Low Society - Hoodless Cloak - gender-neutral
In the beginning, when the first cities of Mereldia, Nordberg and Monabur, were founded, the people did not know about clothing. But the two respective harsh climates - the freezing cold of the North Lands and the burning heat in the Korunian desert - quickly drove the people to become inventive. They developed clothes they could wear as protection. At first just simple cloaks and later more detailed works.
With several centuries passing by, the people have grown so used to clothing, that it has become culturally embedded. Running around without a piece of clothing is now seen as uncivilised and even rude!
An exception to this is avian creatures such as gryphons and owls. A piece of clothing would hinder them in flight, so they ever since have refused to wear clothes. Only for them, it is socially acceptable to not be clothed.
Clothing Ethics
There are many different varieties of clothes, but they all have in common that they cover a specific part of the body. The hindquarters and most especially the parts between the legs may under no circumstances be seen! If they are visible anyway or the piece of clothing is too short to cover them fully, the clothing is seen as lingerie. The red parts on the images above show which part under all circumstances has to be covered. The fabric may also not be see-through since that also would count to lingerie. Gryphons, owls and sometimes even pegasi and perythons are an exception to that rule since clothes would hinder them in flight. They still can wear clothes, but they socially do not have to.
Throughout Mereldia, there are different clothing styles depending on where you are. The following shows which clothing is econic for each part of the world of Mereldia.
Clothing Styles
Koruna
The clothing in Koruna was originally made to protect the wearers from the heat. Therefore, most, but not all, pieces of Korunian clothing have a hood or veil on them, that makes it possible to also cover one's head.
The High Society prefers clothing with detailed stitches and a lot of gold. Even cloaks are adorned with patterns and golden accessories.
For females, it is common to wear necklaces, earrings and/or headpieces in addition to their detailed clothes. The more they can show their wealth, the better!
Also males like to show their wealth with expensive looking clothing and accessories. The clothes differentiate from the female clothes only by the cut. There also are no dresses for males and they would never wear a veil or headpiece jewellery.
Middle Class and High Society - veiling - female clothing
High Society - Cloak - female clothing
Middle Class - Dress - female clothing
Examples of clothing articles of the high society are given down below. Some females even hide their face as a sign of their lower standing. Veiling is very common but also for reasons of hiding and not being recognised. (examples for male clothing will eventually follow)
Middle Class - Cloak - gender-neutral
Middle Class - Regular Everyday Wear - male clothing
When it comes to the Middle Class, the clothing becomes minimally more simple. Details in the pieces of clothing are still common, but also plain clothes are widely spread. Especially cloaks and everyday wear for males is rather plain. Females mostly wear dresses, but also cloaks and veiling are common.
As the examples below show, cloaks and everyday wear are usually secured by a belt in the middle section and by buttons on the front. Most cloaks are sleeveless, but some, as shown below, also have sleeves, which makes it less likely for them to fall off. Most of the time, normal everyday wear is worn under the cloak. The cloak itself therefore simply is a mean of further protection or for hiding. Cloaks are rarely worn over dresses, so females usually wear a female version of everyday wear (example will follow) or some sort of undergarment below a cloak.
In the lower classes of society, clothing is a precious good. The poor and mostly also criminals are lucky when they can even get a cheap cloak. While most are clothed, it's also common to see them run around without a piece of clothing on them. This is also a reason why they are widely looked down upon.
Another facade of the lower classes is the Slave Class. Slaves are treated the same as animals and therefore clothing is nothing for them. What animals do wear though are bridles, collars and similar stuff like that, which signal the ownership of them. Since slaves, while being sentient creatures, are seen as low as animals, they also wear such things.
Eriwon
The clothing of Eriwon is quite unique and very recognisable due to their bright colours and detailed patterns. The most common piece of clothing is the kimono. It is a sort of hoodless cloak with sleeves, that is held together in the middle by a band of fabric, which usually is a different colour and the kimono itself. Kimonos come in many different varieties and price classes, making this article of clothing available to every society class, even the low society. The more detailed and the more colourful your kimono is, the wealthier you are.
Also dresses and cloaks are often worn, but they are not as common as kimonos are. Dresses, in particular, are usually only worn by nobility or wealthy ladies, making them kind of a luxury good. This is due to the excessive detail that usually goes into those dresses. Cloaks, on the other hand, are often worn instead of a kimono since they usually offer more protection than the fabric of kimonos, which usually rips more easily than those cloaks are made of.
Offscourings - Bridle - sign of slavery - gender neutral
High Society - Dress - female clothing
Middle Class - Kimono - gender-neutral (male here)
Eriwon is the country that invented the slavery of sentient beings that would otherwise be considered as people. While Koruna already had the Raccardis, Eriwon took theslave markets to a whole new level. Due to its land being much more fertile than the Korunian desert, much more small villages could form in basically the whole country. But not everyone had luck, finding their land not be fertile enough to earn their living. When moving to the big cities of Eriwon, those families stayed in poverty, having too many mouths to feed than they could afford to. This lead the slave market to grow big, since families would sell their children there. Apart from poverty, there also was the problem of half demons, due to many females being raped when encountering those beasts. Those also are given to the slave market most of the time.
The slaves of Eriwon are branded with the emblem of Eriwon and "bridled"/"collared" for the market. It is way more common than in Koruna to see those kinds of slaves. While they also wear bridles or collars, those are usually less gem-embedded and expensive, such as those one might see in Koruna. Owning a slave in Eriwon is the same as owning livestock and the owners usually don't care much for them. Slaves therefore often show obvious signs of abuse.
For those that can use magic, which usually are demon-hybrids, anti-magic-collars have been invente. Those block the slave's magic and cannot be taken off by them.
Offscourings - Bridle and Brand - sign of slavery - gender neutral