Costume Inspiration for Elves

MithLuin

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Yay, we can post in this forum now!

I wanted to start this thread as a catch-all for any sort of costumes that catch your interest in *ANY* way that could serve as inspiration for some of the elvish cultures we're developing this season. People can start threads for specific cultures or characters; this is vague generic stuff.

I give you....Georgian ballet! What I admire about these is that you can obviously move easily in them, and I like some of the color schemes and how the different styles are distinct, yet go together. I think the most 'elvish' ones are the ones from the fight scenes, but mostly just for the muted colors and people in tunics with swords :p



And this is the kimono fashion show from New York Fashion Week, which has lots of lovely pale earthy-ish color combinations.

And some close-ups of some of those fabrics:
 
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I just wanted to throw in some info on Elf-Clothing I had collected from Tolkien#s wordlists so far, it was fleshed out by myself for roleplaying purposes, so nobody needs to feel bound to it in any way, but maybe it can be inspiring...

Bacha (gol. Jacket, Coat) refered to a type of elvish Jacket or coat.A typical Bacha had long, tight sleeves, broad shoulders and was of mediocre length (shorter than to the knees).

Baith (gol./N.clothes, garments, dress) was an elvish word for Garment, in contrast to Baithri, which would refer to wrapped sorts of clothing in general, Baith would often especially refer to a kind of wide and long dress with puffy sleeves worn by females.

The Brach (gol.shawl, plaid, wrap) was a great rectangular cloth worn by the elves as a shawl, plaid or wrap.

Braith or Braitha (gol./N. wrap) refered to a piece of elvish clothing, usually a long, wide sleeveless shawl, wrap or plaid.

The Carab (s.Hat) was a high, conical and pointed type of hat worn by the Sindar.

Coll or Colla (S. Q. vestment, cloak, mantle) was a type of elvish clothing, it was a wide cloak or mantle worn as a vestment of religious or liturgical occasions, much similar to a Cassock or soutane.

The Esgal (S.veil, screen, hiding; cast shadow; roof of leaves) was a strange sort of headdress worn by some Umanyar Elves, it was a sort of Screen, or roof-like cap with a veil, hiding the face.

Fân (S.veil, shape, cloud) was an elven word for a veil, usually a wide piece of clothing made from a very light and clear fabric, used to cover the whole body.

The Fána (Q. raiment, veils; (bright) shape or figure; bodily form, white cloud, white, veil) was a sort of elvish wide raiment consisting of multiple layers of light veils, usually made from a bright material.

The Fanna or Fanta (S. Q.veil, cloak, Mantle) was a sort of elvish clothing, a veiled wide cloak or mantle, usually made of light and clear material and often magical to the understanding of mortals, as these kind of cloak was thought to give the Elves the ability to hide or conceal themselves.

The Fanwa or Henfanwa (Q.veil, screen, eye-screen, veil upon eyes) was an elvish piece of clothing, it was a short screen or veil usually only covering half of the face worn to shield off weather and sun.

The Garob (gol/N.cloak, outer garment,robe) was a piece of elvish clothing, a wide robe or cloak, usually with wide sleeves and a Hood, worn as an outer garment.

Grail (gol. ring. circle, circlet) was an elvish word for a piece of jewelry, a circlet or large ring worn as a diadem or headband.

Gwab (N. garment, Cloth) was an elven word for garment. While Gwablith could refer to clothes in general, gwab usually referred to a very simple piece of clothing, a long, sleeveless one-piece cloth worn high-necked by both sexes.

The Gwathra (S.overshadow, dim, veil, obscure) was a sort of long and wide veil, worn by female elves and usually made of dark and intransparent material.

The Habach (gol. big shoe, clog, sabot) was a type of big shoe, similar to clogs or sabots, worn by the Elves for heavy work.

The Habad (S./N. shoe, shore) was a light, short and slightly pointed type of shoe worn by the Elves.In contrast to the more primitive skhapa, which was essentially a wrap shoe, the Habad was more similar to a piked shoe or Crakow.

The Helf or Heleth (N. S."Fur, Coat, fur-coat) was an elvish fur-coat worn by those elves who lived in the northernmost regions like Hithlum, the realm most close to Melkors Lands in Dor-daedeloth.

The Hemp (S./N. band, bond, cord) was a cord or band worn by the Elves as a Girdle.

The Idanc (N. Masked) was a sort of face-mask worn by elven Warriors, especially rangers.

Karape (Q. cloak, outer garment) was the name of a type of elvish outer garment, a wide cloak which would often be hooded.

The Lapa (Q. wrap, swathe, wind, enfold) was a type of elvish clothing, essentially a long wrap which could be worn either like a stole , wrapped around the upper body, or like a skirt wrapped round the lower body.

Larma (Q. raiment, (?pig-)fat, flesh, area, space, room, lucky event) was an elvish word for raiment, usually a very long, wide and wide-sleeved closed piece of clothing.

The Laub (gol. shirt) was a short and short-armed shirt worn by the Noldor as a working garment.

The Laupe (Q. tunic, shirt) was an elven shirt or tunic, usually down to knee-long and with long but tight sleeves.

The Lesta (Q. measure; *girdle, fence, gathering, assembly, collect, concourse, moot, gather, assemble, meet, leave) was an elvish piece of clothing, a leaf-girdle.

The Mantl (Q. glove), was a type of glove worn by the elves, made of cloth or leather.

Mantele (Q. Gauntlet) was an elvish word for Gauntlet. A mantele usually was made of Cloth or leather, but enforced with metal plates.It was especially worn by heavy armored fighters.

The Ôf (gol. hood) was an elven Hood or Cowl, usually tighth but with a short point or even bobble.

The Patinka (Q. shoe, slipper) was a sort of light elven slipper or sandal.

The Phanâ (PE. veil, cloud,) was an archaic kind of veil worn by the Avari Elves, used to conceal oneself in wilderness.

The Phantâ (PE to veil, cloak) was an archaic kind of cloak with a veil, worn by some Avari Elves.

The Qilta (Q. belt, girdle) was a, usually richly embroidered, kind of girdle or belt worn by the elves.

The Saipo (Q. Boot) was a short and slightly pointed type of boot worn by the Elves, especially the Falmari.

The Skhapa (ON Shoe) was a type of shoe worn by the Elves.In contrast to the Habad, which resembled more a piked shoe or Crakow, the Skhapa was more of a wrap shoe or a long wrap of cloth with a reinforced foot.

The Táta (Q. daddy, two, hat) was a type of hat worn by the High-Elves.The Táta was made of stiff cloth or felt and conical in form and slightly pointed or with a round pinnacle, similar to a phrygian cap, a fez or a Zucchetto.It was worn only by males, fathers, as a sign of the Indor or head of a family or house.

The Telme (Q. hood, covering) was an elven Hood covering the entire face leaving out only the eyes.

The Tôd (gol. hat) was an elvish hat, usually made of soft material and conical with a lobe or lappet.

The Togli (gol. cap) was a cap of lace, usually worn by female Elves.

The Tôl (gol mantle) was an elvish type of long and wide mantle, usually held by a brooch on the breast or shoulder.

Vakko or Vacco (Q. Jacket, Coat) referred to a type of elvish clothing, a mix of jacket, cloak and coat, usually of medium length (not down to the knees) with wide sleeves.

Vaima (Q. wrap, robe) was an elven word for a kind of Robe, usually a wrapped robe of medium (to knee) length often, but not exclusively, by females.

The Vasar (Q. Veil., conceal) was a light and clear fabric worn by female elves as a veil.
 
'''The Habin''' was a sort of "boat shoe" worn by Elven Mariners, they were usually made of soft leather with a .flexible but good grip providing sole


..and there ARE elvish words for string, thong and shorts ... but there is no evidence they ever refer to anything else but a cord, band of leather and short verse mode.
 
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