Writing About Clothes (Breaking Clichés and Wearing Corsets)

You may have heard a little bit about it here and there, but one of my favorite non-writing hobbies is sewing. I’ve been sewing for a few years and have been making historical costumes for about a year now. I’ve been wanting to find some way to incorporate sewing into writing for a long time, and the day has finally arrived! Today, we’re going to talk about costumes and clothes, clichés and characters, and how all of this fabric insanity can be applied to writing. 

How Can Clothing Affect a Story?

This is more applicable to movies rather than books, but clothes have a very important place in fiction. I mean, we all wear clothing of some sort. But on top of simply making a story realistic, clothing can tell stories on it’s own. 

Colors can be a subtle way to show the emotions of a story. A great example of this is in Gone With the Wind. Every time Scarlett is jealous, she wears a costume that includes the color green. Now think back to Disney movies like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. What do all of the evil people wear? That’s right, green. And, in Hamilton, during the second act where we start to see Hamilton become less of a good guy, guess what color he wears? Green! This happens for other colors too, and it can add some really fun aspects into a story. 

Costumes can also show a change of time. There are tons of examples of this, but Hamilton is one of my favorites. In the beginning of the show, before all of the heartbreak and tears of the second act, Eliza and the Schuylar sisters are wearing pretty iconic 1700’s costumes. Big skirts, false rumps, lots of gorgeous shiny fabric. In the second act, Eliza wears a dress with a completely different silhouette. Instead of big skirts and fitting bodices, she wears a dress with an empire waistline and simple colors. 

This costume change helps to show that time is passing and we are now in the early 1800’s rather than the Revolutionary War. And, in a way, it shows that the characters are starting to tackle different problems and conflicts. 

Cliché Breaking #1: Corsets 

*dramatic music* 

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the protagonist doesn’t complain about corsets. On one hand, this just annoys me, but on the other hand it means that there is a lot of room for cliche breaking…let the non-evil evil plotting commence! 

From what I’ve found on the internet and in real life experience, corsets and stays were not worn to make someone’s waist smaller. Instead, corsets and other undergarments helped with support and helped achieve the desired silhouette of the time period. For example, in the 18th century, two main undergarments were the stays and bum roll. The stays created a very conical shape and the bum roll helped give the skirts floofiness. 

I’ve made 18th century and regency short stays. (Technically these are stays, which are not corsets. Stays are the earlier version of a corset, but they function in pretty much the same way) And honestly, stays/corsets aren’t uncomfortable. Mine felt like a snug, stiff shirt. Kind of like a hug. My regency stays are a bit different because they are short stays, so they actually don’t reach down all the way to my waist. Those are even more comfortable because there is less boning and fabric. 

I can see how stays and corsets would be uncomfortable. The most amount of time I wore mine was probably only 2 hours and I was in an air conditioned house. I wouldn’t want to be outside in hot weather in them. But I can confirm that I was able to breathe and was generally comfortable while wearing them. 

(I’m going to get into this later, but corsets can save your character’s life too!) 

Cliché Breaking #2 Sewing Is Boring 

Another thing I never see characters do is enjoy sewing. Yes, there are some instances where sewing can be boring. Like sewing millions of boning channels for stays or ripping out seams. But there are plenty of times when it can be exciting, like when you attack fabric with a rotary cutter or when you utilize a dress form to rule April Fools Day. 

My favorite part of sewing is the pretty stuff. There’s something very satisfying about taking time to make something pretty and then prancing around in that and showing your work off. Even though sewing can be frustrating and tedious, the end product is something that you’ve made yourself. It’s a very gratifying hobby. 

Sewing is also a life skill. It enables someone to make, fix, or alter clothes to make them fit you perfectly. And it helps save you money when you can easily repair a ripped seam or loose button rather than getting rid of that entire garment and having to buy a new one. 

In history, unless you were extremely wealthy, one of the only ways to make and repair clothes was to sew. Even if someone didn’t enjoy it, they had to do it. Kind of like cleaning. There are people who like to clean, and people who don’t. But regardless, we all have to clean up eventually. 

I would love to see characters who enjoy sewing and similar hobbies. I seriously can’t think of one right now who enjoys it. 

Cliché Breaking #3 You Can’t Fight in A Dress

One very fun thing about clothes and costumes (especially historical clothing) is that it can help your character defend herself if she has to randomly fight dragons or other enemies. But oh no! She’s wearing a dress that makes it so much harder to fight in! 

Or is it? 

Corsets and stays can provide an invisible layer of armor. Corsets were made using whalebone or steel bones, which makes it very hard for a knife or sword to penetrate your character. Bum rolls and bustles could add padding for rough falls. And 18th century petticoats have very large slits made for large and in charge pockets. So large, in fact, that it wouldn’t be too hard to hide a sword for aforementioned spontaneous dragons. 

On top of all of this (and on top of a lady’s head) were very big hats. Let’s take a moment to appreciate some of the gorgeous and humongous hats *chefs kiss* Now, how do those stay on someone’s head? 

May I present hat pins (otherwise known as tiny and very menacing swords) Your character can have a giant hat AND armour herself with these tiny stabbers. 

So, dear readers, let’s shatter these cliches! What are some of your least favorite and favorite tropes/cliches? Thanks for reading, have a great rest of your day!

-Hannah

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