Things I do in order: read, sew(cosplay), draw, actually cosplay, podfic, write(rare) Current fandoms: ffvii, svsss, Tgcf, mdzs, orv, with a side of dpxdc & dcu
Attempting to sort of reboot the hanfu in components thing I wrote for Newhanfu a while back in a better organized way, so I guess this is a series? Purpose is to provide a more systematic way for people to learn about hanfu terminology, which is extremely complicated and constantly changing, but has mostly settled into some agreed upon definitions among the hanfu community.
Note: This is probably going to make the most sense for people who have already been interested in hanfu for a little while but don't know the technical terms for what they're seeing in the pretty pictures. If you're just starting out this might be a little overwhelming, especially since hanfu vernacular has variations based on what time period you're talking about and stuff like that! But of course feel free to look at it anyway :>
Here are terms that you'll see a lot when referring to a general type of garment. These are the equivalents to 'shirt,' 'skirt,' 'pants' etc. in English, where it's telling you broadly what kind of a garment it is, but not really any details about its style or what it might look like. I will structure my definition headers as (traditional character)/(simplified character)/(pinyin)(tone) going forward. Also using images from Cloud9 as much as I can bc I don't wanna deal with citing image sources lol, shoutout to our models
WORDS ACTUALLY JUST MEANING "CLOTHING"
衣/衣/yi1 - General term for clothing. More often than not refers to a top/shirt or a robe, but can refer to clothing in general as well, especially in modern usage. The yi radical looks like this: "衤" Basically if a character has that symbol on the left, it’s probably related to clothing in some way.
服/服/fu2 - Also a general term for clothing. Slightly more formal/technical in tone imo. Usually combined with 衣 for 衣服 (more casual everyday way of saying clothing) or with 裝 for 服裝 (more formal way of saying clothing). Think the difference in tone between ‘clothes’ vs. ‘attire.’
TOPS (the clothing kind) & ROBES
衫/衫/shan1 - Shirt, unlined. Refers to a shirt/blouse in modern usage. Within hanfu, refers to a top (usually short, but sometimes long) that is unlined.
襖/袄/ao3 - Jacket/lined top. Refers to a parka-style jacket in modern usage (棉襖）. Within hanfu, refers to a top that is lined, typically on the thicker side. Can be long or short. More often than not it is worn as an outer layer.
袍/袍/pao2 - Robe. Refers to a top whose length extends past the knee. Usually robes are lined, but that’s not a requirement to be considered a robe. There is overlap with 衫/襖; aka a garment can be both a 袍 and a 衫 (long unlined robe) or a 袍 and an 襖 (lined robe), but not an 襖 and a 衫 (somehow lined and unlined at the same time, disobeys the laws of physics and logic, possibly quantum entity).
深衣/深衣/shen1 yi1 - Literally ’deep clothing,’ also can be translated as robe, but more specific in that shenyi will typically be made up of a ‘top part’ and a ‘skirt part’ that are sewn together at the waist, rather than just being a really long top.
褙子/褙子/bei4 zi0 - Outer layer. Harder to define because it can refer to very different things depending on what dynasty you’re looking at. General rule though, it’s almost always an outer layer on a woman’s outfit.
BOTTOMS (the clothing kind)
裙/裙/qun2 - Skirt. Generally any garment that wraps around a person’s torso and covers the legs.
褲/裤/ku4 - Pants/trousers. Similar to skirt except there are dedicated channels for each leg, aka there’s some separation happening at the crotch. Can be open or closed crotch, almost always worn under a skirt or robe.
Obviously there's a lot of other terms too but I'll get to them with time! Still a full time student, still learning about hanfu, blah blah blah. But yeah especially the more specific terms I will probably cover in a later post. Hope this is interesting enough for now :>
I wrote reply on the other post and then… well it was gone. sigh
In general, when buying fabric, the most important part is knowing how long your clothes should be, then you see if you can squeezed both the left and right main body into the width of the fabric. If there are more space left, you then check if the sleeves could go in there.
For example,
Short-sleeve tops and narrow sleeves top only require fabric equal to two times the length of the clothes (fabric width more than 100cm).
Long-sleeve tops usually require a length of (clothes length *2 + sleeves width *2 + 30 - 50) cm. A narrow-sleeve parallel-collar short top (<80cm) required at least 2m fabric (width 150cm), the wider and larger the sleeves are, the more fabric you need. Cross-collar required another 50cm. I usually get 50cm extra so I don’t need to worry about running out of fabric even when I am making something with small sleeves.
Long robes like tieli, yisan, zhiduo, daopao, zhiju, quju, yuanlingpao etc require about 5m to 6m (or even more for daopao) of fabric.
Moxiong and zhuyao usually required 0.5 - 1m of fabric.
For skirts, it is usually (skirt length *2 + 50) cm but this amount might changed depending on how much volume the skirt has. Nowadays it is more fashionable to have a 4.5m baidiequn - translated to 3 times the width of a 1.5m fabric- so about 3.5m to 4m of fabric and 5.5 to 6m mamainqun - so about 5m of fabric.
For Song style trousers, HRH Zhao’s and the outer layer of Miss Huang’s require about 2.5 - 3m of fabric. The inner layer of Miss Huang’s only requires 1.5 to 2m of fabric.
If you want to pattern match, add another repeat or at least 1m.
Also remember to account for shrinkage. For example, cotton fabric usually has a 4 to 10% (0.04 to 0.1) of shrinkage rate. The total fabric is (whatever you think you required * (1+shrinkage rate in decimals)). I usually pre-wash my fabric before I start making things, but if it is something soft and slippery, you could considered not washing it but includes the shrinkage rate in your measurement or starching the clothes property when you pre-wash it.
Some lines I found funny and highlighted on my first read of The Raven King:
1) The Foxes betting on literally anything and Neil being Neil
"How are you doing?"
Neil drained both cups before answering. "I'm fine." Nicky fist-pumped in triumph.
"Thank you for being so predictable, Neil. You just scored me ten bucks with two words."
2) This discussion about Neil
"Stop being a bad influence," Kevin told Nicky. "I am going to make him Court. It'll be easier if he remains heterosexual."
3) the banquet and Neil meeting the Ravens for the first time
The Ravens took their image seriously. Neil guessed they had a lot of intensive counseling in their futures.
4) honestly this just made me laugh
"Neil," Wymack said, "between you and me, I don't think you've ever been fine."
5) how would you even explain this to someone that hasnt read aftg
If Matt's mother thought posting Aaron's bail was an appropriate response to the cousins drugging Matt with speedballs, she had to be as dysfunctional as the Foxes themselves. Neil was grateful for her financial support, but he idly hoped he would never have to meet her.
6) Neil's description of Katelyn
She was so enthusiastic about apparently everything in the world it was a little exhausting listening to her, but Aaron looked so alive in her presence Neil couldn't hold it against her.
7) the Foxes fearing Andrew even when he isn't there
"You're explaining this to Andrew when he gets back."
"Oh, hell no," Nicky said, and jerked a thumb at Neil. "I'mma leave that one to him. Thanks for taking one for the team, Neil. You're a real friend."
8) I don't even know the context but Wymack sufficient explanation (btw i rlly dont like using the r word in this context, but ngl it still made me snort)
"What the hell was that?"
"Coach?"
"Don't you dare 'Coach?' me, you malfunctioning retard."
9) Neil not breaking character
Neil glanced at the emergency exit door but wasn't as tempted as he thought he might be.
10) This isn't supposed to be funny but it was so bizarre
It wasn't until Jean shoved a racquet into his hands that Neil truly realized that yes, he was expected to play.
I already did this with TFC, but honestly I just laugh at a lot of stuff, so it's possible I'm the only one that found that funny hah
Neil gets in a nasty brawl after an opposing player insults Andrew, but it should be clear to Andrew by now that Neil will never sit back and let Andrew be mistreated.
It’s finally here! For Neil’s 39th birthday, we present Confidential: The Neil Josten Experience, aka… the binder! You can find the zine (for free) on Gumroad. Over 60 creators poured their love into this project, and it's now yours to use as your heart desires. Please enjoy <3
Please enter "$0 (zero)" for the dollar amount <3Please do not donate to the zine! <3This is the download page for the Confidential: T
You've seen every Binghe has a Shen Yuan, now get ready for.... *Drumroll*
There Is Only One Shen Yuan Ever And He Wife-beams All the Binghes.
Shen Yuan: I have 37 husbands and they're all the same man!
*a portal opens and a Binghe falls out. "Shizun!" He cries, looking heartbroken*
Shen Yuan: 38! *He goes to pat the new Binghe on the head*
Cut to a private interview with SVSSS Binghe.
SVSSS Binghe: At first I wasn't thrilled with sharing my husband but there's some benefits to having 37 brother husbands.
*cut to assorted Binghes doing all the chores around Qing Jing Peak, in the distance we see Liu Qingge swordfighting another Binghe*
SVSSS Binghe: The chore wheel is very complex. One of the An Ding Binghes made it.
SVSSS Binghe: Also, just throwing it out there, I'm definitely Shizun's favorite Binghe.
Interviewer: How can you tell?
SVSSS Binghe: I've never once been sent to the Bad Binghe Box.
*Cut to a shaded pavilion with padded benches in the bamboo forest, there's food and drinks and blankets and a sign on the pavilion that says "Time out zone"*
Bingge: Yeah the Binghe that's really good at math made a chart, I'm far and away the Worst Binghe! *smirks proudly*
Bingge: I spend most of my time here, it's actually pretty nice, definitely not the worst place I've slept. It's even climate controlled so it doesn't get too hot or cold!
Interviewer: What are you in for?
Bingge: Trying to kidnap Shizun and take him back to my home dimension. I just think he'd like it there more ok?
Interviewer: What keeps you in the pavilion while you're on time out? Is there an array or-
Bingge: Oh no, it's honor system. But if you leave before your time is up Shizun doubles your remaining time and scolds you.
Interviewer: How long are you in for?
Bingge: 46 years.
*cut to interview with Liu Qingge, he is drinking tea as the interviewer speaks*
Interviewer: How are you adapting to the sudden influx of Luo Binghes?
Liu Qingge: *sets down tea cup* My life is a living hell.
