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Kadanë Dress

There is far less difference between male and female dress than is found in the styles of our world. The basic articles of clothing are very similar, and differ mainly in the colors of the fabric and their decoration, and the amount of personal adornment (jewelry or cosmetics) used with them. There are some marked differences from clothing in our world, particularly, the Kadanë never developed the button or the zipper, or conceived the idea of attaching sleeves or pants legs together. The costume described here is that of Fimo, a town located in the middle of Tizanthy. Since Tizanthy is so large and covers so many climatic zones, costume varies accordingly, becoming lighter or skimpier, or heavier and fuller, depending on one's prevailing climate and the time of the year.

      Below the waist, the basic unit of clothing is the swasho "loincloth", which is tied at the waist with a pnuhmva, "belt". The swasho is generally shorter and plainer in men than in women, and is wider and fuller in older persons of both sexes. In cold weather, this may be supplemented with ramatl "leggings", which extend up the entire leg and are cut on the diagonal from thigh to hip. They are tied to the belt holding the swasho. In very cold weather, this is topped with a thashotl, a wrap-around skirt that is tied at the waist. This skirt is usually made of very heavy fabric, sometimes even quilted.

      Above the waist, both sexes may wear a thaskorp, a short sleeveless tunic that extends to the waist (for men) or just above it (for women). Young women may wear instead a srohubko "halter". This may be enough for informal, everyday wear, but for more formal purposes, this will be worn with a choki, a sleeveless vest. Some men use just the choki for casual wear. Men engaged in manual labor may wear just a swasho. In cooler weather, the choki will be made of heavier material and be cut fuller, and will be tied at the front. It can be paired with ramatl chinif, detatchable sleeves, which are tied at the shoulders to the choki.

      Sometimes, women wear a type of thaskorp, called a thaskritl that extends below the waist to the knees and even lower. They may or may not wear a choki with it. This doesn't replace the swasho, however, which is typically highly decorated on the edge showing below the thaskritl. It's considered very risque to omit the swasho with a thaskritl, and no proper woman would do so in public.

      Shawls and scarves of all kinds are worn for accent and for warmth at all times of the year by both sexes. In cold weather, a buskrit "poncho", a rectangle of heavy fabric with a slit in the middle for the head, is worn over all and pulled close to the body with a belt. The Kadanë like sobz "hats" of all kinds, and wear light, wide-brimmed straw hats in summer and heavy skull caps in winter.

      The closed-toe shoe is unknown; instead, the Kadanë wear zgihvho "sandals" in all weathers. When it grows cold, they wrap their feet in fabric strips before putting on the sandal. In cold, wet weather, they top this with a water-proof tube closed at one end and tied at the calf. This looks somewhat like a droopy sock, and is as close as the Kadanë get to Earth-type Western garb.

      Under their clothes, both sexes wear the swaston, simply a smaller and lighter version of the swasho. On their chests, women either wear light srohubko or bind their breasts with a wide strip of cloth called a swashobuk. Both sexes, especially the elderly, may wear light thaskorp under their other clothes for warmth.

      One style of clothing that is popular but not native to the Kadanë is the thisbo. As the name implies, this article was borrowed from the Thisbo of Thisbona. The Thisbo traditional garb is a long loose tunic similar to an Arab djeballa. This was modified over time by the addition of legs into a kind of jumpsuit, fastened down the front by a hook-and-fuzz system very much like Velcro. This has been adopted by the Kadanë, primarily by workers in certain technical professions.

      In the cartoon of the yatsoshna, the two women in the rear are wearing thaskorp or thaskritl (it's hard to tell how long they are). The woman in the front on the right is wearing a choki over what appears to be a thaskritl. The choki has ramatl tied to it; you can see the tiny loops of the knots on her shoulders. Since two of the party are sleeveless, it's likely that the ramatl and the choki are made of light-weight fabric and are for decoration rather than for warmth. The woman on the left is wearing a thisbo, but since no one else is, it's doubtful that she is a technician or scientist, although she could be a medical worker of some kind. Ordinary Kadanë do wear thisbo, but it carries a certain connotation, like wearing medical scrubs to a restaurant would for us, of putting on airs. It's likely that her friends secretly consider the woman in the thisbo to be somewhat affected.

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