Describing Clothing

[OmnislashXX]

It can be difficult to think about clothes when you need to specifically describe them. Luckily, the internet has a wide variety of pictures that allow for visual references. It may sound kind of odd, but hitting up clothing sites to this is pretty helpful for writing things down.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Never a problem for me. All of the descriptive stuff in my writing comes from something I've seen, either today or decades ago. I just describe the memory of it from in my head. I rarely need a visual reference when I'm writing, 'specially not sex scenes....

 

[PennLady]

I solve this -- because I am not good at it -- but rarely ever describing clothes except in a pretty general sense. Or maybe I'll get specific about one thing, like a snug shirt emphasizing curves, but that's about it.

Going to clothing or fashion sites would be a good idea though.

 

[EverLux]

It can be difficult to think about clothes when you need to specifically describe them. Luckily, the internet has a wide variety of pictures that allow for visual references. It may sound kind of odd, but hitting up clothing sites to this is pretty helpful for writing things down.

I've taken to doing this, too. If I have something in mind that I want a character to wear, like a white sundress, I'll google that and look for one that would fit her personality.

Including clothing descriptions can backfire on you, though, if the reader doesn't like the outfit you chose. I always think of how distracting Charlaine Harris's wardrobe for Sookie Stackhouse was. Scrunchies? Really?

 

[HandsInTheDark]

I rarely if ever address clothing. It's odd because I tend to be a visual writer. But when I look at women in the real world I tend not to notice clothing either, so...

 

[GoldenCojones]

It can be difficult to think about clothes when you need to specifically describe them. Luckily, the internet has a wide variety of pictures that allow for visual references. It may sound kind of odd, but hitting up clothing sites to this is pretty helpful for writing things down.

That's funny because I do the same thing. I do it for faces as well. I find pictures of people that have specific characteristics that I'm looking for so that I can study those characteristics to help me describe them. I don't use the entire face, just the specific trait and combine traits to fit my mental image.

But then I want to paint a scene when I write it. Other writers want to leave more to the readers imagination. I think both tactics work. It's just what you want.

 

[EverLux]

That's funny because I do the same thing. I do it for faces as well. I find pictures of people that have specific characteristics that I'm looking for so that I can study those characteristics to help me describe them. I don't use the entire face, just the specific trait and combine traits to fit my mental image.

I've done this for a couple characters. There's a story I started (and will eventually finish, I'm sure) where the lead male is mixed race. I needed him to be incredibly pretty, but I couldn't picture him properly. So I found this guy. Yum

 

[NotWise]

I've done this for a couple characters. There's a story I started (and will eventually finish, I'm sure) where the lead male is mixed race. I needed him to be incredibly pretty, but I couldn't picture him properly.

I don't think I've ever described a character's face in that much detail. I like to make a framework and let the reader fill it in the way they like.

I have used the internet looking for specific clothing, not so much because I needed help envisioning the outfit, but because I needed the vocabulary to describe something I'd already envisioned. It was a cap-sleeved sun dress with big red polka dots on white, full enough to swirl around he knees when she walked.

 

[Handley_Page]

I've done this for a couple characters. There's a story I started (and will eventually finish, I'm sure) where the lead male is mixed race. I needed him to be incredibly pretty, but I couldn't picture him properly. So I found this guy. Yum

I'm very glad I do not have this guy as a model for my description.
I'm of an age where being decently turned out was almost a given, so this bloke
looks more to me like he's about to go paint a wall or something.

Unshaven ( neither one thing or another, and apparently expecting cold weather, judging by the hat.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

Being a male and needing to describe women's clothing in stories I never get it right. I mostly just write "she's wearing something very revealing." Or "her tits may slip out of that blouse." Hell I usually can't even spell bustier or know one from a corsett.

 

[Handley_Page]

Being a male and needing to describe women's clothing in stories I never get it right. I mostly just write "she's wearing something very revealing." Or "her tits may slip out of that blouse." Hell I usually can't even spell bustier or know one from a corsett.

Good point, that.
What IS the difference ?

 

[EverLux]

I'm very glad I do not have this guy as a model for my description.
I'm of an age where being decently turned out was almost a given, so this bloke
looks more to me like he's about to go paint a wall or something.

Unshaven ( neither one thing or another, and apparently expecting cold weather, judging by the hat.

Ha! That's fantastic

Looking at the pic again, he would almost look like he's about to pull his ski mask down and go rob a bank... if not for the gold chain.

But those eye, though! And the lips. Describing him was a joy

 

[EverLux]

Good point, that.
What IS the difference ?

Structurally, they're just about the same thing. Functionally, they're different.

Easy way to remember:

corset = cinch
boustier = boost

 

[Handley_Page]

Structurally, they're just about the same thing. Functionally, they're different.

Easy way to remember:

corset = cinch
boustier = boost

That's it!
I'm outa here.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

Denny

Structurally, they're just about the same thing. Functionally, they're different.

Easy way to remember:

corset = cinch
boustier = boost

Now I started something! The last time I remember my wife wearing either was at a Medievel Faire trying on what I'd call a bustier. To me it looked just like the corset she wore when winning a "nighty" contest in New Orleans. Both sort of pushed her tits up and squeezed her middle in.

http://i.imgur.com/98nS7Vl.jpg

 

[sr71plt]

Clothing generally comes into my stories to help illuminate a character and thus involve something unusual. Mostly I have to deal with the issue in period pieces, where clothing helps establish the period. And for this, I generally have to go the Internet for help. I try only to include clothing when it directly serves the plot, setting or character. Too many authors I read seem to include it to pad out wording.

 

[EverLux]

[scary picture]

That neither cinches nor boosts. It's just kind of... there.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

That neither cinches nor boosts. It's just kind of... there.

Denny------------ Whether here or there she won $500 for wearing it.

Sort of.
http://i.imgur.com/U0nToMP.jpg

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

Hi! I am very new here, have only submitted one story so far but I have so many more that I am planning on submitting.

Anyway I am a very visual person and it helps me to look at something, focus on something, while I write.
I write mostly for me and my best friend so I will make a pinterest board for a story and have pictures of what certain outfits look like, what a certain place looks like, foods they eat. You don't need to look at the visuals for the story to work, but it can help when you are trying to picture something in your mind and having trouble. Really helps for my friend because I am an American and she is Dutch so some things she has never encountered. Like just last weekend I discovered she had no idea what a tater tot was!
So visuals help sometimes.

 

[jehoram]

I never could figure that out, which is why all my characters are nudists.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

It's a good tip. I'll sometimes head to clothing sites so I can call something by its name rather than try to describe it. Otherwise, I just go with generic terms like pants, panties, underwear, bra. . . If the story doesn't require a description of their clothes, I don't bog down the reader with unnecessary details.

 

[IvyMarquis]

I tend to be very vague and/or just leave it alone unless relevant to the story (Ellie's work uniform, for example. I don't remember the exact wording, but just a standard 50's throwback diner uniform). Personally I just skip over clothing descriptions that get long/ornate, because I could give a fuck. Obviously I'm not the end all be all to anything and to each their own. I personally don't care. Others care a lot. That's fine.

However, if you want to describe clothing, there's tons of fashion guides that can point you to the correct terminology. Rather that describing exactly the cut on a dress, it can be neatly wrapped up with "the green dress' sweetheart neckline flattered [...]"