: Re: Should I use the real name or attempt to describe? I'm writing a story in a fantasy setting, where there are characters who dress with ancient Egyptian type clothing - such as haram pant and

@Welton431

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I would call them by their proper names. Normally in a story, you should describe the dress when it matters in the story, the pants or the collar get in the way of the character wearing this garb doing something.

Alternatively, another character unfamiliar with the dress can describe what he sees (or the narrator of the story can describe how he sees it).

Finally, if the unusual clothing never matters in the story: No character cares about it, likes it or dislikes it, infers anything from it and nobody is influenced by it, and the clothing itself never has an impact on the story or anybody in it, then it doesn't matter what you call it. In my stories, the clothing would not even be mentioned if it absolutely doesn't matter.

But if somebody likes it or thinks it looks cool or wishes they had it, then from that person's POV the clothing can be described, along with what they like about it.

The only exception I can think of would be screenplay or play writing, in which case it is a costume choice and should be referred to by its correct name and needs no description. The opposite is true for a novel: Don't put JUST correct names in, with no description. Do not expect readers to look it up, and it is your job to get the reader to see what you see.

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