Costume Update

I've laid down the flat colors for that costume I designed a few weeks back.  It was time-consuming as all get-out, and I've yet to lay in the shadows (obviously), but I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming along.

Pazhir (yeah, she has a name now)

 

And how here are a few fun facts about this character and her people:

Pazhir comes from a particularly wealthy family, which you can tell by the amount of pearls adorning her outfit (she even uses them as buttons- quite extravagant).  Her people live on the steppes, so pearls are hard to come by- the vast majority are posessed by those families that can trace their roots back to the tribe's migration from the Western Sea (that's what the image on her skirt panel references: she's from one of the Original Families).  The second tier families can trace their roots back to the migration from the mountains (in between the Western Sea and the steppes).  They've heard tell of another ocean far to the south, but the rumor is that it's bright blue (as opposed to the gray of the Western Sea).

When they're children both males and females keep their hair neatly braided in a single plait: once the females reach menarche they use a special paste which gives their hair a deeper orange tinge and allows them to form something like dreadlocks: the males shave their heads at age fourteen.

The indigo-dye used to mark married females will stay on the skin for about three months.  The women renew the mark every month on the new moon.  Allowing the mark to fade is how you divorce your husband: he has no say in the matter.  The priestesses of the tribe have permanently-stained fingers, because they use the dye for all sorts of rituals (in addition to performing marriages).

Pazhir's favorite color is green, although she prefers it in accents rather than large swaths.  (You might just notice that only gemstone in all of her rings is green.)  Her bodice and gorget are made of boiled deer leather and function as a lightweight armor- her people have a very violent history, which still shows in some of their fashion, although they haven't had a systematic war in a very long time.  The wide embroidered hem of her skirt and on the sleeves of her short jacket are detachable: she changes them to change her outfit, as well as the trim on her skirt panel.  The one she's wearing in the picture is meant for spring (hence the pink flower).