Saturday, August 22, 2009

Shapeshifter Chic


When your shapeshifters aren't covered in fur, hide or feathers, what do they wear? As with any character that we develop, our shapeshifter's have definite personality traits and those traits will be reflected in the type of clothing they wear when they aren't howling at the moon, sharpening their horns or waking up hungry for a little O positive.

Granted, our character's attire is determined to some extent by the time period and setting but, and this is just my humble opinion, I think their clothing is an excellent indicator of what went into making them the people/shifter/vamp that they are.

Kira, the jaguar shifter heroine of my new erotic paranormal romance, has been living hand-to-mouth on the streets for the past ten years after escaping a botched exorcism at fourteen. Her wardrobe and belongings are thrift store and dumpster finds that make most people avoid acknowledging her. She blends in and she likes it that way. Because if the wrong people find her they might just put her back into a cage.

What aspect of your character's personality is revealed by their clothing choices? Better yet, how important do you think your characters clothing choices are? I'd be interested in knowing;-)

Hugs,
Paris

9 comments:

Serena Shay said...

Hmmm, I can't wait to get to know more about Kira! She sounds like a very interesting heroine. :)

So far my jaguar heroes have been bikers, so they tend to lean towards the jeans and leathers...yum. ;)

Great post!

Paris said...

Serena,
Yeah, I totally get the jeans and leather thing, especially for bikers;-)It dates me but makes me think of the Bon Jovi song...'on a steel horse I ride'. Loved it!

Thanks!
Paris

Fran Lee said...

In Hallie's Cats, Gar wears a hot leather jacket and dress slacks, and Cal wears jeans and T-shirts. Haliie wears whatever she can afford. LOL!

Savanna Kougar said...

Paris, good point about what clothing a heroine or hero wears. Given I'm working on a Western at the moment, it's jeans and cowboy hats, boots and Western wear. My heroine is from a next-door dimension, this Earth, and ends up in a parallel Earth that has had a different history. Since she's on the run from the law for something she didn't do, her wardrobe is pretty darn limited. Right now, she's wearing a man's shirt.

Paris said...

Fran,
I read Hallie's Cats and their clothes so fit their personalities! Great job;-) Thanks for stopping by!

Paris said...

Savanna,
Sounds great and what I want to know is how did she end up with a man's shirt;-)

Francesca Hawley said...

My hero, Diarmid, in Protect and Defend wears dark suits on the job and rarely wears jeans or anything like that even on the weekend. I never really thought about it but it's very indicative of who he is and how he was raised. Interesting points, Paris! :-)

Paris said...

Francesca,

Thanks! Isn't it funny how we do things instinctively because we know our characters so well;-)

Anonymous said...

My shifters tend to wear loose clothing so it can be shed in a hurry during an emergency situation. In fact, in one story of mine the heroine, who's hiding from a werewolf hunter, deliberately wears a tight dress and high heels as a disguise because no shifter female would contrict herself like that. What shifterdom needs is a fashion designer who can come up with velcro-seamed outfits that won't be destroyed during an inadvertant shape-change. Haven't seen that on Project Runway yet ...

Pat C.