Red Shoes - dressing to impress...

[Image courtesy: Flickr Creative Commons Miss Karen]

Dressing your characters.

Is your heroine decked in Dolce and Gabana and spinning on those sweet Jimmy Choos? Or is she hunkering down in torn faded denims with a moth eaten T?

Dressing characters is marvellous fun. Particularly because it doesn't cost the author one penny! In your imagination you can give her the Gucci boots that you'd never dream of spending money on, or you can get her to flash that saggy, greying bra without a touch of embarrassment to yourself. What characters wear, gives that extra drop of insight into the ocean of their personality. Clothes can help build your world, they can hint at class hierarchy, suggest inner rebellion or express a desire to 'fit in'. There are so many different connotations that a reader can take from the what your character will or will not wear.

One character that instantly jumps to mind when I think of clothes, is Anita Blake by Laurell K. Hamilton. In the early stages of the series she prefers to wear black and red, despite the fact her boss thinks they're too dark. Through her choice of clothing, we instantly we grasp an understanding of her personality.

 So whether your character lingers with doe eyes at the window of a Chanel store, or squeezes into jeans with an unfashionable rise. Fashion  - or lack there - of is a tantalising and visible marker in the world of fiction and one well worth noting.