Describing Clothing--more than style and fabric

Dressed to kill?

How you describe clothing can and should be more than just a list of what a character is wearing.  It can be described in such a way as to show the point-of-view character's attitude about the apparel, or what the point-of-view character assumes because of it.  The point-of-view may be as astute as Sherlock Holmes or as biased as Severus Snape.

Here is a comprehensive list of descriptions. Don't use them as jigsaw pieces to plug into your work. Use them as inspiration for how your character would view and define what is seen, or what they're wearing on their own body.

Writing About Fashion by Sharla Rae


One snippet:

Less Than Presentable

All flash and no dash
Beauty blight
Bedraggled
Blowzy over-done
Boots with newspaper stuffed inside to cover the holes in the soles
Clothes painted on her
Donned grubbies for yard work
Dress gone limp in the heat
Dressed like an unmade bed
Dressed like he’s fleeing a fire/the devil
Ensemble clashes... and more!