General Styles and Trends

Peasant Clothing

The peasant or poor beginning adventurer generally has few resources and wears whatever is available and functional. Such individuals rarely bother with fashion. Keeping warm is usually the first priority. Therefore, peasants tend to wear as many layers as possible.

The most typical, basic, and fundamental peasant garment is the chemise, which is a loose shirt that covers the body from the neck to the thigh or mid-calf. A chemise may have long or short sleeves or may be sleeveless.

The next layers of clothing add two garments to the basic costume, a cote and surcote. These two articles of clothing are worn over the chemise, with the surcote over the cote. These items may vary in the extreme, ranging from a style resembling a knee-length tunic to variations on a simple or hooded cloak.

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