![]() ![]() The Victorian author Charles Dickens is widely regarded as a master of characterization, for good reason. What backstory or character motivations could combinations of appearance and reality suggest?ģ: Describe clothing to contrast characters’ personalitiesĪ few small details of clothing may distinguish your characters from each other, highlighting their personalities. Think of other interesting combinations: A teacher who dresses provocatively a beggar with an innate sense of style. Urbino in Marquez’s example above fits the latter category. These detail could suggest that your character is miserly or down-to-earth despite their wealth. What would you think about a wealthy character who looked as though he shopped at thrift stores? Or one who was forever wearing poorly-fitted clothing that appeared to be handed down from friends? But they could also dress in modest, inexpensive-looking clothes. However, you can tell your reader interesting things through a mismatch:Ī wealthy character might show off their expensive clothing. You can immediately show a character is wealthy with descriptions of fine clothing. You may have imagined a man in an expensive suit or a woman in designer clothes. Tweet Thisįor example, think about a wealthy person and how that person might dress. You can also fulfil (or contradict) impressions your characters (or readers) form based on appearances. You can quickly convey a number of things about your characters based on the clothing they wear. You can weave clothing description into your process when using our story planner for writers.Ģ: Build (or thwart) expectations using clothing descriptions Like Marquez, compare and contrast character’s clothes to reveal important details about their social status or position. Thus his plain dress is, ironically, indicative of higher status. Urbino’s status as a respected doctor is earned – he has nothing to prove by dressing smarter. What the description shows is that many of the invitees play at status through fancy dress. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), p. Urbino among them, wore their ordinary clothes. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), we learn of a doctor’s status through his being the only person at an event who is not smartly dressed:Īlthough it was not customary for invitations to request special attire, least of all for a luncheon in the country, the women wore evening gowns and precious jewels and most of the men were dressed in dinner jackets with black ties, and some even wore frock coats. As soon as the actor enters stage right or left, we have an inkling of whether they’re a wealthy landowner or peasant, an elegant heiress or humble flower-seller. Think of your characters’ clothing like an actor’s costume in a play.Ĭostume is a large part of a character. Let’s delve further into these ideas about describing characters’ dress: 1: Use clothing to show status and position Use clothing details to create authentic setting.Change clothing to highlight character development.Show clothing to avoid over-relying on telling.Describe clothing to contrast character personalities.Build (or thwart) expectations using clothing descriptions.Use clothing to show status and position.They can tell us what era they live in, and even a person’s current state of mind or intent. Understanding how to describe clothing in a story well will help you create fuller, richer character portraits. The clothes a person wears tells us many things: their status in life, for example, or their cultural affiliation or identity. ![]()
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