There are five regions in Dorwinion: North, West, East, South and the Rhun. Each region is therein led by the Merchant Family and their clothing styles greatly influence the castes beneath them.
KANDAVAN
Another western-faring Dorwinion family which battles for dominance of the western half of Dorwinion with Godrgim who opposes them on the southside.
- Due to the nature of the Kandavan being the premier Dorwinion family serving as exporters into Rhovanion, and more specifically Laketown, their typical dress holds high similarities to the traditional Rhovanion dress in order to put their trading partners at ease. Their stylized cut, fabric, and high-level of decoration however show clear differences.
Females
Sarafan - A item serving a similar look and appearance to the apron-dress of traditional Rhovanion dress. It is typically more highly decorated and embellished than Rhovanion style.
For a servant or worker of the Kandavan dressed to show their allegiance, the sarafan will be one piece and ankle length. It will always be worn without sleeves, and a blouse will be worn underneath in a matching or coordinating color. An extra skirt will be worn underneath when the cold requires. Some upper-class women in Laketown are known to purchase a sarafan for affairs held by the Kandavan or as a general sign that they hold trade with the Dorwinion House. That upper class women bustle to wear the clothing of their servants the Kandavan view with great humor.
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For an upper class woman of the Kandavan line, a member of the blood family, a sarafan is a far more elaborate affair that tends to have more of a robe-like appearance.
Decorated with pearls, gold threading, exotic furs, and generally sewn from velvet or brocade, it tends to be an extreme show of wealth. It will be split-front to display a coordinating but different colored skirt underneath. Some will attach sleeves to the piece creating more of a robe-like look, and others will wear sleeveless styles with a coordinating caplet instead.
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Kika - a headdress worn exclusively by upper class Kandavan women. Generally domed or cylindrical it comes in any number of styles. Generally coordinated with one's sarafan they are commonly decorated with pearls or other precious gems and sometimes worn with a coordinating scarf or hair-veil.
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Mohke - A long overdress or surcoat like item that is the female answer to the male chokha, generally ankle length and flowing. It tends to be the wear of middle caste female merchants or merchants wive who need more ease of movement than a fully decorated sarafan would allow. Some upper caste women chose to wear them during the high heat of summer. Full and sweeping, they are worn as an outer garment over a blouse and skirt. They are always belted, sashed, and/or pin-tucked at the waist as a way to show off the figure. Some might also choose to wear them with a bolero or another close fitting jacket where velvet is the most popular fabric.
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General notes:
- velvet wrought of the finest goat angora
- fur-trimming even in the heat of summer
- long sleeves, high rounded collars and full, swirling circle-style skirts to their dresses
Males
Rubashka - More commonly known as an ashka, it is an outer tunic or garment worn over an inner tunic by servants and other lower class Kandavan associated folks. It generally splits at the waist and is traditionally worn over a pair of billowy us-pants. Set with buttons or toggles down the front, decorated with embroidery, or with stripes are the most traditional decorations. Like their enterprising female halves Laketown merchants are known to dress in the ashka and rus-pants to seem more "worldly" and respectable.
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Chokha - A long coat or robe like item worn by upper class Kandavan men. During day to day wear, it tends to be more fluid and lengthy showing off the fineness of the fabric and it's skill at fluid seams. Darker colors, burgundy, midnight blue, wine red, and black are most traditional. Hose rather than trousers or rus-pants are traditionally worn under a chokha.
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For special dress, a chokha will be far more decorated like an upper class woman's sarafan. Traditionally, a married couple will dress in coordinating outfits.
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Peasant style sarafans and ashkas tend to be the typical style of dress for lower caste people living in Kandavan overseen areas.
AMRUN
- Deel - a large, overcoat-style robe with cord-wrought buttons that has a high collar, long, slightly wide sleeves and flows down to the knees with a slight flare to the 'skirt' of it. This is a unisex, highly favored piece of everyday wear. It is always worn belted and closed. The chest of the deel overlaps in such a way that properly belted it fashions a 'pouch' at the chest where often the favorite drink of the day is held in a flask. For common men and women, the deel functions much as the askha or kaftan in other regions of Dorwinion or a robe elsewhere and can be made from woven or felted wool. Rus-pants pants) or split-skirts (women) are typical worn underneath.
For a high-born member of the Amrun Family and the very wealthy, a deel will be highly decorated and patterned, and will typically be slightly longer to show that the person does not engage in manual labor. Some might import silk or velvet so that their robes shine with lustrous glory.
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- aghsa - a felted-wool belt - There are two styles, the male (most commonly orange or yellow) which is 3-5 meters long and the female (most commonly yellow or green) version which is 2-4 meters. Odd numbers are considered masculine and even is feminine for this culture. The belt is meant to be wrapped many times around the waist and in such, holds various sheaths for weapons and pouches and other accessories. The belts are generally highly decorative.
- telei - a big, wide leather girdle-style belts otherwise plain but outfitted with an elaborate silver buckle are worn only on very special celebratory holidays and fests, or when hunting when a surer grip on weapons is needed. Wearing them
- malag - felted wool hat in the summer, fur-lined felted wool in the winter. The heads of men are never bare. These hats are skull-fitted with floppy, but short brims often folded up or buttoned. Ear flaps are common, mostly in winter.
- suike - a stylized female headdress for the wealthy, very much like the kika, they are generally decorated with long hanging strings of beads or pearls. At a wedding, they are typically decorated with strung coins to show the wealth of the bride's family.
- boots - toe-curled and mid-calf. Thin goatskin in the summer and felted wool in the winter. Often highly decorated and stylized.
- tassels commonly adorn everything
- felted wool is their staple material and brocading it is common
- mirrors are used to decorate much of their jewelry
GODGRIM
The styles of the western region of Dorwinion, which battles for dominance in land with the Kandavan, is heavily influenced by the rich attire of the Godgrim Family which in turn is a little influenced by the Marwa as their regions abut on another on the southern tail of Dorwinion.
- Chiton - a unisex garment - a long, calf-length tunic like garment with a rounded neckline often slit up the sides and has a draping quality about it with the understanding it should fit the wearer through many stages of life (especially women in their child-bearing year). Undyed or generally in white or off-white hues generally only the sleeves and lower hem are seen from below other garments. Women will wear a shift and men smallclothes and hose/chausses under their chiton.
Working class people generally wear shorter elbow length sleeves on their chiton with minimum decoration or hemming. The wealthier wear longer wrist and ankle length garments to show off the ability to keep the pure-coloured garments clean.
Males
- dalmatic - the dalmatic is an over-tunic generally made of a heavier and finer material than the chiton which is it always layered above. The dalmatic is very similar in function to an ashka worn to by the Kandavan, the deel of the Amrun, or the decorated over-tunics and coats worn by the court of the King of Rohan. Length of the dalmatic varies between knee and ankle length depending on season and profession.
For a working class man, the dalmatic is likely to have more minimal bordering or decoration with wide elbow-length sleeves for ease of work.
For an upper caste man, the dalmatic can be highly stylized with heavy use of bordering, brocading, and/or embroidery.
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- chlamys - a large, square cloak worn sideways so as to be clasped over one shoulder, baring one arm and concealing the other. Cloaks worn this way, if pinned on the right, are a signifier of a male of the military or someone inviting duel.
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- hose or chausses - typically woven or very finely knitted, hose or chausses are close-fitting 'leggings' which cover the toes and are high-waisted, often buttoned or laced at either hip. Women by men as an undergarment.
Females
For higher class women, a dalmatica tends to have a more gown-like appearance with a wider, sweeping skirt-like bottom. Tend to be highly-stylized with bordering, brocading, and/embroidery. Heavy embroidery along the neckline and bottom edge of the dalmatica is common. Unmarried women will embroider a faux belt onto their dalmatica to emphasize their slim maiden-like waist.
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- stola - a long, pleated dress worn over a chemise or shift, typically sleeveless though short or long sleeves have been popular in previous ages. The stola is fastened by clasps at the shoulder, or brooches, while fitted through the waist with ribbon lacing or is worn with a wide, girdle-like belt. Stolas are typically worn by women of the Godgrim Family during the warmer months and are made from lighter fabrics than and this tradition at times has bled into the lower castes.
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- pella - a wrapped accessory that can be a simple band of cloth wrapped over a woman's shoulder that often folds and functions as pouch or purse or a more flowing open cloak-like item.
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- slippers or mid-calf boots of goatskin are the preferred footwear
- red footwear is worn only by the military of the Godgrim territories.
- purple is a hue often guarded by the Godgrim themselves and wearers of it who are not blooded family usually face some social ridicule.
- goldcloth - a cloth spun of gold thread, highly sought after and extremely expensive. Generally utilized as embroidery on upper class garments.
- velvet made from their finest fiber-goats
- brocade made from their velvets
- Stylizing highly prized - bordering, embroidery, brocade, hand painting, and block printing all utilized in different ways. Highly stylized cloaks are a popular item to show off wealth and status.
CALAER
Clothing articles among the Calaer are predominantly and almost exclusively shades of white and unisex. The wearing of color is seen as vain and the mark of someone from the under classes.
- domalla - this is a 10 yard turban wrapped many times around the crown of the skull with the top single layer and form-fitting. A functional as well as fashionable piece, this keeps the sweat from dripping into the face, by wicking it up. As such, folks tend to own a number of domalla. Each person tends to have a unique way of tying their domalla.
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- chola - a long, sleeved, high-collar tunic that is knee-length, slit up the sides to mid-thigh for better mobility and worn over salwar or rus-pants.
- chunni - a 2.5 yard veil of a scarf worn loose over the head to shield the hair, and generally pinned in place with combs or hairpins. Generally reaches to the mid-back but a particularly showy woman might have it reach to the hem of her other garments or even be billowy enough to serve both as headscarf and cloak. It never covers the face and is pinned at the hairline. A preference of low-to-mid caste women as a way to show femininity and pride in their station , it is rarely if even seen worn by women of the Calaer lineage.
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- salwar - salwar pants are similar to rus pants though longer, ranging between mid-calf and ankle-length. Not quite so billowy, and generally fitted or buttoned at the ankle.
- leg wraps - a favorite of the Calaer and Rhun-living Dorwinions are leg wraps which are worn with longer salwar or trousers and not rus pants. The wraps are long sheaths of material woven about the legs from ankle to just under the knee and hold one's pant legs in place. Due to the nature of Calaer in being modest, against vanity, leg wraps are rarely worn colorful or in any capacity decorated.
- pearls are commonly used in their decor, as are shells, though rarely used in the clothing of the Calaer themselves where such extravagance is deemed ridiculous.
- bells are often used, especially on ships.
- lighter woven wools, cottons, and linen fabrics are typical
- in the limited case of using decoration in Calaer styles, embroidering or pattern-weaving within the undyed cloth is generally acceptable.
MARWA
The southern-faring Dorwinions who spread out across Dorwinion south of the vast land known as Rhun to the northern edges of Haradwaith. Of all the Dorwinion Great Families, the Marwa are widely rumored or accepted to have the highest blood shared with those of the Men of Haradwaith and tend to have the darkest complexions. Though that's a fact no wise person would voice outloud given the Marwa's reputation of being merciless and poison-masters. Hailing from the hottest region of Dorwinion, the Marwa and the lower class people who live under their domain tend to dress the lightest (and arguably the least).
Females
choli - a form fitting female chest garment that is generally short-sleeved. Cropped at the navel it is generally worn just above a wide and flowing lahengi skirt or high-waisted salwar pants, leaving an inch or so gap of skin. Married women and widows choli's are generally more reserved and extend with an extra panel down the front to hip or knee level, while leaving the slip of back exposed.
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anarkali - a gown or dress like female garment. Sometimes formed by utilizing acholi sewn onto an attached skirt. Might be long or short sleeved. More flowing ankle-length skirts are usually worn singularly, but a shorter skirted anarkali might be combined with salwar pants.
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lahengi - the wide flowing skirts worn with a choli
sari - an accessory piece like a stolla or cloak that is worn wrapped over one shoulder and worn long and flowing to between hip and ankle length. Generally made in a sheer muslin or silken weave.
- silk is their preferred cloth, though mostly amidst the wealthy and well-positioned. Others will utilize lighter weave cottons or linens.
- bells and coin-trimming are common in their attire.
Males
sherwani - an item much like the chola of the Calaer, but always set with decorative buttons down the middle to navel level and lined inside with a contrasting colored fabric. Can fall between hip or calf length. Closer fit styles are generally worn with salwar pants, while more flared and shorter styles might be worn over rus-pants.
With their sherwani, males of the Marwa wear domalla and salwar pants similar to the Calaer, but hold no such similar virtue in seeing simple aesthetics as a virtue. They love bright and bold colors, embroidery and flair, particularly utilizing swirling metallic embroidery.
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