Re: Clothing terminology

On Wed, Feb 11, 2004 at 01:30:59PM -0500, Roger Mills wrote:
> H.S.Teoh wrote:
>
> > I'm entering the lexicon entries for Ebisédi clothing, and I'm stuck with
> > what word to use in the English glosses. Since I'm obviously ignorant of
> > the intricacies of habilatory[*] terms, I'm asking fellow list-members to
> > help. What is the best English term(s) that can be used to describe the
> > following items?
>
> Con-clothing is fun..........There may be no recourse but to describe these
> things in full-- or consider making an illustrated dictionary!!
That would mean I need to get a scanner to scan in hand-drawings... it
would be too painful to draw such illustrations using the mouse.

[snip]
> > 1) A main garment made of two halves, each in the shape of a half-torso,
> >    an arm and a leg. Some kind of "body suit", I suppose, but is there a
> >    better term for this?
>
> Does it come apart completely, into the 2 halves? How odd, to have e.g.
> one's left side completely clothed, the right side uncovered....:-)))
It does come apart completely into 2 halves. There are two different kinds
of fastenings that hold the halves together: there are the "hooks" (some
complex mechanism which I haven't worked out yet), and there are the
"buttons" (button-socket combinations). Hooks are employed for along the
back and between the chest and the groin, and buttons everywhere else. The
hooks are very firm and more difficult to fasten/loosen; the buttons are
easily fastened/loosened.

The usual way to wear it is to first fasten the hooks along the back, then
climb in, and then fasten the hooks on the front, and finally press the
buttons together. (And then put on the other two articles on top of this
main garment.)

> OTOH, if it just opens down the front, it sounds like a "jump suit"
> (prisoners wear them, and IIRC Churchill favored one during WW2 and had
> an amusing name for it I think) or indeed a kind of "body suit".
So far, "jumpsuit" is the closest term I've come across for it.

> (And from what I recall of the Ebisedian world-view, I'm surprised it
> doesn't come in _3_ parts ;-)))) )
Hehe, well, there are ample 3's elsewhere, though! Such as the fact there
are three parts to the attire, and the fact that the _Tanuchi'_ and
_lazhui'_ are triangular.

> I think I've seen motocycle racing suits (maybe wet-suits too?)  where
> the shirt part and the pants are joined together with a zipper.
That's pretty close too, except that the _pruuni'_ is divided vertically
rather than horizontally.

[snip]
> > 2) Something draped around the shoulders (or attached to the main garment
> >    at the shoulders), with a triangular flap(?) covering the chest, the
> >    tip of which joins with article #3 at the waistline.
> >
> To my mind, it sounds vaguely Elizabethan.  The "farthingale"?? Is it purely
> decorative?
Yes, it's purely decorative. If you can imagine a big V-shaped cloth
hanging from the shoulders with the tip of the V attached to something on
the waist, then you've got the basic gist of it.

[snip]
> > 3) Something worn around the waist, with a triangular (sometimes
> >    hexagonal) flap(?) that hangs over the groin area, optionally with a
> >    matching flap(?) in the back. Sorta like a fancy sash, perhaps? Or a
> >    loin-cloth?
>
> IIRC, Native Americans and some Indonesian tribal peoples wore something
> like that, and we call it a loin cloth.  I don't know if they wore anything
> underneath to cover/protect/keep warm the naughty bits.  "Loin cloth" can
> also be conceived as going around the waist but also going between the legs
> and up the rear-- like the Japanese fundoshi??
Nope, it does not go between the legs.

> Sounds like it would be more decorative (i.e. they wear somthing under it)
> than functional (concealment)-- any stray breeze could un-conceal one and
> cause  embarrassment (assuming [a] Ebisedians have naughty bits and [b] they
> are modest people who don't like to expose themselves unnecessarily).
Yes it is mainly decorative. And yes, [a] and [b] apply here.

There is another kind of "clothing", which is somewhat metaphysical: the
_krachui'_ ("aura"), a cloud of colorful energy that envelops the body of
the Ebisédi. This "aura", which looks like a robe of rainbow-colored
flames, is quite opaque, and provides a visual, although not physical,
cover. A trained Bisédi[*] can cause this "cloak" to appear or disappear
at will. It is quite customary for those with this ability to only "wear"
this aura, even in public.

[*] (Pedantic note) That's the proper singular noun; the correct plural is
Ebisédi.


T

--
Freedom: (n.) Man's self-given right to be enslaved by his own depravity.

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