One can learn a surprising amount about Castle Kingsmere by looking at what people wear.
Court fashion favors elegance over excess, though no one could accuse the nobility of being shy about jewelry. Silhouettes tend toward fitted bodices and long, flowing skirts for women, while men favor carefully tailored layers in fabrics chosen as much for beauty as practicality.
What changes most is the occasion. Morning calls for something very different from an afternoon in the gardens, and a royal feast is another matter entirely.
And then, of course, there are the Roses.
THE FASHION OF KINGSMERE
A Garden Day Dress
For afternoon visits, garden gatherings, and the many social occasions that somehow require tea, court women generally favor lighter colors and fitted sleeves. Decorative girdles are common, as are necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings.
Restraint in jewelry is perfectly acceptable.
It will simply be noticed.
A Gown for a Royal Feast
Formal occasions invite richer fabrics, stronger colors, and considerably more drama. Hanging oversleeves are particularly fashionable, often lined in a contrasting shade that reveals itself as the wearer moves.
Trains appear at the grandest royal events, though even Ashwynian elegance has its limits. One must still be able to cross a room without requiring assistance.
A Rose at Court
Roses dress according to the same fashions as other women of the court—only more lightly.
Their fabrics are finer, their layers softer, and their necklines somewhat less concerned with convention. In candlelight, some materials become nearly translucent, giving Roses the ethereal appearance for which they are rather famous.
Whether that is accidental is a matter I leave to you.
Before the Court Is Awake
A noblewoman does not generally breakfast in the clothes she intends to wear for the day.
Morning gowns are softer, lighter, and less structured than public dress, worn over a sleeping shift and often left partly open. Fine silk, delicate embroidery, and pale colors are popular.
Hair, meanwhile, may remain exactly where sleep left it.
There are limits to civilization before breakfast.
A Gentleman at Court
Civilian noblemen are under no obligation to dress like soldiers, and many take full advantage of the distinction.
Fine shirts, fitted doublets, long tailored coats, embroidered fabrics, and carefully chosen boots are common. Men wear jewelry as readily as women do—rings, bracelets, ornamental chains—though, as with everything else at court, some gentlemen manage abundance with considerably more grace than others.
An Officer of the Ashwyn Guard
A Guard officer attending court wears rather more than a sword.
The formal uniform is built in layers: linen beneath a fitted doublet, a surcoat, belts for sword and equipment, and the king’s blue-and-gold mantle fastened with the horse-head insignia of Ashwyn.
It is impressive.
It also explains why removing one’s coat is rarely a quick undertaking.
Would you like to see more of The Court?