Clothes

As I work through my latest book (THE KING’S SWORDS) set in 17th Century France (and a bit in England too, for good measure), I have been researching the issue of how to describe my characters’ clothes. Now, I don’t want to have a long paragraph of the kind that goes into exaustive details as to what he or she wore. My approach is more light touch, hinting at what the outfit is.

To be honest, I’m not sure which is better. Is, he wore a wide-brimbed hat on his head and was dressed in doublet, ruffled shirt, breeches and knee high boots sufficient?

Or do we need?

“His wide brimed black hat with a white feather tucked into the red band was of the latest fashion. That he was a noble, there was no doubt given the thick ruff around his collar and wrists, and the strings of pearls embroided on his ebony doublet. To complement the outfit of a perfect cavalier, his matching breeches and dark leather boots made him stand out. Any doubt he was of noble heritage was displaced by the long sword that hung from his belt.”

I’m not keen on long descriptions of the second kind. For starters, they slow up the action of the story. Second, do we need to know all this detail? Can’t the reader imagine the outfit given the sparse details of my first description given they have a pretty good idea of when the story is set?

Is there a middle road?

Perhaps. But for now, given the book is already full length, I’m sticking with the shorter, more abstract description as it fits in the story’s (fast) pacing.

But we shall see.