Fashion Has Rules, You Know

I can't even …

… follow the rules all the time

by Sara "Zarine" Jessop

            Recently I have been approached by plebs a plenty asking me a plethora of questions. And not queries of the normal variety. Usually I get questions like, “Which cream should I use for this rash” or, “how much for that blonde in the window?”. However, lately I have been getting wonderfully refreshing questions like this one: “How do you reconcile the fact that white shouldn't be worn after Folkestone questing with A: white appearing in the heraldry of multiple nations, and B: the traditional colors to wear at the black and white masquerade being, as expected, black, and white?”

            Well, you see dear reader, fashion is a fickle thing. It's full of all sorts of rules and some of them can be quite conflicting. Sometimes what's fashionable one season might be to completely ignore the rules and be a rebel. Of course, conforming to nonconformity has it's dangers. If one of your friends suddenly acquires a taste for flannel, puts his hair in a man-bun and starts acting like Drike, seek a medical professional immediately! They are clearly coming down with what we in the medical field call “being a hipster”, which is a quick moving disease that will completely kill off all of your hopes and dreams of being fabulous. There is a cure, but it's quite complicated, and... oh dear, I have gotten completely off topic.

            Even in fashion rules are meant to be broken and it's important to know when and where it's acceptable to break them. Unfortunately there are very few guidelines on such things. Rebellion has no defined rules and as such is very treacherous terrain to traverse, but I will do my best to dredge up some common sense answers to the aforementioned question. I will even give some unasked for advice as well, because I'm so giving!

            Patriotic colors are always fashionable regardless of season. Many nations of the Realms use white as part of their heraldry. So of course you can't just put away your flags and tabards after Folkestone Questing, that's just plain ridiculous. However, just because there is white on your nation's tabard doesn't mean that you need to wear white pants with it. White, like black, goes with any color, which likely explains why both colors get used so often in heraldry. No one's flag is just a plain field of white, else they would be surrendering every time they took the field. So chose a different heraldic color to represent in the clothes you'll be covering up with your tabard.

            Any individual social event can call for the breaking of any number of fashion rules by it's very nature. The Black and White Masquerade, for example, happens after FSQ and calls for costumes of... wait for it... black and white. Therefore, wearing white is not only acceptable, it's required. Wearing colors other than black and white or appearing unmasked are the only obvious rule breakers. Of course other rules could still be broken, like not matching your shoes to your handbag. On the other hand, perhaps somewhere there is a party where the whole point is to have completely clashing purse/handbag combinations! Or maybe there is a gathering of socialites having a socks with sandals convention, though I wouldn't recommend attending such a ridiculous debacle. Some rules exist for the safety and security of our dignity and should not be messed with.

            White should never be worn at a wedding by anyone but the bride regardless of season. Dear reader, even an unmarried single lady like myself understands the sanctity of the brides special day and her desire to be the center of attention. And as much as I love to be the center of attention, weddings are one of those times when even I stand aside for someone else. Likewise, white shouldn't be worn to funerals either. Once again, you aren't the center of attention, the deceased is. Everyone should be staring at the cold, dead, bloated corpse, not your tacky arse.

            Gentleman's dress shirts and women's chemises are always an exception to the white rule as well, provided something is being worn over is, like a doublet or vest for a man, or a corset or dress for the ladies. Of course, winter white is always a better option in the winter months, but a nice crisp pristine white works as well. 

            Remember that these rules are for social events and gatherings. Wars, rescuing villagers, raiding weaklings and such have different rules where fashion is concerned. I hope, dear reader and concerned citizen of the Realms, that these words have cleared up some of the confusion surrounding my previous advice. Some rules are meant to be broken. How else would fashion ever evolve if it weren't for the few brave souls who successfully challenge and change the status quo? People of great importance who innovatively move the world forward? Just remember, most of you aren't actually that important.

Zarine is the proprietor and Madam of Alchimia Lupanar, a magic marshal approved practitioner of medicine, and has 35 years of experience in giving her unsolicited opinion. 

            

An Atypical View: Season Two: #41

Live Action Reaction Players

 From the Editors Desk

Alex "Lucas" Newbold

Realms isn't Live Action Role Playing, it is Live Action, Reaction Participating.  Now before you go and correct my grammar and bicker over my choice in words, hear me out.  Or rather, read on...

The Realms, is unlike most Larps.  Some say it is because we are more Fighting System based than anything else, which I believe we are not.  We are a streamlined combat and spell system, designed to not upset the flow of combat and a scene.  Very little math is involved (armor 2), thrown spell attacks are the same predictable thing, with the same predictable game mechanic call to it.

What You Missed - Black and White 2016 (photos)

[Editor's  Note: all photos by View Staff]

The glorious spread

Doing some shopping

A chance meeting upon the road

Questing

Blue makes his annual appearance

Fighting the Risen Kingdom

Victory...for now

Death imprisoned

A mystery of sorts

Shandar picks up Blue...

More food!

Their Majesties begin court 

Order of the Peacock business...and fancy garb!

Oliver and Cimone are made Prince and Princess of Chimeron 

Why You Should Go,

I'd like to take a moment, to tell you about an event that I'd like to go to.  For a charity, that deep down inside I wish did not need to exist in this world.

We play at being heroes, we work with our friends, and we pretend to save the world.  We live in a world, where there are few selfless heroes, and the world never gets saved by dinner time on Sunday. Those troubles we faced on Sunday, are still there on Monday.


But not this weekend, this Saturday night, we get to be real heroes and we get to make a difference in our world.  We get to work together, as friends, as a community, to raise money for a charity, that helps those in need.  This is a moment, a moment when we can truly be the heroes of legend.

In the name of our friend, Bud, we can gather together to fight the good fight.  One more time, in his name.

Card games, hot food, an auction and all for a good cause.

What more need be said?

This community has a long tradition of coming together in times of need. I hope you can be there Saturday.


Logistics.

Please contact David Hayden if you have auction items to add.
Please contact Lani Grayson if you have food items to bring.

https://www.facebook.com/events/307927502909856/

I Can't Even, the Same Outfit

I can't even...

by Sara "Zarine" Jessop

… wear the same outfit twice

This past weekend I attended the annual Feast of Blackwood and I was surprised to see that people had put forth some effort to look presentable. There was some white, which I explicitly said should not be worn after Folkstone Questing, but I suppose that an exception should be made for gentleman's dress shirts and lady's chemises. There were fancy hats, pouffy sleeves, and furs aplenty. But amongst all of this I noticed a problem emerging: people are wearing the same fabulous outfits to multiple occasions, reducing their fabulosity and upping their tacky uncouthness.

“But Zarine,” you're saying, “you wear the same clothes sometimes.” I can see where people may think such a horrid thought, but I can assure you that I certainly do not wear the exact same outfit every weekend. Now, dear reader, I am not speaking of combat or adventuring clothes. No one expects you to own multiple sets of expensive and effective armor, nor to dirty your best clothing rescuing villagers over and over again. I am speaking only of fancy gatherings: Feasts, balls, weddings, charity events, and or course visiting Alchimia Lupanar.

Prepare yourselves, Plebs, because am about to educate you on the art of creating a large wardrobe out of a small one! You can easily own only a small assortment of clothing and mix and match them to create brand new outfits on regular basis. It's called a capsule wardrobe, and it's absolutely wonderful! I often wear the same articles in different combinations. Now, to the untrained eye it may appear that I am wearing the same outfit, but to anyone who truly knows fashion, it's apparent that it's an entirely different ensemble. I asked my BFF Soft his opinion on wearing the same outfit multiple times and he had this to say: “Many basic components of an outfit can be reused, shirts, pants, and the such, the real trick is in accessorizing such that each outfit appears to be new! He's really working his way back to my good side lately!

Just follow these easy steps and you can become a fashion icon like Soft and I!

Purchase clothing in similar colors. It's awfully hard to mix and match clothing when you own a plethora of clashing colors. Pick a color palette and stick with it. The colors should reflect something about you, like your nations colors, as well as being flattering to your skin tone. Neutrals work best of course. I myself chose red and black with some purple and gold thrown into the mix via accessories. Sometimes this may make people believe that you wear the same thing all of the time, since many of your clothes will look similar to the untrained eye. So make sure that you throw some other colors in now and then to show them how wrong they are. Perhaps purchase a few items in stunningly different yet complimentary colors to your base palette.

Think long term. You'll be wearing these clothes over multiple seasons and events, so make sure that you chose classic garments that won't go out of style. You can then cycle in a few new items each season to add some variety and modernize your look.

Quality over quantity. These clothes will be worn quite often, so make sure they are well made. Having to replace items quickly due to poor quality defeats the purpose of a small wardrobe. The Realms is full of amazing clothiers selling high quality goods, so there is really no excuse for cheaply made garbage... er, garments from overseas made by sweaty children.

Own a variety of tops and bottoms. This way you can create lots of outfits! The more tops and bottoms you own the more combinations are available through the power of math! Now, I don't actually know anything about math, but I do know that if you have one top and two bottoms then you only have two outfits. If you have three tops and five bottoms, then you can make more than two outfits! And more is better! Math!

Organize your armoire. The key to a good capsule wardrobe is being able to easily diversify your outfit. With the exception of Weird Uncle, no one wants to spend their evening planning out the next day's outfit with diagrams and spreadsheets. If your closet is well organized, you can easily choose a top, bottom, accessories, and footwear that all go well together quite quickly.

Accessorize! It's simply amazing how much you can change your entire look just by wearing a different hat! Hats, jewels, belts, shoes... all of these can really add to your overall look and help to make similar outfits looks totally different.

You see, dear reader, it's really quite simple. Now, inevitably you will eventually repeat an outfit. As long as a significant amount of time has passed no one should even notice.  And if they do notice and are rude enough to point it out in public, simply roll your eyes, point your nose up in the air and walk away haughtily like you have more important people to talk to, because you do.

  Zarine is the proprietor and Madam of Alchimia Lupanar, a magic marshal approved practitioner of medicine, and has 35 years of experience in giving her unsolicited opinion. 

An Atypical View: Season Two: #40