From Five Nations.
The Aundairian taste for elegance and sophistication extend to the fashions worn in cities such as Fairhaven and Passage, where frilled glimmersilk combines with ornately decorated cloaks and jackets to adorn the rich and powerful. Those of more modest means attempt to duplicate these styles as best they can, using spidersilk or some similarly less expensive fabric in place of glimmersilk. Men and women in the cities and larger towns wear elegant party gloves in public, a style that began as an accoutrement to fashions worn for a night on the town but have become the common practice. Many feel that they haven’t finished dressing if they haven’t donned their party gloves.
The simpler folk, including common laborers and farmers, wear simpler garb. Everyday clothes for both men and women include the bard-style tunic, a pullover shirt with a V-cut neck and fl ared sleeves, durable cotton pants, and sturdy leather boots. Most men try to have at least one set of “best clothes,” an outfit suitable for wear to a town gathering, a special function, or holiday party. Women keep a simple dress and an elegant dress (made of glimmersilk or spidersilk if they can afford it) for the same purposes.
Brelish fashions tend to be simple and comfortable. Because of the heat, the Brelish prefer lighter fabrics and open, airy designs in casual dress. It is quite rare for Brelish clothes to cover the shoulders, and women often wear detached sleeves to keep their shoulders bare.
The Brelish hate to be confined by rules, and aside from the demands of the weather, they follow few standards in dress. They do have one rule, however—cloth dyed with sayda. This rich sky-blue dye is made from shellfi sh found only in waters of the Dagger River near the Hilt. Sayda has become synonymous with Brelish national pride, making it more commonly known as “Brelish blue.” Natives of Breland traveling abroad make a point of always including at least a splash of Brelish blue in their clothes (unless traveling incognito).
When the Brelish dress up, they are as likely to wear more elaborate versions of their normal garb as to adopt styles from across Khorvaire; there have even been times when hobgoblin clothing has been in vogue in cosmopolitan Sharn. Jewelry is common, even among the lower classes, with copper wire being used for many everyday adornments. Anklets and particularly armbands are the most common, although any sort of jewelry can be found among the wealthy.
Cyran clothing is highly diverse in cut and style, but most garments have long, flowing elements—the people like clothing that will catch even a small breeze and ripple with the air currents. Short cloaks are common, as are wide sleeves. The most noticeable element of traditional Cyran dress is gloves. Cyrans favor short, sturdy gloves for work and fi ghting, and longer, beautifully tooled and decorated gloves for formal wear. Their hands are rarely exposed, and an ungloved handshake is a sign of special trust.
Formal occasions are not identified by a change in clothing, but by a sharp increase in jewelry, and often the addition of masks. Festivals and balls always incorporate an element of costuming. Cyrans simply adore jewelry, and they collect all manner of pieces as their fortunes allow. Loose hanging necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, particularly those that include small bells or brightly colored feathers, are preferred. The most spectacular of these adornments are their headdresses—elaborate pieces that run from the brow, over the head and shoulders and well down the wearer’s back.
Karrns favor plain, functional clothing, worn neat and immaculately clean. They generally wear dark colors. Since Karrnathi winters tend to be long and cold, thick cloaks are a common accompaniment to any outfit. While their clothing tends to be drab and unadorned, Karrns take great pride in their armor and weapons—which are some of the finest produced in all of Khorvaire. Armor is frequently worn on village and city streets, and it is always carefully polished and ornately decorated.
