Put Some Clothes On!

Put Some Clothes On!

But how? Winged humanoids sure do have some big limbs to work around when it comes to clothing.

(Here are the master posts for feathery wings and membranous wings)

(Description: sketches of a feathery winged humanoid and a bat-winged humanoid. They are standing with their wings curled around their naked bodies and look concerned.)

I’m using my oc Morianten and my new tutorial oc Teo as models for this. Because clothes are more fun to draw on someone with a face instead of a blank mannequin lol.

(Description: two images showing Morianten and Teo respectively to display basic clothing structure that accommodates feathery wings and bat wings respectively. Their outfits are pretty similar with some minor differences.)

Winged humanoids with feathery bird-like wings do have space between the wings and tail where you can add a belt. The basic structure is a halter top that fastens behind the neck and then again at the waist, with a big open space between so the wings are unobstructed. This would be put on at the neck first and then fastened at the waist. A belt can be added to attach a skirt or pants, which would be stepped into and pulled up to the base of the tail. Or the whole outfit can be a dress or jumpsuit that would be stepped into and then fastened at the waist and neck. Sleeves can be added, but they would require some specialization to stay up properly when they can’t attach to anything behind the arm.

Winged humanoids with bat-like wings do not have space for a belt, so their clothing is a little more shapeless. Think of a halter top jumpsuit or dress with an open back all the way down to the butt. It would be stepped into, pulled to the base of the tail, and then fastened at the neck. Just like the previous example, sleeves can be added but need a little extra specialization to stay up.

(Description: Mori and Teo from behind, modeling the different ways they keep their backs warm.)

Since they can’t just throw on a normal shirt, staying warm in cold weather does require some unique solutions. For the feathery wings, honestly their back feathers might be good enough. But if it’s not good enough, a panel that fastens to the back of the neck and the back of the waist should help. And it might require some help to put on. For the bat wings, there is no waist to attach things to, so a cape attached at the neck with enough weights in the hem to keep it in place will have to do.

(Description: Mori rocking a hood and Teo putting on some extra warm accessories.)

Hoods would be pretty easy to add to a halter top for winged people, it’s just a normal hood that might have to open in the back a little to go over the head and neck properly. Both types of winged people should be able to wear things like gloves and shoes perfectly fine, though if like me you are giving your winged people non-human feet you might have a trickier time giving them shoes.

I don’t think putting a wing cover over a feathery wing is a good idea, as it would disrupt the feathers and make flying extremely difficult. But maybe you could find a way to get a wing cover over the membranous wing. Maybe. It would be really tricky to get it to work right and be fitted properly to allow for flight. But if you want to do it, go for it, it’s fantasy bat people.

(Description: four colored drawings of Mori and Teo modeling different outfits. In the top left, Mori is wearing a cute pink outfit with a poofy skirt that has a lace pattern on the top and fancy criss-crossed straps at the neck with matching gladiator sandals. In the opposite lower right corner, Mori is wearing a cozy blue and purple outfit with a hooded short cape and a tunic with long sleeves, as well as mittens, pants, and knee high boots. Everything on this outfit has a fluffy lining.

In the top right, Teo is wearing a practical denim jumpsuit with a green front panel that has yellow flowers on it. This panel ends in a big front pocket. He is also wearing sturdy looking knee high boots. In the opposite lower left corner, Teo is wearing a very dramatic hooded robe in a dark blue color, with flowy sleeves and gold jewelery. There is also a grey tapestry panel at the front with gold fringe and bright blue designs along it.)

It is so much fun to take the basic clothing structures and see just how much you can push them, so go wild! Even the simple outfits can be spiffed up with fun colors and patterns. And just because the outfits kind of require a halter top for the sake of the wings doesn’t mean you can only do one style of clothing. You can make it masculine, feminine, androgynous, colorful, fancy, casual, etc

Clothing also helps display culture! So if you’re trying to worldbuild with winged people and you’re stuck on culture stuff, think about how their specific needs regarding clothing might have developed and been affected by their lifestyles or changed their lifestyles. Bat people can’t wear belts because they have no waist gap between the wings and tail, so maybe they developed clothing with lots of pockets. Maybe your feathery humanoids are very bird like in their behavior so they wear very shiny and colorful outfits with lots of frill! The possibilities are endless.