How To Make Clothing Look Good

[Feral One]

You look dusty~

Don't wear too much of one colour or you will look "bunched-up".
Don't focus on too light colours or you will look "dusty".

Just get Stath to design your threads.

I expect to see a lot more bucket heads dressed in all grey!

[P Three]

You look dusty~

Don't wear too much of one colour or you will look "bunched-up".
Don't focus on too light colours or you will look "dusty".

Just get Stath to design your threads.

I expect to see a lot more bucket heads dressed in all grey!

QFE.

[Our Endless War]

You look dusty~

Don't wear too much of one colour or you will look "bunched-up".
Don't focus on too light colours or you will look "dusty".

Just get Stath to design your threads.

I expect to see a lot more bucket heads dressed in all grey!

There's some brown and green there, too. Even some lighter silver to bring contrast to the grey!

[Razmo_de]

Play a goblin, kobold or gnoll.
That reduces your outfit choices by a good amount.

[Anime Sword Fighter]

I am, in fact, reading everything even if I'm not replying. Keep your personal tips coming!

[Baron Saturday]

Not everyone wears onesies. Though it seems like there's a lot of duplicate parts, these are actually parts made of different materials (so two pelvises might look the same, but one could be affected by leather color and the other might be cloth). You can use this to your advantage to give your character a "shirt and pants" look.

Consider how pieces work together. if two adjoining pieces aren't the same color, look for ways to hide the seam (shoulders and belts are good at this).

Avoid the primary colors. You can make an outfit more interesting with one of the many variations on red, blue, etc., rather than just a flat red.

There's a cloak (can't remember which off the top of my head, think it might be #2? one of the one-shouldered versions, anyhow) where the inside can be made a different color from the outside. This is a good cloak and you can have a lot of fun with it.

Don't let Stath design your clothes, they'll be covered in flowers.

Personally I like to have a neutral color for pants/boots (there's a lot of browns that work well at this) and a more eye-catching color for the top. Metals make good highlights if you want them to stand out (silver on dark colors is one I probably overuse), but it can also be made to look LESS metallic with some colors, if you want to go with a more cloth/leather vibe.

If you want to look sinister, please don't do basic black/red. It's... I dunno, it's like having "Looks evil" in your description.

(Disclaimer: Everything above is personal opinion and should not be construed as fact or holy writ. I am neither a clothing designer nor terribly fashionable, and probably have no idea what I'm talking about.)

(Disclaimer Secundus: Except for the Stath thing.)

[DestroyerOTN]

Okay okay okay. Looking good for outfits.

1) You know that pant less loincloth every warlock ever uses? Don't use that.

2) Axe yourself of the selections 61-63 (unless it is done as a detailing tool in which that it colors consists of no greater than 10% of the outfit)

3) Don't go for the shiniest colors of metal! Many metals in real life are actually rather muted, and we don't need to see "Hai, I'm a good gai" by what you wear. The effective goodie can look the part in red and black.

4) Avoid options which thematically fail. The torn shirt option is -GREAT- if you're going for a druid, a slave, a poor-man, or a commoner. Otherwise, there are far better options. The same can be said of the neckless shirt model. Such things are very situational.

5) Consider the concept! Much like above, there are pieces that are not -innately- thematic, but can be used thusly. Consider a breastplate with sleeves, baggy pantaloons, and greaves for a chessentan; while one might just have full-body armoring and a frontally-conical helm with a Cormyrian; or be Stath (not advised for reasons shown above) and pot helm yourself. The same base can satisfy many different, distinct concepts

6) There's a silent consensus that about 40% of the helms are bad. I don't wholly agree with this judgement, as a good number of those can avoid being the utter ruination of an armor suit with careful design; but the general "no no"s should be -very- obvious. For beginners at armor design, the elven-esque helm (the one Amadeo has been rocking for years), the pot helm later on in the list, the corinthian, and the skull helm are easy (albeit cliche) to pull off.

7) Don't force your armor to cover -every- slot uniquely. Knowing what to make subtle and muted is part of the design process. Consider what you want to be the bulkiest, first thing seen; and make that prominent by color or selection.

8) Likewise to above, if you find that your armor looks best with something entirely unattended? Don't be afraid to. Disdain the belts, but loathe to throw on a loincloth? Just don't have anything.

9) Avoid tastelessly impractical. There's a point to which impractical is good for dramatic effect, or at which the engine -stops letting you be better-; but I can't stress this enough. The proper response to a half-clad female that's somehow under the impression they're in plate armor is to demonstrate their obvious openings.

10) Accessorize to the armor, rather than armoring to the accessories. Designing for a helmet or cloak to work is possible; but often enough throws your conceptual individuality against the wall by making it artificially your most prominent feature.

I can go in-depth on that, but suffice to say; it's a very individual thing to figure out going from that. I'd need to know your concept here, Corey!

Unless it's another lifeless bookworm. Then feel bad.

[Twily]

6) There's a silent consensus that about 40% of the helms are bad. I don't wholly agree with this judgement, as a good number of those can avoid being the utter ruination of an armor suit with careful design; but the general "no no"s should be -very- obvious. For beginners at armor design, the elven-esque helm (the one Amadeo has been rocking for years), the pot helm later on in the list, the corinthian, and the skull helm are easy (albeit cliche) to pull off.

I agree with this entirely. Every helmet has it's place(even that glowing crown one). It's all about what sort of fashion statement your character is trying to make. From what I've seen there's only a few helmets that apply to each character though. The one mentioned that Amadeo has I find quite nice as a general all purpose helmet, I believe it's Form 27. It's definitely one of if not the most common from what I've seen though.

My advice: Close your eyes(or not) and imagine what you want your character to look like. Then hop into the mirrors and see what matches that vision. There may be some insanely odd parts that look like they might not go. (for example, using the tight plated forearm (form 4 or 5 I think..?)to match same colored cloth sleeves to get a bracer look(be setting metal 2 to a different color than the sleeves)). If they fit your vision just stick with it until you completely finish the every piece on the outfit, then fine tune things from there. Half finished outfits almost always look awful even if the design is one that would work. You could try setting every piece of armor to Form_0 before starting to keep a clean slate, but this can also make for some odd moments if you're not in a private house.

[Cortex]

I am, in fact, reading everything even if I'm not replying. Keep your personal tips coming!

heres my personal tip

ignore everything everyone said and start over

[Marsi]

- stick to earthy, natural colors and KISS generally
- dont use tabard ever unless you're doing the full knight armor
- 86 is goat for metal
- dont use elf helmets if you're not an elf
- stick to bland clothes when you first roll up a character. If you spend too long making a 'costume' you paint your character into a thematic corner and that costume will become part of your character. Your character should be just as recognizable in rags.
- don't be afraid to look 'lame'. it can be cool and subversive when you present your interesting character in a humble or unassuming manner.
- aprons are badass

[MowerQueen]

Axe yourself of the selections 61-63 (unless it is done as a detailing tool in which that it colors consists of no greater than 10% of the outfit)

What's wrong with 61-62?

- stick to earthy, natural colors and KISS generally
- dont use tabard ever unless you're doing the full knight armor
- 86 is goat for metal
- dont use elf helmets if you're not an elf
- stick to bland clothes when you first roll up a character. If you spend too long making a 'costume' you paint your character into a thematic corner and that costume will become part of your character. Your character should be just as recognizable in rags.
- don't be afraid to look 'lame'. it can be cool and subversive when you present your interesting character in a humble or unassuming manner.
- aprons are badass

1. What does KISS mean?
2. All kinds of people in history have worn tabards in all kinds of outfits. It's not a "full knight armor only" type of garment in any way, shape, or form.
3. Interesting, I think I know which "elf" helmet you are talking about. I never interpreted the spikes as "Ear" spikes, I always saw it as just stylistic. From the comments though it sounds like most people accept it as an "elf helmet"
4. I agree with you about the dressing down thing. For humans especially I like to make my clothes realistic, humble, and often times that means bland-colored. Not that I think it's bad to dress flashily, but personally I like to reserve that for if I made a flashier, wealthier-type character.

[grip]

kiss: keep it simple

[triaddraykin]

Has NO ONE seen where Angela offers Fashion Advice on her signs throughout the city and Tower...?

[Trunx]

Has NO ONE seen where Angela offers Fashion Advice on her signs throughout the city and Tower...?

Maybe, but then they probably saw Angela.

[Kuma]

Has NO ONE seen where Angela offers Fashion Advice on her signs throughout the city and Tower...?

Maybe, but then they probably saw Angela.

shrekt

[grip]

Has NO ONE seen where Angela offers Fashion Advice on her signs throughout the city and Tower...?

Maybe, but then they probably saw Angela.

Duriel? lololololol