The clothes a person wears tells us many things: their status in life, for example, or their cultural affiliation or identity. 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.
1 Use clothing to show status and position
2! Build (or thwart) expectations using clothing descriptions
3 ! Describe clothing to contrast character personalities
4 ! Show clothing to avoid over-relying on telling
5 ! Change clothing to highlight character development
6 ! Use clothing details to create authentic setting