Fashion

Overview
D'Angelines value beauty above all things save perhaps love itself, and are said to be more easily moved by compelling art or music than those who do not share their angelic blood. It is thus easy to understand why fashion is such a high art among the people of Terre D'Ange, for it is an expression of creativity that by its very nature must highlight the human form. The D'Angelines thus require clothing to be pleasing to the eye of its own accord, with splendid and luxurious fabrics in rich, vibrant colors. Yet they also expect that the clothing they purchase to adorn themselves will show off their own assets, and the natural beauty of the form beneath will be highlighted by the work of the designer.

The fashion described in Carey's novels is that of fantasy, and does not follow any particular historical period in nature or design. Rather it combines period elements such as full skirts, fitted bodices, and detailed beading, with modern elements such as buttons and fabric that clings to the skin. The gowns detailed in the Kushiel's Legacy series would have been considered quite scandalous in most cultures in Western Europe until quite recently, yet to the sexually liberated D'Angelines they are beautiful and compelling. We encourage players to be creative when writing clothing descriptions, and to use a mixture of ideas from period fashion and their own fantasy elements. In general it is best to remember when taking ideas from history that those trends of fashion meant to hide the form in the name of Christian modesty would likely not have found their way to Terre D'Ange. (Gable hoods or high lace ruffs for example). Trends would likely rise and fall fairly quickly at court, and attempting to set the latest would be a fine goal for any D'Angeline, whether courtesan or courtier.

Women's Fashion
Trends rise and fall with the years, and even with the seasons. There are years when skirts are full, covered with bows and frills, and pastels are all the rage. Then months go by and suddenly the Queen's ladies-in-waiting attend a fête in sleek gowns of dark silk, and the bows of last spring all find themselves thrust to the back of the armoire. For a culture as swept up in beauty as the D'Angelines, there are few sins so dire as falling out of style. Still, over time there are some constants that a woman can depend on. The female form is always there to be admired, though one must take care to highlight one's assets tastefully. It is said that any amateur tailor can stitch together a gown to show off the breasts, but a true artist can showcase the more subtle charms, and mystify onlookers with the beauty of the nape of a neck, or the curve of a collarbone.

Men's Fashion
The fashion for D'Angeline men does not follow the same whimsy as that of the women, though there are still trends of cut and color at court. Noblemen often wear similar garb, the variances in fabric and detail choice all that set them apart from one another. For covering the legs hose have come in and out of fashion over the years, usually paired with either longer doublets or codpieces. More common are breeches, pants which fit more loosely against the body and can be made of anything from the simplest cotton to the most lavish of velvet and silk.

For casual wear, breeches would be paired with a shirt of cotton, silk, or cambric and left at that. But any nobleman expecting to receive company or appear at court would need to complete his ensemble with a doublet or jacket of some kind. While frock-coats have been seen in and out of D'Angeline ballrooms during the occasional fanciful season, it is doublets that remain the norm. These can be fitted close to the form or more loosely, worn either with full sleeves of fine fabric, slashed sleeves to reveal the fabric of the shirt beneath, or no sleeves at all. Often a doublet is trimmed with gilded ribbon or jewels, and D'Angelines will sometimes fasten symbols of their house such as a crest to the shoulder of the garment, that all might see it and know their pedigree.

Adornments and Accessories
There is no limit to the variety of adornments and accessories that a D'Angeline would use as finishing touches on a well thought out ensemble. Those who can afford to lavish themselves with jewels will likely do so, though a people so pressed to put forth their own beauty will not want those looking upon them distracted by a piece that is overly gaudy or large. Jewelry and hair accessories are often chosen to compliment the natural coloring of the wearer, so that their own qualities might be highlighted by the selection of the right shade of topaz to gleam against golden skin, or the perfect silver and pearl encrusted pins used to hold up a shining blonde chignon.

Hairstyles that highlight natural beauty these same ways are popular at court, with elaborate braids and coifs often used to keep hair away from the neck and shoulders that they might be properly shown off. Cauls of gold or silver mesh are used in similar manners, encasing tumultuous curls to keep them ruly, and often adorned with pearls or other jewels.

Shoes are usually slippers created of fabric to match a lady's gown, and occasionally come with low heels, though those made for dancing are often flat.

Men are simpler in their accessory choices, though being no less the scions of Angels they are known to enjoy their share of jeweled rings and the like. For many, the most choice adornment is a chain of office, the set of ornate gold and silver links encrusted with jewels and symbols that mark their rank of Baron, Marquis, or Duc. Ladies of such rank are entitled to wear the chain of office as well of course, but whether they do or not often depends on how well it complements the rest of their outfit.

Highly ranked nobles also have an extra choice of headpiece, should they deem an occasion suitable for it. Each Duc or Duchese owns a coronet of gold or silver, encrusted with jewels in their families colors that send a clear statement of their importance and their lineage to any who look upon them. Those families who hold marquisates have smaller fillets of the same material, that send the same message. It would be pompous and unseemly to wear such crowns to every occasion, but often dinners thrown by the Crown, important fêtes, and of course meetings of Parliament, see such treasures brought out and shown off.

Excerpts from Novels
..for my garb (he) had again elected for simplicity; but the gown this time was velvet, a red and luscious shade. The bodice clung to my figure, and I marked with pleasure how my breasts swelled, white-skinned and tempting, above its neckline. There was a line of tiny jet buttons all down the back...

- Kushiel's Dart p 143

The gown was a shimmering bronze brocade with a subtle pattern of vines. It clasped about my neck in a collar from which two beaded straps descended, leaving my shoulders bare. It fit closely to my hips, then flared out in pleats lined with bronze silk. My hair was piled atop my head, held in place by a comb with a gilded branch.

-Naamah's Kiss p 163

...he wore a velvet doublet of deep brown. His only adornment was a chain of chased gold-work. His sleeves were russet, a hint of topaz gleaming through the slashes...his legs clad in rich brown, the heel of one highly polished boot propped upon the toe of the other.

- Kushiel's Dart p 26

...he wore a dark brown doublet over fawn colored breeches, an ivory shirt with a ruffled collar, and cuffs that matched the hue of her gown.

-Naamah's Kiss p 307

... a deep rose-hued silk [gown] bedecked with crystal beadwork. It was a full year out of date, but Favrielle nó Eglantine had designed it, and the slim-fitting lines and the way an extra measure of fabric pooled at the hem were still being copied this year.

-Kushiel's Avatar p 122

She wore a gown of deep violet adorned with a jeweled girdle, and a heavy cloak of forest green, lined with cloth-of-gold. Her fair hair was elaborately dressed, bound with a simple gold fillet.

-Kushiel's Avatar p 292

I went to change my attire to something suitable for court, donning a gown of amber silk and pinning the Companion's Star onto the décolletage, the diamond etched with Elua's sigil glittered in its radiant gold setting.

-Kushiel's Avatar p 5

"Asmodel," she said, measuring the breadth of his shoulders with the span of her arm. "One of the seven courtiers of hell, who served under Kushiel. We'll put him in a black velvet doublet and hose, and a great bronze key on a chain about his neck. A simple horned domino, I think; black satin. A fitting attendant for Mara."

-Kushiel's Chosen p 39

Turning, I espied my latest suitor clad as Hesperus, the evening star. His doublet and hose were of a deep twilight blue, and over them he wore a surcoat of a deeper blue silk, the shade of encroaching night. For a rarity, the cut was elegant and simple, flattering his well-made form. His coat was adorned with intricate brocade, and in it were set myriad bits of mirror, so that he glimmered with the subtle light of the evening sky, and a silver star mask obscured his features. I knew him by his voice, his grace and his black hair, that fell in a river of fine-linked braids down his back.

-Kushiel's Chosen p 42

It took me aback to see him in a doublet of forest green and breeches to match, sober and elegant. As was his wont, Ti-Philippe wore more festive garb, echoing the same colors, with a close-fitting vest striped green and bronze over dark breeches and a full-sleeved white shirt, and we all of us looked quite fine.

- Kushiel's Chosen p 297

Finespun as a whispered prayer, the scarlet jersey slithered over my head and fell like water about me, fitted close to the hips and then falling in immaculate folds to sweep the floor. It had a high neckline, rising like a crimson flame to clasp around my throat, belying the daring nature of the low back; and low it was, skimming the very base of my marque.

- Kushiel's Chosen p 36

I brushed off my gown, a rich blue satin inset with velvet panels; Serenissiman blue, the color is called. It had a fretted silver girdle with jet beads and a caul to match; somber, nearly. Except for the elegance of the fit.

- Kushiel's Chosen p 110

She wore a gown of pale lavender with a cloak of green, Elua's color, laced with gold brocade, and even from my poor view on the floor of the balcony, I could see the workmanship was exquisite. A simple circlet of gold sat atop her pale blonde hair and a gold mesh caul bound it, and her profile was breathtakingly pure.

- Kushiel's Chosen p 261

So it was that I attended my own fête in smart new attire: a sleeved velvet doublet and breeches of Courcel blue, a deep midnight hue. The doublet was adorned with silver stitching and the buttons were silver with an impress of lilies on them, which I thought was a bit much. It was open at the throat, revealing the pointed collars of the white cambric shirt beneath, lace protruding at the sleeves.

-Kushiel's Justice p 29