising equality for the common folk.

 A dress preserved in the Museum of Mina’s Quay, thought to have belonged to Shara Loredae, the princess and third eldest child of King Orjen and Queen Mira Loredae. Linen top with suede skirt.

Alais Era

The Alais royalty had much in their favor. To begin with, they were dark-skinned, which marked them as what most considered to be the ‘lower class’. Since almost everyone in Masalla had been delegated to ‘lower class’ by the Loredaes, this distinction effectively placed them in the favor of the nearly all of the people of Masalla.

The Alaises took the throne amid a flurry of fanfare – excitement was high, and they were eager to prove to the people of Masalla that the fruits enjoyed by the Loredaes could be enjoyed by all. Among their gifts to the people were the secrets of fine tanning and dying, and it wasn’t long before well-made leathers were enjoyed by everyone. But the fever of royalty infected the Alaises as well, and in an effort to set themselves apart in dress, they adopted ever more elaborate clothes. Dresses emerged which sported high necklines, elaborate sleeves, and foldings of leather meant to exaggerate the curves of the body. For the first time the softer furs, especially beaver, were cleaned and treated so that they took on a luxurious feel and appearance, making them fit for noble wear. The Alais fashions were also the first to take on the practice of ‘lacing up the back’. The implication of wearing a dress that you couldn’t put on yourself was that you were wealthy enough to hire servants to put it on for you.

 A dress worn by the famous Queen Anabelle Alais, of brightly tanned suede and beaver fur. The original, though in ill repair, is preserved in a private collection in Faol.

MorDuraan Era

Sages have little doubt that the MorDuraans, when they seized power, had contact with the demons of Lorenai. Their swift magical advances were one clue, but their fashions were another, for we see the sudden presence of strange, unknown fabrics, many of which remain unidentified today. The MorDuraans broke all the rules, and ignored the fashions of the past. The hips became more important than the breasts when referencing female beauty, and even the highest fashions returned to frontal closures (as opposed to the rear lacings popularized by the Alaises), perhaps, as some sages suggest, because the MorDuraans were more 'practical' about their morality. Many of the garments of both men and women of the MorDuraan family sported high collars which completely surrounded the neck. Often these were crafted of fabrics that incorporated incredibly finely woven strands of metal. Such materials could only have come from Lorenai at that time, and the story of the collars is an unusual one. Both demons and many of the undead MorDuraan creations were overly fond of taking victims by the neck. Such preying would often follow a seduction. The high collars prevented bites, and the top fastener of most garments, which would allow the collar to be pulled back, was often secured by complicated means. The thought was that a victim would have to allow access, and thus, if a man or woman was found dead by the taking of blood from the neck, it was assumed that they had allowed the event to transpire. Those who knew the victim would be assured, at least, that the victim had died a pleasureful death. Such was the morbid logic of the MorDuraans.

A well-preserved antique dress of the MorDuraan era. Who it belonged to is lost, but it is an excellent specimen which is kept in the private collection of Queen Lillian. Note the various fabrics, many of Lorenai origin, the accentuation of the hips as the primary focus of female beauty, and the sharp angles and contrasts. Of particular interest is the high neck, often crafted of a fabric similar to modern clothchain . . .

Avorine Era

A hundred years later the Avorines were once again in power, and this time they promised a new era of prosperity for a people who had long known little but survival. For decades the people of Masalla had been living subsistence lives, and animal husbandry had been more successful than agriculture.

Sheep had first been brought to the island by Tirané raiders. The story is an interesting one – the people of Masalla only knew of the Tirané as strange raiders who came across the seas, and it is said that on one of their raids, the Tirané brought a herd of sheep to let loose in a village. The people of Masalla, never seeing such creatures, ran in fear, leading to an easy raid for the Tirané. But the sheep themselves wandered off into the hills and bred into a small population. It wasn’t long before the people of Masalla began to capture and raise them. In an effort to make the best use they could of all their resources, the people of Masalla discovered that the 'fur' of the sheep could be spun and woven into a warm fabric. Soon other furs were being used in the same way, and fine wools eventually became incorporated into noble dress.

One sees, in dresses of this era, an attempt to cover almost every bit of visible flesh. After the horrors and debauchery that characterized the MorDuraan rule, the Avorines were eager to establish principles that would guide their people to fruitful lives. Here was born the concept of noble virtues. The commoners certainly weren’t expected to live perfect lives, but the Avorines insisted that the noble class lead by example, and laws were passed which restricted the morality of the high-born. These laws were met with mixed emotion, but within a few years resistance declined, and most nobles began to take pride in their morality.

A dress dated from the beginning of the Avorine reign. The dress resides in the Museum of Mina’s Quay, and incorporates wool, linens, and leathers.

Moraithe Era

To distract the populace from the realities of rulership (such as the fact that there were going to be taxes), the Avorines embarked on an age of discovery. It was called the Masallan Expansion, and it infused the populace with excitement. New lands were to be discovered, with new options for places to live, things to buy, and horizons to explore.

The first land the Avorines discovered was Moraithe, and they couldn’t have done better. The explorers returned with new fruits, exotic oils, and strange animals in cages. The people’s imaginations were ignited with the possibility of living in a land where priceless fruit literally dropped from the trees, where the weather was always balmy, and the ground was littered with flowers of unspeakable beauty. Never before and never again would a land create such boundless excitement. Everyone was talking of Moraithe, and it didn’t take long for Moraithian fashions to catch on. The problem was that there was no civilized native population on the new island, so the Moraithian fashions had to be invented.

Although there were no civilized natives, there certainly were inhabitants on the isle, and from the brief contact the explorers had with them, they came away with a number of amazing items. One of the most astounding was silk – a fabric made from the cocoons of a small worm. The natives collected these cocoons and spun them into a fine fabric. When the silk was brought back to Masalla, much experimentation took place, and it wasn't long before it was discovered that certain heat treatments gave the silk a shiny lustre. This was named satin, and quickly became the most coveted of all fabrics.

Moraithian noble fashions reflected the Masallans’ imaginings of what life would be like on the tropical isle – garments became loose, flowing, and easy to don. Silks and satins were the new staples of noble wear, and the strictures regarding the display of flesh were relaxed – a little. It was primarily the arms that were allowed to be displayed – skirts remained floor-length, and necklines high.

A Moraithian style dress, utilizing Moraithian silks and a new fabric for the time – satin, which is derived from silk. This dress resides in the Museum of Mina’s Quay. It was donated by the Birian family of Mina’s Quay, but records regarding the original owner or the exact date the dress was made have been lost.

Lantrielle Era

Only a few years later Lantrielle was discovered. Here was a culture arguably more advanced than the Masallans themselves. When the explorers were welcomed into the courts, they saw a style of dress that reminded them of the Alais’ reign. Women wore low necklines and elaborately cut garments that pushed up the bust and accentuated the female figure. Silks, satins, and a new fabric – velvet – were worn by nobles and merchants alike. With Moraithe right next door, silk and its derivatives had been used for generations, and in true Lantrielle style the people of the isle did things in the most elaborate fashion possible.

When the first of the Lantrielle dresses were brought back to Masalla, the Moraithian fashions paled in comparison. Paired with ostentatious jewelry and exquisitely sculpted hair, a woman in a Lantrielle dress did indeed look resplendent, and next to her, a woman in Moraithian-inspired fashion looked plain and overly simple.

It was not until Jedda was discovered that fashion took another turn.

An elaborate dress imported from Palíce. Masallan seamstresses struggled to learn the intricate methods of the Lantrielle artists. This is a modern dress made only a few years ago and belonging to Jaea Malaan of Aranor. It is based on a style that was exported to Masalla during the years directly after Masalla’s discovery of Lantrielle.

Jedda Era

The Masallan Expansion saw various primitive lands discovered, many of which were settled by Masallan emigrants. But when Jedda was discovered it was the second instance of a highly civilized culture that pre-dated Masalla. The Jeddan culture was vastly different than anything the Masallans had encountered, but it was clear that they were highly advanced. Their cities were large and beautiful, their steel superior to Masallan alloys, and their clothing held something that left the Masallans wanting. In fact, when Jeddan silk was compared with Moraithian-derived silks, some suggested that the Moraithian fabric should lose its designation as silk.

The Jeddans not only had superior worms to spin the cocoons in the first place, but they had perfected the art of boiling the cocoons so that they could be loosened and unraveled in to long, continuous threads. This allowed the crafting of silks that were incredibly soft and creamy. Indeed, in Jedda silk was a lifeway for some people – there were hundreds of varieties, all with different colours, weights, textures, and properties.

But the Jeddans had something more – something they called ‘Ko’. Ko was the idea that there were patterns in nature – patterns that were intrinsically pleasing to the eye. These patterns couldn’t be captured in man-made things except by the most skilled of artists – those who made their crafts without any conscious intent. When the first ko-inspired fashions arrived from Jedda, their beauty was readily apparent to any eye. And the Lantrielle fashions suddenly looked glaring, harsh, and ridiculously out-of-proportion.

Jeddan fashions and lifeways became a huge trend – people were talking about the mystical religion of Lakiratai, were wearing Jeddan clothes, and learning Jeddan customs.

It didn’t take long for some particularly enterprising Jeddan merchants to take advantage of the trend. Masallan craftspeople struggled to learn to mimic the Jeddan imports, but that’s all they could do – mimic. No matter how hard they tried, they simply could not reproduce the elegant steelwork, the exquisitely simple jewelry, the fine silks and sublime liqueurs. What the Masallans didn’t understand was that they were up against craftspeople who had learned their arts from childhood – craftspeople whose entire family name depended on the quality of their crafts.

What followed is a unique historical event. The Avorines saw that a few Masallan merchants were growing fat off the import business while hundreds of craftsfolk were suffering under an economy which no longer supported them. The Jeddans appeared little interested in Masallan goods, and Masallan culture seemed to be disappearing, transforming into an odd hybrid that many felt to be lacking any reason. It seemed almost as if Masalla might be swallowed up by the almost mystical beauty of the Jeddan culture.

Action was taken. Masalla instated its first trade laws, requiring licensing on both sides of any mercantile transaction. Under these laws trade was heavily restricted, with caps imposed on earnings, a fluctuating taxation system, and favoritism granted to merchants who sought to incorporate Masallan craftsfolk into their trade. Lastly, the laws demanded equal import and export – and since Jeddans had no desire for Masallan imports, this put heavy loads onto the merchants who had originally been taking advantage of the situation – they now had to try to establish markets for Masallan goods in the Jeddan economy.

After that Masallan fashion mellowed into a cycle of repeating versions and combinations of the above seven styles.

Goddard Era

As for ourselves, we’ll move to the Old World, where the first ruler, King Shellian Goddard, imposed rigid class systems similar to what had been left behind in Masalla. By this time the standard of higher fashion for nobles was well-established, and served as the primary method of distinguishing between people of different classes. King Goddard had good trade relations with all other provinces, and thus had access to an endless variety of fabrics and styles. In the Goddard style, he lay down dictates for the garb of commoners and nobles alike. His laws stated, among other things, that –

'The indecency of fleshly display shall be limited to the neck and face, as well as the hands for working-folk.'  He further stated that – 'Those of less than noble birth shall be restricted to the wearing of wool, leather, and linens, and by law shall not clothe themselves in fabrics composed of cottons, silks, velvet or satin, or any other fabric of noble qualities.'

These laws created fashions that celebrated the richness of expensive fabrics. Not to be outdone by visitors from other provinces, the Goddard fashions tended toward being large, full, and exquisite -- almost ostentatious in their luxurious qualities. They remained so for most of the reign of the Goddard line, although the restrictions on ‘fleshly display’ were relaxed so that nobles were not required to wear gloves, and necklines plunged until, in the last fifty years before the reign of Queen Lillian, the push-up bodice was the norm.

A winter dress and cape dating from 2 years F Selarum, making it nearly 390 years old. Jeddan silks were used for the main of the dress, including an underlay of Fire Silk. Furs, necessary for warmth, were valued according to richness of colour and density of the pelt. The cape is wool with crushed velvet trim. This specimen, magically preserved, is still worn in public by its owner, Lady Veronique of Selarum.

Queen Lillian's Renaissance Era

One of many unique fashions emerging from Queen Lillian’s reign. Every year seems to bring a new shift in fashion, usually involving a new twist on any of various regional, historical, or traditional styles. This ensemble, meant to show the emancipation of women under Queen Lillian’s reign, includes silk stockings and a flirtatiously high cut on the dress. The push-up bodice has been forsaken, suggesting a more active concept of womanhood, but the neckline is still very low, suggesting that women haven’t forgotten the power of their beauty. The avant-garde cloak features a unique, self-expressive style. Materials include silk, linen, and embroidered velvet. This dress belongs to a commoner from Aranor, and dates from the first year of Queen Lillian’s reign.

Queen Lillian’s reign brought many changes – among them a new view of women. While women were highly restricted under the Goddard reign, Queen Lillian officially announced that women would have the same opportunities as men, and under her rule many women are now successful merchants, traders, and self-made nobles. The first reaction of many women, however, was to shed the restrictive styles of the Goddards, and suddenly the active, athletic, adventurous woman was considered attractive. After all, Queen Lillian herself wore a sword, dressed in relaxed styles, and was known to have been a highly successful adventurous.

The first couple of years brought many social re-adjustments, but with the sweeping reform affecting all aspects of life, changes were more readily adapted to. There simply wasn’t any tradition to cling to any more.

Women are forging a new place for themselves in society, and the current fashions reflect this searching and exploring. Every season sees a shift in the fashion trends, but all have this in common – an attempt to celebrate femininity in all its forms. From the fae style to the peasant style to the gypsy style, there seems to be a lot of exploring to do. With magically enhanced fabrics and cosmetics, along with the availability of illusionary enhancement for both men and women, the quest threatens to bury itself in experimentation. The hope of many clothiers is that a balance might be found, since the art of being a seamstress has become little more than a constant race to keep up with new techniques and styles. And many suggest that some unique, long-lasting styles may be developing out of the chaos.

Whatever the case, the power of fashion will doubtless continue to reflect and create the paths of the world’s cultures as we move into an age of improved relationships and communication. Queen Lillian’s Renaissance is sweeping the Known Lands, and it shall be interesting, to say the least, to watch how fashions respond to today’s new world.

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