What Does Your Character Wear?

My current heroine exudes femininity. She wears pastel sundresses, cute--never ripped--shorts, t-shirts, and toe-baring sandals. Her long hair bounces, and she keeps her makeup light and tasteful.

Do you have an idea of her personality? Just by reading what she wears?


We instantly judge someone based on our visual impression of them. We take in the mohawk, piercings, and jet-black clothing and decide who the person is, or at least who we think the person is.

Clothes reflect our character's personalities. But we all know too much clothing description can bog the story down. So how do we use clothing in an effective way?

As with all physical details, whether the character's surroundings or clothes, it's a good idea to make them do double duty. I shouldn't only learn that the hero is wearing blue jeans, I should also learn what impression it makes on the viewpoint character.

Let's take an example.

Bad:

Sheila walked to Jake. He wore cargo shorts with a faded gray t-shirt.

Better:

Sheila walked to Jake. Leave it to him to wear cargo shorts and a faded gray t-shirt.

Both examples tell what Jake is wearing, but the second shows Sheila's reaction and gives insight into both their characters. Sheila isn't pleased--or maybe she's amused?--by his attire. And Jake obviously has worn the wrong thing, because he's clueless or doesn't care. Double duty! Plus, the reader takes an impression away too. His attire points to laid-back and rugged instead of formal and rigid.

Of course, I'd expand on the above to include the setting and why his outfit is inappropriate. And I'd show Jake's response to her reaction or lack thereof. Maybe Sheila doesn't mention his clothes, but he expects her to? Maybe she makes a snide remark to him? Maybe she's hidden an appropriate change of clothes behind her back because she knew he'd wear the wrong thing?

How do you use your character's clothing to reveal their personality? I'd love to hear from you!

Enjoy your weekend!

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