Headcanons about Aureate magicians' fashion preferences

[pretty_plant]

(Yes, I totally watched too many videos on youtube about clothes in movies).


So I was thinking about Aureate magicians would like to wear even though I am the type of person who does not care much about my everyday clothes and doesn't know much about fashion. So I will just headcanon what kind of people they are when it comes to fashion.


- About John Uskglass: Although most of his clothes in the book were pretty comfortable and easy to move in, I think he is on a flamboyant side when it comes to big celebrations, parties, occasions he needs to showcase his wealth and influences? Like, really, this guy has a very strong sense of fashion and what he needs to wear and what other people should wear. He wears black all the time, that is a very strong fashion statement. Not only that, all of his servants in the war with Henry wore black, specifically ragged, black clothes. And he sometimes even wears ragged, blacked clothes when he can afford much, much better clothes. That is like how people are wearing torn jeans nowadays, he is doing is to make a fashion statement. (I am now imagining how John Uskglass will tell one of his servants to get some low-quality black clothing and cut it to make them look ragged). And ragged, black clothes are unlikely to be particularly comfortable so I assume that John Uskglass can stand some discomfort for the sake of fashion. He was also born in Faerie so yeah, maybe he is pretty vain about his appearance...

I imagine his clothes can get very extravagant, heavy, uncomfortable and may look very ridiculous to modern people. And because it is John Uskglass, maybe sometimes he looks great but sometimes shows some questionable fashion choice. But he is the king anyway so who can criticize him in front of his face? They might do it behind his back, though.

- About William of Lanchester: He probably wears sensible clothes that are well-made with expensive fabrics but never wears anything too extravagant or over the top. He might possibly wear pretty old-fashioned clothes as he grows older, however, because he might not feel like keeping up with the time.

- About Thomas of Dundale: Well, this guy grew up in Faerie so it is likely he took up some of their traits. I imagine he is pretty fashionable guy. Because he is possibly powerful and rich and allowed much freedom because he is close to John Uskglass, I kind of think he can get over the top and extravagant regularly but rarely makes questionable choices.

- Ralph Stokesey: He was probably the kind of person that wore stuffs way above his station. I have a headcanon. The local authority dared to speak out against him for it but after an unknown accident, he showed up pale and since then, always acted extremely careful and polite around Stokesey. Because of this incident, nobody who was less then powerful nobles and magicians ever dared to criticize magicians for their fashion sense ever again.

- Catherine of Winchester: She did get a very enthusiastic man pursuing her so I always assume she was beautiful or at least pretty. She was probably not too dressy but dressed reasonably normal?

- Thomas Godbless: Probably had a weird sense of fashion. Maybe a kind of weird, eccentric man with messy outifts.

Rambling on about headcanons is making me want to read Piranesi more. I am jealous that people in the UK will get a little bag if they preorder it even though even if I were in the UK, I would still be likely to buy an ebook than a physical one.

Comments

[pretty_plant]

You can buy the ebook version of Piranesi on Amazon! It is the easiest way to get it if you are outside of the UK. Considering it took more than ten years for JSMN to finally arrive in my country, I probably will buy the ebook and read it as soon as I can.

Childermass and the Raven King both wear black and have the same sort of myserious, rough air about them but their styles always seem kind of different to me. (I just googled the name Vinculus because I forgot how to spell his name and mispelt it into Vindeculus, time truly messed up your memories) Vinculus actually noted that Childermass dressed awfully when they first met when John Uskglass dressed in fashionable clothes when Childermass met him. And Uskglass always seems like a showy sort of person despite his shadow motifs (the darkness belonging to him always seems like an overwhelming, consuming sort) while Childermass seems to enjoy hiding in the shadows. I think it sums up their relationship quite well that the darkness belongs to John Uskglass and Childermass hid in the shadows to stalk Strange. But John Uskglass, as a character, was more illustrated by the relationships the characters had with him than his actual self. I wonder whether his greatness might possibly come from so many people's perceptions of him all combining together to create a contrasting, complex jumble of ideas rather than his actual self, who might be smaller and simpler than we expect.

[pretty_plant]

Oh, that is such a shame. Maybe you can ask your friends, family or relatives to buy it and give it to you and then pay them the money back? Or just tell them that the book will be your early or late birthday present.

JSMN never gets translated into my language because I guess people just do not think it would get a lot of sales. Most of the books translated into my language are YA, children, romance books or classics. JSMN, however, is too long and slow-paced to attract many people and too recently published to be considered a classic.

[pretty_plant]

The best way to get access to a book in other languages is always to learn that language. But it took me years before I could be good enough in English to read JSMN. Language is such a fascinating, difficult and frustrating topic.

[ohveda]

Jumping in to say that this

But John Uskglass, as a character, was more illustrated by the relationships the characters had with him than his actual self. I wonder whether his greatness might possibly come from so many people's perceptions of him all combining together to create a contrasting, complex jumble of ideas rather than his actual self, who might be smaller and simpler than we expect.

is the best description of Uskglass I've ever read.

[pretty_plant]

I am now imagining Childermas growing up hearing about John Uskglass and unintentionally styling himself after the king. However, he never had the money or political power for it so decide to settle down for the weird, tree-rooty look.

[ohveda]

I love these headcanons. They all feel right.

Like you, I can see Uskglass being very fashionable. Sometimes that will be the fashion of the current time, and sometimes he chooses some other time period (either in the past or the future) but still wears it very fashionably and very well. I remember reading a fic where Uskglass appeared in this outfit (https://images.app.goo.gl/m6s2rJqFKDhbASyMA) and it worked so well that I'm still not over it.

[pretty_plant]

Do you mean this fanfic https://archiveofourown.org/works/1093657?view_adult=true?

I read it some time ago and despite some mistakes in timelines, I love it. I especially like how it portrayed John Uskglass going around posing as a young and hot woman to seduce lonely female magicians living alone. He really did get the best of both worlds.

And he was the king so unless his fashion choices were really atrocious, he was very likely to be the trendsetter because everyone wanted to suck up to the king. So probably, whatever he wore influenced fashion in Northern England and his other kingdoms, not the other way around.

[ohveda]

Yes! That's the fic! Uskglass playing fast and loose with gender seems so perfect that I've just accepted it as a personal headcanon.

Very true about Uskglass being a trendsetter. Everyone will want to dress like the King, regardless of what appalling outfit he's got on.

[pretty_plant]

I know that the actual England was never that popular about their fashion in medieval time but I wonder whether it might be the case for this version of Northern England. Maybe because of John Uskglass and fairies, there was a trend in fairy-like clothes made from weird fabrics. Then Northern England would get the reputation of being a place where people wore exotic outfits made from weird fabrics. People in other countries were probably both weirded out and fascinated by Northern England's fashion trends, mostly weirded out.

[regshoe]

I love the idea of Uskglass's ragged black clothes being the equivalent of ripped jeans :D I certainly think he cares about clothes/his appearance a lot, because he went to the trouble of putting together a fashionable modern outfit all in black simply for the sake of a five-minute visit to England which the only person who sees him there doesn't remember. You know, the swirling clouds of ravens, the significant darkness—it's all about getting the right aesthetic, and the right clothes are a vital part of that!

I can see Catherine of Winchester as the sort of down-to-earth, practical person who'd just wear whatever simple, comfortable clothes were available within the range of normal for someone of her time and social position.

As for Thomas Godbless, he was absolutely a medieval hippie and would have dressed all the time in the twelfth-century equivalent of tie-dye shirts and flared trousers.