Tag: Clothing

Updated on April 7, 2022

Many years ago (in 2000) I was writing a story that took place in a magical analog of China.  In an effort to incorporate Chinese culture I did a boatload of research, but you know what I couldn’t find?  Clothing.  Sure, everyone mentioned dragon robes, but that was it.  And I was pretty sure that the common folk weren’t wearing those.  Searching “traditional Chinese women’s clothing” over lunch brought up all sorts of pictures of naked white women.  While I was at work.  Fun times.  I ended up having a university friend borrow a book I couldn’t get access to.  It was fantastic, but this was a really slow process.

The internet has evolved a bit since then, though I’m sure there’s lots I’m missing in historical and world textiles. Most notably, I don’t have a lot of good resources on traditional clothing from the Middle-East or the many countries and cultures of Africa (which people online seem to think is one country, rather than a continent with many distinct countries and cultures).  As I hunt down some of these missing pieces, I’ll add them in.

Continue reading Clothing Resources