Solo [The Silk Palace] Dress Code

[Bennar Witt]

Autumn 15th, 515 A.V.

Benji found the Silk Palace easily, it being one of the foremost clothiers in the city. Most people knew where it was by virtue of the bright display of cloth in the storefront window. Even though the weather was once again drifting into the bitterness of the Kalean winter, this shop maintained a warmth in it’s bright and friendly atmosphere. He entered eagerly.

He had been thinking about this visit for a few days now. It was important now that he appeared respectable amongst the population of Lhavit. He had long felt like he was being labeled as an outsider even though he had lived within the skyglass city for almost two years now. Perhaps dressing like a Lhavitian was what he needed to fit more completely within his new home.

And so here he was, at the Silk Palace, the only place anyone would go it they wanted quality garments! Or at least that was what the lady who lived next to him told Benji. He trusted her fashion advice though. This place looked to be quite respectable!

He was greeted almost immediately by a beautiful young woman who introduced herself as Shilo. Benji bowed and returned her infectious smile. “Hello, I am Benji Witt.” He shook her proffered hand and glanced around the interior of the shop as another young lady approached with a ready cup of steaming tea. “Oh, thank you very much!”

This was indeed a respectable place. Lhavitian tea was perhaps the most unshakable of Benji’s vices. He tended to judge a person by the quality of their tea. As he took a sip of the deliciously brewed drink, Shilo said “What can we help you with, Mr. Witt?”

All three of the ladies stared at him expectantly. The moment was a bit unnerving. “I, ah, am in need of some more formal attire. I was hoping to find a few traditional Lhavitian pieces.”

“Hmm.” Said Shilo as she began stepping around Bennar, appraising him critically. “Did you have something specific in mind?” She asked without taking her eyes off his shoulders. One of the other girls slipped away, only to return with a measure of silken rope tied in interval knots. A measuring rope.

At the prompting of the other assistant, Bennar raised his arms and they began measuring his arms, shoulders, chest, sides, and waist. “I was uh, thinking something with some authority.” Benji said, looking sheepishly at a patch of fabric on the far wall.

“Ah, authority.” A silence followed. Benji thought it was good that she didn’t laugh at him, though that might just be professional discipline. Shilo, or as the assistants referred to her, Mistress Hai began pulling a few fabrics off the shelves and laying them beside each other on a table. “How many outfits would you like, Mr. Witt?”

“Perhaps two? Does that sound right?” He glanced at her askance. The assistants nudged him into a turn and he was dancing away from her. They poked and prodded him with their measuring rope. Finally they finished their work and stepped away, conversing with Shilo Hai about inseams and waist lengths. Benji stood silently where they left him.

“Two you say?” The seamstress asked without looking his way. She dragged a royal blue hued roll of wool cloth and a brown-gold hued roll to the forefront. “I’m thinking these for the tunics, and perhaps some pants in these?” She indicated one jet black cloth and another charcoal grey. “That way you can swap them around a bit and still make it work.

“Oh, that sounds great!” Benji said when he was certain she was looking for a response.

[Bennar Witt]

The cloth was held against his chest and subjected to the same critical eye he had been subjected to. Shilo and her compatriots scrutinized him with the colors held there. It felt to Benji that though they were looking at him he was very much an object of their professional analysis, not a person. That sensation made him feel quite helpless in this endeavor. He had thought he would make a stronger show of his desires in his clothes. He had never been one to completely disregard the nuances of fashion, after all. But here it seemed Mistress Shilo Hai and her identical assistants were best left to their work when it came to what was best for him.

So Benji watched silently as they cut and wrapped, pinned and folded. He was very much a mannequin. But the clothes seemed to form from the flying cloth and needles as these masterful crafters did their subtle dance. And that was what it seemed to be to the untrained eye of one such as Benji. They stepped and slid around each other and worked together and separately in a flurry of practiced movements that impressed him. Though he had never before taken an interest in the intricacies of garment making, he did now. Their attention to detail made it easy to see how they had become the leading cloth shop in Lhavit… according to his neighbor.

“You can go behind the curtain over there and try these on for us.” One of the assistants, Lae maybe?, ordered politely, thrusting some charcoal pants at him. “Careful you don’t pull out the pins at the bottom.” She added after he had almost wedged his way between two shelves of silk to the indicated curtain.

The pants felt soft against his legs as he gingerly stepped into them. He could tell the higher quality wool was much better equipped to combat the cold of the coming winter than his current pair. Once he returned to them, they adjusted his pants a bit more. Lae and Mae bent low and tugged at the bottom of the pants. They were adjusting the bottom length. Afterward they had him spin around slowly so they could see how it looked. Mae bent to make a few more adjustments while Benji craned his neck to watch.

“Okay go take them off and put these on.” Mae said, dropping the black pants into his hands. They went through this process with both pairs of pants and both tunics until Shilo was satisfied. It took the better part of the bell, but was well worth it. Bennar could feel the clothes fitting him more comfortably than his old rags. He became more and more self-conscious of the threadbare patches and ill-fitting shoulders of the clothes he was wearing in the presence of such fashion conscious women. He subtly tugged the collar of his shirt into place.

Eventually he had two fine woolen tunics, one royal blue and one a brown-gold, as well as two sets of pants, black and charcoal. Then Shilo persuaded him to look at traditional Lhavitian winter coats. She was very adept at finding the full extent of her customers’ willingness to be sold something. It seemed to Bennar that he wasn’t in need of a new coat until he spoke with her!

They settled on a grey coat with a half-cape embroidered with black and white designs and some white fur trim. As he tried it on he felt better about the impending winter. Now this was what he needed! He would never shiver walking to work again, thanks to Shilo and her girls. They all graciously accepted his thanks as well as his money when he paid them at the end. Benji forced a pleasant face while he dropped the six Kina and assorted lesser gems into Shilo Hai’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you so much for coming. Please visit us again!”

Item	Base Cost	Multipliers	New Cost
Tunic (blue)	5 TK	x3 (fine wool)	1 Ki 5 TK
Tunic (gold)	5 TK	x3 (fine wool)	1 Ki 5 TK
Pants (black)	8 TK	x1.5 (medium wool)	1 Ki 2 TK
Pants (charcoal)	8 TK	x1.5 (medium wool)	1 Ki 2 TK
Coat (fur-trim)	5 TK	x1.5 (fur-trim)	1 Ki
Total	-	-	6 Ki 4 TK

[Bee]

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request. If there's anything I may have missed, please PM me and I'll be happy to look into it. Also, remember, the word count is 2,500 words. But I'll let this slide since you were just buying clothes.

 

Characters Name

Skills

• Socialization +1
• Observation +1

Lores

• Lore: Silk Palace: Being a mannequin
• Lore: Buying clothes

Miscellaneous

• Tunic (blue)-1 Ki 5 TK| -1Ki 5TK
• Tunic (gold)-1 Ki 5 TK| -3 Ki
• Pants (black)-1 Ki 2 TK| -4 Ki 2 TK
• Pants (charcoal)-1 Ki 2 TK| -5 Ki 4 TK
• Coat (fur trim)-5 TK| -6 Ki 4 TK
  -6 Ki 4 TK