Clothing Faux Pas

In stories nowadays, writers do not think about what their characters are wearing nearly often enough. This is particularly laughable in movies or other visual story-telling forms today.

Here are some common costumes that need to be reconsidered seriously.

High heels- in movies nowadays, it isn’t uncommon for the female protagonist to wear heels. This is normally not a problem until a lot of action shows up. In the “Underworld” movie, Selene wear heels as she hunts down werewolves. This is hilarious because clearly the costume designer doesn’t know much about heels. Heels, to me, are uncomfortable and difficult to walk in. They would be impossible to run in or jump around in. So enough about the delusions of women strutting around and kicking butt while they’re wearing heels because it can’t happen.

Capes- people think capes are so cool, and they can be. However, capes are also not realistic. Whenever I think of a villain swishing a cape, I think of “The Incredibles” and Edna’s little thing on capes. It is a hilarious little monologue, but I think it is a pretty accurate look at capes. Long capes, especially if they are swishing around, could get caught in something and slow the character down.

Leather- lately, particularly in more urban or fantasy-esque stories, leather is used to dress the female protagonists so that they look sexy. However, given my knowledge of leather, I would think wearing all-leather clothing would not be very comfortable, especially if your character moves around a lot.

So, when you are thinking up how to dress your protagonist, do give it some consideration. If your character is a hunter or someone who sees a lot of action, then they need to wear clothing that is comfortable and that allows them to move around with getting caught in stuff or having difficulty moving. If your character is going around on a trip in the woods or somewhere in the outdoors, then they need to wear clothing that will be conducive to that trip… unless they are abruptly thrown into the situation without any warning, but even then they should have some ability to alter clothing to fit the situation. So, keep those things in mind as you write.