What is a shift?

[Lukey]

I've almost finished reading the WoT for the second time, and one constantly mentioned thing is a shift. Ive always pictured it as something like a one piece bra + panties, but i honestly have no idea.

Anyone care to clarify?

[Light Warrior]

I think it's what women call a 'slip' these days. At least that's what it is to me.

[Luckers]

It's more substantial then a slip. It comes close to being a full dress, though light and worn as an undergarment.

[dimmu666]

:cry: ..... no lingerie in WoT!???!?!?!?!

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

I thought at least Lanfear or Berelain would have something super sexehhhh...not like some flimsy underdress...ew. Mainnnn i bet semirhage has some sexeh corsets! :D

[Gandaal]

:cry: ..... no lingerie in WoT!???!?!?!?!

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

I thought at least Lanfear or Berelain would have something super sexehhhh...not like some flimsy underdress...ew. Mainnnn i bet semirhage has some sexeh corsets! :D

Clothes for the most part seems to be based on European Dark Age/Middle Age clothing.

[Kocisz]

a shift is a:

[dimmu666]

You actually have a shift!? holy crap.

Do you wear it as an undergarment? Instead of bra/panties?

[aznprince001]

ive always thought of a shift was like a very loose bra or something...

 

 

Wow this is very educational.

[Blue]

Me too! How do they manage to wear those tight revealing dresses there always on about if they hav one of those things on them :?

[Anajon]

yes - a shift is a kind of dress under a dress - its cool and still not see through if you are wearing two thin materials on top of each other (still done with traditional dress it in many parts of Central Asia) also you change and wash the shift regularly but because it covers your whole body - you don't need to wash the dress so often (if you don't drop your food all over you) Very handy if you don't have a washing machine and tumble-dryer and your dress is made out of several meters of silk or wool :-)

[Lukey]

That was a really helpful image, Kocisz :)

Thanks for all the replies, such a small detail in the WoT but now its so much clearer visualising the scenes with them in their shifts :lol:

[dimmu666]

ummmm the problem is....if they don't wear anything where they would wear panties (to cover the...area), that shift wouldn't really cover it from underneath yeah? A dress also does not cover that area (from underneath)....

This is a sensitive subject and i'm not trying to offend, only that i find it messed up if they don't actually properly cover their....you know.

Is it like commando/direct access? ermmmmm pls enlighten me, i feel like a total idiot right now

[Luckers]

The dresses they wore are to the ankle. They also usually wore a sort of briefs in additiona to the shift, when riding and so forth, and finally both men and women would have been wearing stockings that go up to your waist.

[dimmu666]

k cool that clears thing up a bit haha. I was actually quite disturbed when i saw that pic of a shift....never actually remembered that they wear stockings and briefs underneath lol. I think its just too much underwear frankly speaking. Nowadays, we make do with a thong! Not saying i personally wear one....although i do have a red CK manthong....

[hapazard]

If we are to agree on that the clothing is styled after european middle ages stuff I think its safe to assume that there would be no 'briefs'.

 

People simply didn't bother with that kind of stuff in the good old days.

Men and woman alike.

[Xeonicus]

Lol... when I first saw this topic subject I thought it was going to talk about some kind of "phase shift" in reality or something. >_>

[Luckers]

I said a sort of briefs. Specifically white pants that go to bellow the knee and are made out of the same material as shifts, usually with a bum flap. In colder places they used long-johns.

[dimmu666]

ROFL!!!!!! Bum flap!??!? that is soooooo messed! So like....when they take a dump, they don't take off their underwear, just lift up the bum flap!!?? hahahhahahasdf;lksdjfsdf. Man....i can imagine Vanin doing that...like a sack of suet on the toilet, bum flap hahahahha!

[Luckers]

Pretty much.

[Kaznen]

Several male characters have metioned their "small cloths." I took this to mean boxer brief type of underwear.

[hapazard]

I said a sort of briefs. Specifically white pants that go to bellow the knee and are made out of the same material as shifts' date=' usually with a bum flap. In colder places they used long-johns.[/quote']

 

The loose pants are called pantalettes and didn't come into use until the 19th century. So if we are to stick to the whole medival thing I think we can crap that idea.

[TexasWilder]

Several male characters have metioned their "small cloths." I took this to mean boxer brief type of underwear.

I have wondered about this too. what exactly are smallclothes? :roll:

[Luckers]

The loose pants are called pantalettes

 

I wasn't talking about pantalettes, which ill confess ive never heard of.

 

Incidently though, much of Randland fashion has a vaguely victorian feel to it.

 

Smallclothes are litterally what i said... white garments of a light material worn under clothes... for the same reason as a shift actually... to be washed instead of washing clothes.

[Wonga]

Yeah; I've always sort of imagined the clothing as Victorian era in style.

 

As to the shift question I've sort of thought of it as a nightgown- that's probably ore to do with them always wearing it to bed so maybe a full-body petticoat!?