Fashion in Fódlan: a very long, non-comprehensive, and entirely unsolicited analysis
The fe3h writers did a pretty solid job of creating three nations with clear social, economic, and political differences. The fashion stands out to me as doing exceptionally well at expressing those differences, and, just like in the real world, it works as a sort of socioeconomic barometer that helps tell Fódlan's story.
In this post, I'll break down the key clothing trends in the three regions and provide some light interpretations, largely related to $$
Please note that I'm NOT using this post to discuss historical inspirations. Also, not everyone from every region is included. In particular, anyone whose outfit is too much of just a riff on a class uniform (like the Ashen Wolves or the various minsters in the empire) is left out.
There's a part 2 now lol (church of seiros time); part 3 as well!
1. Holy Kingdom of Faerghus: function IS fashion, baby!!
Fearghus, beloved land of ice and snow and spooky folktales about watering your fields with blood and ghosts living under the ground - you did not come to fuck around. You're here to protect the commoners and go back home to a stew that may, if you're lucky, actually have some meat in it. In this kingdom, you're going to dress warm and you're going to like it. Oh, you have some extra money? Gonna spend it on something for yourself? Better be using it for something useful, like keeping your plate armor in good condition. (Please note: Catherine, though being Faeghan, is excluded because she wears the uniform of the Knights of Seiros, not her own clothes.)
Trends:
High collars, long skirts - generally as little exposed skin as possible. (There is exactly one pair of bare hands in the entire kingdom. Mercie is getting a little bold 👀)
Fur cloaks/capes/gloves, or just fur around the cuffs and collars if they don't have a full fur cloak.
Armor - every single man is dressed in armor, as is Ingrid. Most of the men have full suits of plate armor, but Felix, Rodrigue, and Ashe are wearing only gambesons (note the quilting in Felix's sleeve - that's what gives it away, imo). The folks in plate armor would have gambesons on as well (you can see Ingrid's underneath her breastplate), acting as padding for the plate armor. I think Gilbert is wearing plate armor with a tunic over it (a realistic historical practice).
Fastening is accomplished with clasps and lacing, and there are relatively few buttons or adornments to be seen on the main garments - Annette is an exception, which will be addressed later.
Brief analysis:
Notice the economical use of fabric - their clothing tends to lie flat, with fabric being layered for warmth rather than pleated, gathered, or puffed. The folks in plate armor may spice it up a little with a sash of some kind if they aren't already wearing a cloak or cape. I'm assuming Gilbert's ~stylish tunic~ is keeping him warm well enough to not need a cloak or larger scarf. (Mercedes has a ruffles and puffier sleeves, plus a fuller skirt, but it's worth noting that she is currently part of a merchant house, and merchants tend to be wealthier and actually occupy a unique social class between nobles and commoners.)
Note the colors, too. Greens, browns, and yellows are the cheapest and easiest dyes to make and use. That bright sort of tawny color that Gilbert, Annette, and Jeralt all have is easy and cheap. Gilbert's grey tunic could feasibly just be undyed wool. A true blue is difficult, but you'll note that the blue the people wear up here leans towards grey and green - could be that the dye is faded, or that it was never very blue to begin with. The only true blue is on Dimitri.
All of this reinforces the idea that Faerghus is not a rich nation, and the nobility don't live too far off from the common folk. The vast majority of the cost we see is actually their armor (worn by Dimitri, Dedue, Sylvain, Gilbert, Jeralt, Matthias, Ingrid, and also if we're getting all the way into it, Gwendal, Miklan, Lonato, and Baron Dominic as well), which is would have been pretty expensive. You'll notice they mostly wear grey armor with very little extra decoration, keeping the costs low. Ingrid, the poorest of the nobles in armor, also has the least actual plate. Felix and Rodrigue both have full cloaks, which most other people don't have (just Dimitri), but they also aren't wearing plate, so clearly that's a calculated choice.
That being said, even within these more economical fashions, we can still see clear differences between classes. Most noticeably, Felix (rich) and Ashe (not rich) have very similar outfits, but Felix's tunic/gambeson is lined with fur, while Ashe's is not.
BTW I'm of the opinion that the Fraldariuses are the richest people in the kingdom other than the royal family, and I believe that specifically of their fancy cloaks lol
so luxurious~
2. Adrestian Empire: look at my money bitch
Ah, the land of beauty and excess! I love to live in the capital and visit the cultural icon that is the opera and pretend that I'm not in Wealth Inequality Central. (Please note: Petra is not included, since she dresses according to Brigid's fashions. Also note: I fuck w these styles so hard, dude.)
Trends:
Short skirts (above the knee - Dorothea has a draped over-skirt thing, but her main skirt is shorter, and Manuela has leg slits instead of a short hem), low or square necklines, open backs. In general, we're looking at a lot of exposed skin. Forgot to include Cornelia in the pics, but she has this too.
Tailored jackets with just SO many buttons. Hanneman fits into the tailored jacket category, but isn't included in the highlights by virtue of Not Enough Buttons. (Some concept art is included here to drive the point home.)
Finally, there's this specific very specific double-breasted neckline thing (baby edelgard is separate bc i forgot to include her when i made the first image shhhh)
Brief analysis:
Adrestian fashion is all about displaying status and wealth, in this case through ornamentation, rich colors, uniforms denoting class/role, and also a fair amount of excess fabric.
Historically, fabric itself was one of the major indicators of wealth - in fact, certain historical styles very explicitly showed off just who was rich enough to afford, for example, a whole gown made from the same length of fabric, or even just an entire skirt panel with no piecing. In the Adrestian Empire, We've got excess fabric galore, tucked away into all those beautiful ruffles and bell sleeves, layered skirts, unnecessary capes, double collars, and puffy pants - and it's all in much more luxurious colors, too. In fact, I'm pretty sure the largest single piece of fabric on anyone in the game is Edelgard's cape, which is then also adorned with dozens of buttons and extra bits of fabric. It's almost definitely fully silk, both the outer layer and the lining. (And it's badass.)
Look at all that fluff! Dimitri's cloak probably rivals hers in the size of the actual fabric itself, but his is likely a heavy wool (unlined, maybe?), plus has a lot of fur.
"Oh, but pg, there are capes in Faerghus, too!" yes, but in Faerghus, they live in the arctic /hj. Note the vast expanses of exposed skin down here in the empire - clearly, cold is not an issue. You'll also note that the cloaks in Faerghus were heavy and lined with fur; that's not the case here. Given the prevalence of tailored jackets and the dual colors on Ferdinand's cape, I'm guessing they're either a comparatively lightweight wool with a silk lining (typical for tailored suit jackets, nothing particularly noteworthy about that), or just fully silk. (Bernie's shawl is just cotton though, prove me wrong...) Hanneman and Manuela are exceptions, since they both have fur, but they live at Garreg Mach, not in Enbarr.
The jackets themselves, by the way, could be silk OR wool. Ferdinand's in particular (especially thropes) reminds me of early 18th c. waistcoats, which would have been full silk.
We also have much richer colors down here in the land of art and song. Red, purple, and black were all very difficult colors to maintain, and very expensive. The most expensive colors, in fact. Not gonna lie, as far as price per yardage goes, I think Hubert's outfit might rival Edelgard’s in expense.
A notable exception to the excess fabric bit is Bernadetta. However, her dress is in what is arguably the most expensive color, and is heavily decorated, so that's a reasonable trade-off, and I don't blame her. I, too, would go for a smaller amount of pretty purple silk embroidered with bright, beautiful gold and yellow instead of a bigger, more impressive-looking option. It's about the little things.
I do want to take look at Caspar, in particular. He's unique in that he's dressed in a full suit of armor. But, given that he's the second son and not set to inherit anything, unlike all his waistcoat-wearing friends, he isn't being held to some particular uniform, and even if he were, it's the ministry of military affairs. Of course they wear real armor. What's interesting is that his armor is a sort of rosy grey/brass, rather than silver, and he has a lot more decoration and flair than the folks with full armor in Faerghus, in both his throuses and thropes outfits.
Worth noting, btw, that we have exactly zero examples of actual commoners in Adrestia, other than generic NPCs. Dorothea belongs to that peculiar niche that is opera and acting, so she is expected to dress and act like a noble, despite not having a title or property of any sort.
Adrestia - and Enbarr in particular - leads the slow march of fashion across Fódlan, given that it's a cultural hub and is so much wealthier, while Fearghus slowly picks things up over time. Thus, we have Annette, who lives closer to the empire and has disposable income, having some decorative buttons and tassels and a mock low neckline.
It's not nearly as much as the actual Adrestians, but she's picking it up!
3. Leicester Alliance: the beeeest of both worlds~
Oh, Alliance, you messy bitch. What we see here is a mix of everything, where some of them are influenced by Faerghus, and others by Adrestia (just like how some of them have kingdom-style names and some have empire-style names), and a few fit neither camp. There are clear reasons for similarities where they exist, though, so let's take a look! (Please note: Claude is not included, since his clothes are heavily influenced by Almyra.)
Hilda and Lysithea have the frills, puffy sleeves/skirt, short hems, low/square necklines, and expensive colors of the empire (plus, Lysithea gets a decorative veil in dark purple. How ~fancy~). This reinforces the idea that Adrestia sets the standards for fashion: Hilda cares about fashion and keeps up with the times. Lysithea lives on the border and was briefly under the control of the empire, and thus is influenced by it. Mostly, though, I think it's about how she tries to seem older and tends to see Hilda as a model of maturity (lol), so she's following that example.
Holst's armor is quite decorative, similar to Caspar's, but what stands out to me is the fringe in particular. We see the exact same fringe on Caspar, Hubert, and Edelgard, but not anywhere else.
Lorenz and Erwin are a bit of a border case, tbh! They both wear practical, full plate armor with little in the way of extra decor (other than Lorenz's rose and Erwin's little cape thing), but Jesus christ how much does it cost to keep it all so purple like that??? That's a blatant display of wealth that would impress any empire noble.
Marianne, on the other hand, would fit right in in Faerghus, with the old fashioned long skirt, high collar, capelet, and lack of extra decoration other than some pretty trim. Makes sense, since her territory is so close to the kingdom and she's clearly not interested in trying to stay fashionable.
Judith is dressed very practically, has some fun puffy sleeves and bright but inexpensive colors, has a short cape and gambeson (a short vest one, though). I want to say leans toward Faerghus, which makes sense since it's on the border and the house did at one point split off, with part going back to the kingdom.
Now we get to the only real, honest-to-god, never-owned-land-or-property, born-as-and-remain-now peasants/commoners: Leonie and Cyril. (Raphael was born into the merchant class and was able to support himself and Maya by selling his estate, so while we can consider him a real commoner at this point, it's not nearly to the same degree.)
Their economic status is obvious from their outfits: both have very practical clothes with no extra decoration, in cheap and easily accessible colors. Leonie's cloak wrapped around her waist is purely functional - she can use it when the weather calls for it, but it's out of the way of her arrows when she doesn't need it - and looks to be pretty soft, so likely is lightweight. She has a hint of some light protective wear (note the quilted sleeve) and the same front clasps as Felix and Ashe, so i think she's also meant to be wearing a gambeson, but it's shorter and less protective. Cyril doesn't seem to have any armor at all except for the shoulder protection - we can tell from the lack of center-front closures on his shirt and the shape of the cuffs of the sleeves that he's actually just wearing a tunic (or rather, two tunics on top of each other).
Raphael also has a very practical outfit, but notice that his is so much more protective, probably because he has a little more money than the other two. He has very limited, sparsely placed plate armor, but he is covered head-to-toe in quilted cloth armor. He's ready to get some punching done, baby!
Our real outlier, however, is Ignatz... But you bet your bottom dollar I've got an explanation for that one, too!!!!! Mans is an artist and he has rich(?) merchant parents, he can do whatever he wants.
Absurdly unnecessary lengths of (probably not very expensive) cloth? Sure. Fancy feathers that literally no one else gets? Why not! A billion buttons, half of which arent even keeping anything closed? Curly and intricate cloak fasteners probably made of some kind of cording? Sashes and tassels and a decorative sword??? Fuck it, we ball. I love this so much, it's easily my favorite outfit in the entire game and I would ABSOLUTELY wear it irl. I already have the right haircut and glasses and boots, I'm ready
4. In conclusion
These designs really are Fódlan in a nutshell. From the quiet wealth and functionality in Felix's fur-lined gambeson to the audacious luxury of Ferdinand's waistcoat to the unrepentant anarchism of Ignatz's entire vibe, we can see the history - and future - of the continent outlined right before our eyes:
Faerghus is cold, practical, focused on survival, and probably has the most even distribution of wealth. Leicester is a mix of remnants of the empire and kingdom, with clear wealth disparity but also a relatively high amount of social mobility and communal support systems. Adrestia has significantly wealth disparity, with nobles very disconnected from their people and instead busy politicking about.
Side note I know I said I wouldn't go into the historical inspirations, BUT I do think it's interesting that the men's clothing in Adrestia - particularly the tailoring - is similar to much later styles than the men's clothing in Faerghus, and the reverse is true of the women's sleeves and necklines.
Quick thinker and decision maker. He uses Ti alongside Se to adjust to situations as they occur. Ash jumps from A to B real fast. He uses Ti to quickly analyse the situation and make a decision and then Se to take immediate action.
Ti is efficient when selecting information and how it uses said information. Combining this with his other functions, Ash is quick to catch on people's intentions. Like when the doctor or whomever that guy was, gave him an IQ test. Ash immediately knew what he was trying get out of it. This is partially thanks to his Ni, as well.
Se (auxiliary)
Impulsive thinker, quick action taker, more of a tactician than a strategist. He's aware of his surroundings and often uses it to his advantage. I really like that scene where they kill that guy on the train. A very well Ti-Se thought action.
You can obviously see his good use of Se in all fighting scenes. Or when he shoots at someone and purposefully misses. That great of accuracy makes use of a well developed Se.
Ni (tertiary/child)
Ni child is a very fun and in handy function. Although it is a bit hard to be put into words, since Ni is generally a somewhat subconscious function. It's a gut feeling that you may choose to ignore or not.
Tertiary Ni catches on fast when it comes to learning new things. Especially if they're practical.
Also Ni can be a surprisingly good for Se, and it can make the individual's actions harder to predict. We do see this with Ash, and again, his quick and unpredictable decision making. The only person who was able to fully match seemingly unpredictable pattern was Blanca.
Fe (inferior)
Contrary to the dominant function, the inferior one does not hold the same significance in one's life. It's that one aspect that we are least comfortable and accepting of. However that doesn't mean that it won't come in handy. In Ash's case we've noticed that he's good at manipulating their targets. He's able to tap into what THEY want and takes advantage of that. Although an inferior function, Ash makes good use of it.
We can also see his inferior Fe at work when Ash is with Eiji and how he thinks about him. As well as his (sometimes irrational) actions to keep him safe. They reek of inferior Fe. He's literally willing to die for Eiji. And everything he has done throughout the story has been for other's sake. Sweet child.
Inferior Fe is somewhat different to Fe domninat. Someone with inferior Fe is wary of people, but once they get close to someone they're extremely loyal and often let logic fly out the window for that person's sake.
We can also see that how Ash always lows his guard when Eiji is around. He knows when it's Eiji who enters the room (Se) and he lets his guard down immediately.
Another very good portray of Inferior Fe to me was the scene where Ash is having a breakdown by the window.
Okumura Eiji - ISFJ
Si (dominant)
Even though Eiji jumps in bizarre situations to help Ash (due to Fe) he doesn't necessarily has the easier time adapting. He's flexible, but not adaptable. Eiji also can be quite stubborn at times. I specially love it when he's bossing Ash around.
Also something that people don't associate with Si, which is actually a Si thing, is decision making based on personal bias.
Which basically means "I'll do this thing, because I want to/this is important to me/I am committed to this cause". In Eiji's case it was Ash's well being.
Yall need to move away from the thought that ISxJs are boring or whatever. They're very interesting people. They may seem boring because their interests/passions are not in line with yours. And they rarely desire adapting to your likes/ your way of doing things (Si). But I digress.
Having a hard time moving on from the past is also a Si thing.
Fe (auxiliary)
Eiji is very good at reading people. Remember all the times that he straight up knew when Ash was lying to him, or when he was feeling unwell. Eiji knew every single time that something wasn't right. His secondary Fe, along with his dominant Si can make him a bit naive, considering that he's young. We see this immediately when the anime starts. He has a child like, pure nativity (Probably why people type him as INFP).
As well as he has an easy time befriending people, or at the very least, a very good approach to initiate it.
Ti (tertiary/child)
Curious child, especially about things that are unfamiliar to him. (Si) I think it's very cute. Especially when he asked Ash to see his gun.
Sassy. I love ISFJ sass so much. You can see Ti child work with Fe in every scene where Eiji matches up to Ash's teasing. It's so entertaining to watch.
Ne (Inferior)
Failing to see new possibilities that are not in line with their Si. Think of all the times that people kept on telling Eiji to stay away from Ash. Eiji never stopped to think of it as a possibility. I'm sure that Eiji still would gave done the same thing he did in the Anime (unconditionally supporting Ash) even if he were another type with more prominent Ne, but he would have at least thought about the 'what ifs'.
Shorter Wong - ESFP
Se (dominant)
There are a lot of instances that we see Shorte act on fast, proper to how the situation was constantly changing. He adapted fast, and didn't hesitate to do what needed to be done in order for things to go smoothly. Think of that moment where he cuts that guy's throat in episode 6. It's not the act itself. Is his quick way of responding to everything that happened.
A moment I really enjoy is when the guys are traveling by truck and Shorter is just enjoying the moment.
His disguise when he was in hiding is the most ESFP shit I've seen. He's so extra.
Considering that he's the leader of the China Town mafia, you have to have some level of Se or Te to be able to do that, considering his age. It would be harder for types who lack such functions to take on a leadership role, especially when they're not very well developed from a functional standpoint (ex. ENTP, INTP etc.) They'd crumble from under the weight of expectations and everything else that comes with being a leader and being responsible for everyone's lives, above all else.
Fi (auxiliary)
I know that some expect him to be ESFJ from all that happened, but only because someone deeply cares about another doesn't automatically equal Fe. (Plus there's no much Si in him). Fi have strong values when it comes to friendships and close relationships.
Shorter is very empathetic (does not equal Fe, but could very well be well developed and healthy Fi). He protected Eiji not only because he knew that Ash would be devastated if anything happened to him, but because Shorter considered Eiji a friend, too.
We can see Fi work work Te when he's distressed, creating a sense of dread and helpless in his head. To Shorter, even though he kept on fighting, it seemed like it was all over the moment that he got caught to do the dirty work against his friends.
A very Fi moment is when Shorter says that if push comes to shove and the worst were to happen to Eiji, the least he could do was to "set him free". I found this very morally/Fi driven thing to consider.
Te (tertiary/child)
This goes hand in hand with his Ni inferior.
Ni (inferior)
Another reason why Shorter is ESFP and not ESFJ is because of his Te and Ni, which is very visible when he's in distress.
Shorter sees no way out. He becomes scared, and even when he wants to reach out he becomes paranoid. "What if I'm found out?"
He also was always focusing on the worst case scenarion. As mentioned above, when it came to Eiji and "setting him free". Imagine all those sort of thoughts going through his mind during those dark moments.
The fear and emotional turmoil that he wouldn't be able to save his sister or having to sacrifice his friend for the sake of his "selfishness" seems very unhealthy Te, Ni grip to me.
A black man was beaten to death by two security guards in a large franchise supermarket in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Several horrible things have happened in this supermarket chain, including a security guard poisoning and beating to death a stray dog that lived in the parking lot and an employee dying and the supermarket leaving his body on the floor, hiding it with sunbrellas and cardboard boxes so customers wouldn’t stop shopping. The supermarket chain is Carrefour.
The murder occurred last night. Today is Black Awareness Day in Brazil.
Our Vice President made a statement that we do not have racism in Brazil.
Must be a coincidence, then, that every 23 minutes a black young man is murdered in our country.
Sharing because this is incredibly important!! We don’t talk enough about racism in countries outside of the US. Brazil REALLY needs help at the minute, and we NEED to help by spreading the word. Shame on Carrefour for doing all of this and trying to cover it up.
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R.I.P. Joāo Alberto Silveira Freitas, as well as all the others unjustly murdered and discriminated against in Brazil. 🕯
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