One aspect about fantasy worlds that easily gets overlooked is the type of clothes people wear. If you think about it, they have to get them somewhere since not many know how to make their own. Swords and magic may get all the glory but fashion style says a lot about people’s personalities. That’s where fantasy tailor shops come in.
Tailor shops are where customers go in to buy clothes or get them adjusted. They’re commonly associated with cities and large towns. Not every town in the kingdom has one which means for those who reside out in the countryside, they have to make a trip to the city to go to the tailor.
Not surprisingly, there are various kinds of fantasy tailor shops. The type they are is heavily dictated by the clientelet they’re targeting as well as their location in the city. These different kinds carry garments and materials that their customers are most likely to get, not those that will just sit in their inventory for months on end.
Tailor shops are more urban-focused since they have more potential customers though there’s quite a few that operate out in the country. Whether they’re urban or rural isn’t the only thing that determines their location, it’s also where they’re found in said place. Different parts of the city cater to different classes of people and businesses have to do the same in order to remain viable.
In terms of worldbuilding, fantasy tailor shops give people an opportunity to showcase their fashion style. This gives other people and your readers valuable insight into their inner mind as the type of clothes and the materials they’re made of is a reflection of who they are at their core.
This is article number six in the fantasy buildings series. For more, take a look at our blog page where we have new articles that come out every week!
While most readers don’t pay particularly close attention to what kind of clothes the characters in the story wear, they have to have gotten them somewhere. The tailor shop they got them from usually denotes their position in society which can both be a good or bad thing. Besides the clothes they have on, equally important is the material they’re made of.
Fantasy tailor shops come in a range from the opulent, high-end ones to the low-end, barely making enough to survive. Each kind has a different group of customers and there is little overlap between them. That is, it’s rare for a wealthy person to go to a cheap tailor shop and vice-versa.
The cream of the crop of tailor shops are those that focus exclusively on the wealthy. This group includes both the royal family and the nobility. Tailors and seamstresses make plush, extravagant clothes that exemplifies luxury and style, using expensive materials like satin and silk. They work feverishly to ensure that their customers walk out the door happy, for all it takes is one complaint and they could lose everything.
Next up are those that appeal to the middle-class. This group is more diverse than the upper class since it includes merchants, bankers, and so on. Due to their broad target market, they have the largest selection of merchandise that range from suits to outfits for baking or selling wares as well as nice, affordable dresses. Their clothes, while not as pricey as their opulent counterparts, aren’t cheap either due to their using more common fabrics like wool and linen.
There are some tailor shops that advertise themselves to the the poor since even the poorest of the poor has to have something to wear to keep them comfortable. They use cheap fabrics that aren’t well made since they know they can’t charge too high of a price for them, lest they lose sales. In extreme cases, they’re willing to make deals with those who can’t afford them.
Rural fantasy tailor shops cater to the locals and those traveling on the road. They burnish their local fashion which are typically farming clothes and garments, using the fabrics they have on hand. They’re not as large as their urban brethren but they don’t let that dissuade them from working hard to sell their products.
When people think of tailor shops, one thing that comes to mind is that they’re found in areas with a high number of people. That includes both the largest cities of the kingdom and the capital as well. The reason for this is simply because tailors believe that having shops in these places ensures that they have their doors open for a long time.
The vast majority of fantasy tailor shops primarily do business in urban centers but that isn’t the only factor in deciding where to establish themselves. One important consideration to account for is where their target customers live and shop. They want to be in close proximity to them.
Fantasy cities are broken into different, distinct areas that represent the social class of their residents. For those well off, they live in affluent districts near the major power centers of the cities such as the castle. Tailors seeking to sell their clothes to them must find a place in one of these areas to operate in and they’ll have to spend a pretty penny in making their shops a place wealthy people will come to.
One place you will definitely find fantasy tailor shops is the marketplace. The commerce-oriented area is the perfect spot for such a shop, especially those whose customers are middle-class and merchants since that’s where they shop and do business. Having a store in a high-traffic area draws customers in, thereby increasing the odds it’ll remain open for a long time.
For those with little money, tailor shops that cater to them are found close to where they reside. Most poor people don’t go to the marketplace or many other parts of the city simply because they cannot afford them but they go to those that have cheap and low-quality products. Instead they prefer to stick close to home, frequenting nearby shops which include clothes since they need something to wear.
Unlike the ones in the city that have to be close to their target market, countryside fantasy tailor shops don’t have that problem. Rather, they can be found just about anywhere in town, though their owners like to be close to the town market square or commercial area.
Believe it or not, tailor shops play a larger role than you think it does in regard to worldbuilding. Just like in the real world, everyone needs clothes and the diversity of shops give people a chance to wear clothes they love. But it’s what kind of clothes they wear as well as the fabric they’re made of that matters quite a bit.
In fantasy, people wear clothes for two reasons: to survive and to show their position in society. For the former, people live in a world filled with danger, for they don’t have to contend with just other people and creatures; they have to worry about the weather and seasons. Having clothes that protect them all year round helps them live longer.
As for the latter — and the more important one, since it affects how others perceive them — many fantasy worlds have a social hierarchy. The upper classes wear luxurious and extravagant clothes whereas the lower ones wear torn-town and scraggy clothes. The clothes they have on dictates how they treat other people as well as how they’re treated.
It’s essential that the characters in your story have the clothes that match who they are inside since they give your readers and other people a glimpse into how they see the world. It would be quite jarring to see a peasant wearing a ball gown unless she stole it or a rich, powerful wizard wearing clothes with holes when he could be attired in a fancy outfit.
All of your characters will go to fantasy tailor shops throughout the story as they might need some new clothes or get some adjustments done, especially for upcoming events like a wedding or coronation. They’ll go to the ones that cater to their taste and make the necessary arrangements.
Fantasy tailor shops play an unique role in the genre in that they are where the residents of the world go to buy clothes. They give them an opportunity to burnish their fashion style which some will love and hate. Unfortunately, they’re easily overshadowed by other things but that doesn’t mean they aren’t relevant to the world and the plot.
One thing to note is that there isn’t just one shop that caters to everyone. Rather there are multiple shops and each one has its own target audience. Take that into consideration as you flesh out the world you’re building. Having different kinds of fantasy tailor shops adds a nice touch of realism to your world.
When mulling where to place them, first think about their customers, where they live and shop, and place them in spots that they’re likely to go to. For example, tailor shops that focus on royalty and nobility like to be in affluent areas, not the slums. Your want your readers to feel like it makes sense for them to go there.
Tailor shops are an invaluable part of worldbuilding due to how they give people the opportunity to wear clothes that dictate how other people see them. Your readers can learn a lot about a person based on the type of clothes they’re wearing and the fabric they’re made of. Different personalities favor different kinds of clothes and fabrics.
If you haven’t given much thought about fantasy tailor shops, it’s time to do so and they can help your characters truly shine!
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