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In the Realm of the Fae, style is functional, but there are many different functions that style may serve. The main character of The Queen’s Choice, Anya, dresses for warmth and convenience because she spends much of the book traveling. Travel clothes are important to Fae culture because every Faerie goes on a coming-of-age Crossing into the human world.
The fundamentals of Faerie travel fashion are a comfortable tunic, thick leggings, and leather boots, typically knee-high. Anya also wears a double-wrapped sword and utility belt and an ankle-length cloak, and carries a leather travel satchel.
Within Chrior, the Faerie city, women step up their casual style with comfortable, flowing dresses that come to the knee or lower. Often with asymmetrical hems, these dresses are paired with soft sandals that wrap up the leg (gladiator-style!). Men complement the women by layering belted tabards over their tunics, and wearing well-shined boots with quilt texturing. Depending on the season, their tunics may be made of breathable canvas so they don’t overheat.
Men’s and women’s jewelry follow similar trends: leather bracelets; rings and necklaces that sport raw, uncut stones; and floral or leaf headbands braided into the hair. Fae are also drawn to wing-themed designs, especially butterflies because of the similarity in structure of butterfly wings to their own.
For formal occasions, Fae gravitate toward structured gowns, frock coats and waistcoats. Corsets are considered overly restrictive, but are still worn on occasion, and are favored by Anya’s peculiar young cousin, Illumina. Because Anya is a member of the royal family of Redwood Fae, she and her relations wear capes and delicate crowns with stones representing the four elements. Her Aunt, Queen Ubiqua, is known for sophisticated, colorful, and fashion-forward outfits that never fail to stun.
In all fashions, Fae look for intricate designs and homages to nature, right down to their belts and shoes (which, contrary to stereotypes perpetuated by humans, never have curled toes). Check out the whole Pinterest board, created at the encouragement of Refracted Light Reviews!
From Pinterest:
[alpine-phototile-for-pinterest src=”board” uid=”caylakl” board=”fashion-of-the-faerie-court” imgl=”pinterest” pinit=”1″ dl=”1″ dlstyle=”medium” style=”wall” row=”4″ size=”192″ num=”8″ border=”1″ highlight=”1″ curve=”1″ max=”100″]
(All pinned images on this board belong to their original creators/creating entities)
Click HERE to view the whole “Fashion of the Faerie Court” Pinterest board.
When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen’s mantle herself. Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined.
Cayla Kluver is the author of the Legacy Series (LEGACY, 2011; ALLEGIANCE, 2012; SACRIFICE, 2012). Her new book THE QUEEN’S CHOICE will be published by HarlequinTEEN in winter 2013/spring 2014. Cayla spends her free time singing, reading, dancing, and horseback riding. Her office is filled with twinkly lights. She travels frequently to speak at middle and high schools, libraries, and book conventions. New York City is one of her favorite places on the planet.
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Monday, March 17th – YA Bibliophile
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Wednesday, March 19th – Mundie Moms
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Friday, March 21th – Two Chicks on Books
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Monday, March 24th – Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf
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Wednesday, March 26th – Refracted Light Reviews
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Friday, March 28th – Such A Novel Idea
So gorgeous! Faeries have hands down, the very best clothes.
I really like how she is not going after the power. I also think the Fae have great clothes :).
The cover is gorgeous! I’m looking forward to reading The Queens Choice!
Who are your favorite authors?
I love Philippa Gregory, Mo Hayder, Robert Louis Stevenson, Victor Hugo, Shirley Jackson, J.K. Rowling… I could keep going and going!
I can’t wait to read this! Is it the first in a series?
Yes! There will be three books.
I wish I was a faerie so that I could dress like that! The last dress is absolutely breathtaking. Did you have an idea of what they would wear when you first started writing?
Clothing is one of the first things I love to explore when I start a novel. I feel like it speaks strongly to the overall setting as well as individual characters (plus it’s really, really fun). My brain is like a constant swirl of dazzling pretty garments. 😉
Fun fashion
Beautiful outfits. I am glad they find corsets restrictive lol. They are pretty though. I wonder where she came up with the fashions?
I had notions in my mind of how I wanted the Fae to look and style themselves, then I combined that with research into the fashion of the 1800s, and a LOT of googling and pinning! Basically, it was crazy fun.
Those outfits are beautiful. What would you wear if you were a faerie?
I would take every excuse to wear ridiculous, sparkly, over the top dresses. Although I would definitely have to switch it up sometimes and throw on travel clothes so I could play in the dirt.
congrats on the new release! It sounds fabulous
Cayla what time period was more inspiration for you in terms of the fashion?
Thank you! I was really inspired by the late 1800s in Europe. I modeled all the human clothing off of that time period, then tried to find more casual and practical alternatives to use for the Fae, since their culture is more laid back and free.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Do you listen to music while you write?
I do. Music really helps to get me in the right zone or mindset for specific scenes. For this entire book, I listened to a lot of Sia and Florence + the Machine. In my mind, the atmosphere of this book is really heady and colorful, which is the same vibe I get from that kind of music.
Wow, i neeed the book now!, is amazing! i’m from Ecuador and can’t wait 😀
Where do you come up with these ideas?!
Inspiration comes from everywhere! Sounds, images, fleeting feelings and sensations, news stories, the weather, bad jokes, dinner conversations, music. I never know where ideas might come from, so I carry a notepad with me everywhere to jot things down on the go. The important thing is to be engaged in what’s happening around you, so you can interpret things and add your vision and imagination to them.
I can’t wait to read this! The cover looks gorgeous! Did you have any input in it?
I did! My publisher asked for my ideas about what elements in the story might have a place on the cover, and if there was anything I really wanted to see there. We agreed that a high fantasy feel would be excellent, with water as the background to represent a recurring theme in the book. The design credit goes to Larry Rostant, who did the art. He did an amazing job!
I am IN LOVE with the cover! I’m really excited to read it.
Congrats on the book, it sounds great.