Clothing

Bertrem's Note

"Fashion is the history of the world writ upon the backs of its people," as one scribe has rather dramatically proclaimed. Certainly when I look about the streets of my native Palanthas, even in this dark time when travel has declined and the city is no longer the bustling center of trade it was fifty or sixty years previous, I can still marvel at the tremendous diversity of clothing styles to be seen in the streets or for sale in the marketplace.

Fashion often reflects not merely the geography of a land but also its moral and political character, as well as its economic well being. Thus we see that in our age, the Age of Mortals, clothing has altered to fit the needs of the day, when the overlords have altered much of the land, and outlaws have cut many of the traditional trade routes, restricting dyes and cloths to certain areas of the continent.

Even in these dark times, I have been astonished at how brightly many folk dress. Perhaps it is an attempt to banish the fear that fills many lives, to remind them of happier times before the coming of the great dragons. Whatever the case, it makes the streets of Palanthas and other cities carnivals of color in which bright silks and gauzes float upon the wind, leaving tantalizing traces of perfume in their wake.