Descriptions of women's clothing

[gunhilltrain]

I'm not up on women's clothing, so if I have to describe what a female character is wearing, I check to see what's online. Usually I don't mean advertisements, but occasionally that is enough.

Yes, it works for loungerie and underwear too.

 

[NotWise]

I'm not up on women's clothing, so if I have to describe what a female character is wearing, I check to see what's online. Usually I don't mean advertisements, but occasionally that is enough.

Yes, it works for loungerie and underwear too.

Lingerie?

I do the same, but I assume that if I don't know the word for some article of clothing, then neither will most men. I use the photos -- mostly in advertisements -- to get a picture in my head then describe it without terms I find uncommon.

And where do you draw the line between a corset and a bustier?

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm not great with women's clothing, I do okay with lingerie, but when it comes to dresses or outfits not as much. I look at my wife's wardrobe as an example, but for some reason I have blind spots with describing it.

I also know nothing about fancy designer stuff....except for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iM9Gav-G4c

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

Lingerie?

I do the same, but I assume that if I don't know the word for some article of clothing, then neither will most men. I use the photos -- mostly in advertisements -- to get a picture in my head then describe it without terms I find uncommon.

And where do you draw the line between a corset and a bustier?

The waist.

 

[Damoiselle]

The waist.

(Chef's kiss)

 

[NotWise]

The waist.

Ah, I see.

And the line between a bustier and a long-line bra?

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'm not great with women's clothing, I do okay with lingerie, but when it comes to dresses or outfits not as much. I look at my wife's wardrobe as an example, but for some reason I have blind spots with describing it.

I also know nothing about fancy designer stuff....except for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iM9Gav-G4c

Usually I can figure out the gist of it. If there is a male narrator, he may admit that he can't name everything and thus guess about it or describe it as best he can.

By the way, I checked several sources, and loungerie is the correct spelling, although I've seen the other version used too.

 

[NotWise]

Usually I can figure out the gist of it. If there is a male narrator, he may admit that he can't name everything and thus guess about it or describe it as best he can.

By the way, I checked several sources, and loungerie is the correct spelling, although I've seen the other version used too.

So, what does "loungerie" mean to you? When I google the word it refers me to "lingerie."

 

[KeithD]

I'm not up on women's clothing, so if I have to describe what a female character is wearing, I check to see what's online. Usually I don't mean advertisements, but occasionally that is enough.

Yes, it works for loungerie and underwear too.

You are writing for women readers, right? Other than references on the level of Victoria's Secrets, most branding of women's clothing would go right over most male readers' understanding. Anything technical that meant "looked like something red and lacy" or "red with spiked heels" would be "bogging down" description for most male readers too. So, women readers, right?

 

[TarnishedPenny]

And the line between a bustier and a long-line bra?

About $75.

 

[ElectricBlue]

By the way, I checked several sources, and loungerie is the correct spelling, although I've seen the other version used too.

Not so sure about that. It's been lingerie for the best part of the twentieth century (and possibly a fair chunk of the nineteenth). My quick first page search showed loungerie in the context of a shop somewhere in Spain, not much else.

 

[KeithD]

Not so sure about that. It's been lingerie for the best part of the twentieth century (and possibly a fair chunk of the nineteenth). My quick first page search showed loungerie in the context of a shop somewhere in Spain, not much else.

Nope, no such word as "loungerie" in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Maybe it's acceptable in UK style, but it's not in Collins either.

 

[gunhilltrain]

You are writing for women readers, right? Other than references on the level of Victoria's Secrets, most branding of women's clothing would go right over most male readers' understanding. Anything technical that meant "looked like something red and lacy" or "red with spiked heels" would be "bogging down" description for most male readers too. So, women readers, right?

I write for both genders. I'm pretty sure I've never mentioned the brand name of clothing at all. It does help to look at photos so I can describe the appearance of a blouse, skirt or, yes, underwear. I'm looking for colors, designs on a garment, how long or short a skirt is, that kind of thing.

I did make up something once. A woman had underpants with the design of Mondrian's painting Broadway Boogie-Woogie on them. She says she bought them on Bleecker Street in New York. Sounds plausible enough.

 

[KeithD]

Sounds like full steam ahead.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Not so sure about that. It's been lingerie for the best part of the twentieth century (and possibly a fair chunk of the nineteenth). My quick first page search showed loungerie in the context of a shop somewhere in Spain, not much else.

Now I'm not sure. Lingerie seems to be the most common spelling in English, but the other spelling shows up in places. English versus French, maybe? I have no idea.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

Ah, I see.

And the line between a bustier and a long-line bra?

One's lingerie and the other's underwear. Or, as TP says, about $75. More specifically, a bustier is geared more towards cinching in and pushing up (though not to the extent of a corset, whereas a long-line bra is geared more toward functional support and avoiding chest band discomfort.

 

[Jada59]

Not so sure about that. It's been lingerie for the best part of the twentieth century (and possibly a fair chunk of the nineteenth). My quick first page search showed loungerie in the context of a shop somewhere in Spain, not much else.

There is lounge wear. That's something different.

 

[Brutal_One]

Yes I typically use a google image and then can describe the clothing. It doesn’t have to be lingerie. There is a lot of stylish ladies clothes that can be simple to describe and can give the reader a good idea and can add to the erotic nature of the writing. Brutal One.

 

[davion2308]

Except for Bondage...

I think you can glance over the description of what someone is wearing for the most part, unless you're involved in some serious knot-tying or bondage situation. The story there seems be heavily into the descriptions.

I skip the heavy description of clothes (and I've been criticized by comments on it) but I like to give a basic color scheme and a basic "what they have on."

As was pointed out, getting detailed just makes me think I'm reading "American Psycho" where the details and fashions are pain-stakingly (ha!) written and there's a point to it. Reading for more than 30 seconds about character clothing starts to lose me.

I keep it light and it works for me. I don't know the real words for those fancy clothes anyway. Luckily, I'm mostly Exhib/Voy and I don't deal with clothes that much.

 

[Emirus]

Lingerie is originally a French word coming from ‘linge’ which is the French for linen. There is a Brazilian company called ‘Loungerie’ which manufacturers lingerie and presumably couldn’t market it under that name so they altered it slightly.

Having seen a lot of lingerie in my lifetime, I imagine the character I’m writing about and choose lingerie to suit her. White and ebony ladies don’t necessarily look their best in the same coloured bra. I don’t see any need to mention brand names. All that’s required is to describe the material, design and colour and, if appropriate, whether it’s suitable for purpose.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've never, ever seen the word "loungerie." I see it as "lingerie" everywhere.

It's a good question. I've looked for online sources to describe women's clothing, and I usually turn to online women's clothing retailers so I can match the names to the images. Some of them have lingerie glossaries that are helpful. There's a Wikipedia page for lingerie that lists types, too.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I will occasionally give quick description of clothing when I think it helps with exposition of the character or the situation ("She stood out from the crowd in her bright yellow sundress"), or to describe the impression it makes on another character, ("She noticed that the sleeves of his denim work shirt were frayed"), but if it has no specific purpose, I don't see the point. Readers will picture what they want anyway.

I think lingerie is a special case, thought. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think a lot of male readers have very particular tastes in lingerie and appreciate more detailed description.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Sounds like full steam ahead.

Oh yes, it definitely was.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think lingerie is a special case, thought. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think a lot of male readers have very particular tastes in lingerie and appreciate more detailed description.

The amount of detail that is desirable to describe clothing depends on the nature of the story, just the same as the detail needed to describe anything.

Detail sometimes can be a good thing to give a story a fetishistic quality. Or it can be a good thing if it helps to describe the way that a particular character interacts with another in a scene. For instance, detail might be helpful to describe the narrator's first-time experience with a particular type of lingerie.

I'm one of those unusual men who actually enjoys shopping in the lingerie section of a store. I think lingerie is kind of fascinating -- all the different styles and fabrics. So, for me, I definitely could appreciate an author going into detail to describe a type of lingerie that a woman character was wearing.

 

[oggbashan]

Often anon complais I describe clothing too much...

But those are for Fetish stories.