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Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 22, 2010 22:52:49 GMT -5
I found the shop that Faolan had mentioned, and though we weren't going on a sea voyage, this place specialized in clothing that was more functional than stylish. Hopefully that included breeches for women, unaccompanied by any attitude about it.
I pushed the door open and held it for Sandrine, looking around curiously at the clothes hanging from the wall and from various racks around the room.
"I think we should be able to find some good things here, and then there's a place for furs down the lane, so we'll be warm too." I said, letting the door close with a soft click as I followed her in.
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Sandrine nó Orchis
Adept
Orchis House
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
Posts: 776
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Post by Sandrine nó Orchis on Jun 24, 2010 23:03:16 GMT -5
I looked around at the clothes on the wall. I had seen working men and women in the market, and so these clothes were not entirely foreign, but I had never thought to wear them. Unless I was hiding, of course.
"Oh, look," I said, reaching for a pair of sleek black pants. "Hm, wearing these you'll never have to close your legs when you're sitting down." I grinned and took them down, holding them up against my body. "Maybe I'll wear my hair back and pass as a boy, though I doubt my figure will allow it."
A door in the back opened and clothes, and an older woman came out. "Can I help you dears?" she asked, wiping her hands against each other. "What kind of things are you looking for?"
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Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 24, 2010 23:45:00 GMT -5
I laughed at Sandrine's suggestion, it was ludicrous, anyone with eyes could see she was all woman! I started to say as much when we were interrupted by the shopkeeper, a genial looking woman with dark hair.
"Well, we're going to be traveling," I said, hoping that she would perhaps have some good advice for us, "And we want to be comfortable. I was thinking that there had to be something besides skirts or dresses that we could wear. Any ideas?"
She paused and thought for a minute and then steered us toward a small section near the back of the store. "These here are the women's things, and as you can tell, it's not much of a selection, but we don't get much call for it. Silly, I think, why shouldn't a woman be comfortable? But that's the society we live in," she shook her head even as I began to poke around the racks, glancing at Sandrine and wondering what she made of this.
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Sandrine nó Orchis
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Orchis House
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
Posts: 776
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Post by Sandrine nó Orchis on Jun 24, 2010 23:49:00 GMT -5
I met Sophine's eyes and shrugged. "You're right," I said to the shopkeeper. "We'll be bouncing along in a carriage or on a horse for hours. It might as well be in the most comfortable clothing we can find."
I bit my lip, and then said, "Maybe if we don't find anything in this section, we can look in the men's section. If you were traveling, Madam Shopkeeper, with no regard to societal norms, what would you pick to wear?"
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Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 25, 2010 11:44:55 GMT -5
She considered, looking us over and shook her head, pointing at me with one bony finger. "That one would have to spend a fortune on tailoring if she tried to buy something from the men's area. Look at those skinny legs! Like a chicken..." She trailed off as I stared, affronted but too surprised to say anything in my own defense.
Flipping through a rack, she pulled out a pair of dark breeches, similar to men's but the cut was somehow more feminine, not that I was an expert on fashion. "These would work for you, and I think you too," she said to Sandrine, tossing her a pair as well. "And then we have these tunics, kind of shapeless, but if you're going for functionality over style, they're warm and comfortable." She pulled a few of those off the rack as well, and then pointed at a changing area.
"You can try these on there, but there's only one room." I shrugged and looked to Sandrine, fairly certain that she wouldn't mind sharing a dressing room with me.
"All right, well, we'll try these out and let you know."
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Sandrine nó Orchis
Adept
Orchis House
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
Posts: 776
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Post by Sandrine nó Orchis on Jun 26, 2010 11:11:08 GMT -5
I held back a laugh at the woman's correct assessment of Sophine. Those legs did go on forever, but they were quite skinny. Instead I caught Sophine's eye and shook my head, rolling my eyes as if to say, the nerve!
Easily I caught the pair of pants, taking the tunics from the woman's arm. "Thanks, ma'am," I said, walking towards the dressing room with Sophine in tow.
Once there, I reached behind me, fumbling with my stays. I couldn't reach them to undo them, and I let out a particularly fun curse I had just read in a book about Jebean culture. "Sophine, would you be a dear and help me with these? I can return the favor if necessary."
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Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 27, 2010 14:16:46 GMT -5
"Of course," I said, unlacing her dress and then turning around so she could do mine. "I didn't dress with changing in mind." When my dress fell to the ground, I pulled on the breeches, which fit but a bit loosely in the legs, which annoyed me to no end. I slid the tunic on as well, a better fit and if I left the laces at the breast undone it seemed more feminine.
"What do you think?"
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Sandrine nó Orchis
Adept
Orchis House
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
Posts: 776
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Post by Sandrine nó Orchis on Jun 27, 2010 23:33:00 GMT -5
I did hers as well, being careful in the small space. If I had not had months of practice of restraining myself from Guy, I might not have been able to resist Sophine. Instead I pretended her naked body looked like every other naked body I had ever seen (that is to say, gorgeous), and tried on the clothes myself.
Mine fit a little better than Sophine's in the legs, due to my wider hips, but the tunic was very tight across my chest, even with loosening the laces. I looked down into my cleavage and laughed. "I think we'll both need tailoring, my dear. Maybe this shop will do it quickly?" I turned around once. "I wish they had brighter colors, but we are going for function, not form." I shrugged and stepped outside the dressing room. "Ma'am? What do you think?"
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Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 28, 2010 20:42:32 GMT -5
The woman looked at us as we stepped out and nodded. "I think those are perfect, with some tailoring. We do that here, if you like, for a fair price."
"How soon could we have them ready?" I asked; now that my mind was made up, I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I only needed to talk to Erie and then we could go. I didn't say anything to Sandrine, but I hoped that he would offer to come with us, I would love for him to meet my family, and just for his company on the trip.
"Within a week, or a few days sooner for extra coin," She said, and I nodded.
"What do you think, Sandrine? Five breeches and five tunics for each of us? That should be more than enough just to get to Eisande and back. Oh, and some for Denise, she'll love them." I turned to my best friend with a smile, suddenly absurdly excited, despite the serious purpose of the trip.
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Sandrine nó Orchis
Adept
Orchis House
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
Posts: 776
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Post by Sandrine nó Orchis on Jun 28, 2010 23:25:52 GMT -5
I grinned at Sophine. "That sounds good, though I might still sneak a dress or two." I shrugged. "Sorry, I can't help it."
I toyed with the laces in the front as I looked at the saleswoman. "May we have the tailoring done now?" She nodded, pulling out a tape measure from a place I couldn't see. Then she gestured to a small stool.
"Get up there, and I'll start measuring."
I climbed up on the stool and obediently held out my arms as the woman started taking my measurements with a steady hand, making small markings with a piece of chalk.
"So we're going to do the quick order, hm?" I asked Sophine, thinking about how much coin that would be. Not for the first time, I wished I had access to more money. Soon I would have enough saved for my trip, but going to Eisande would cut into my available coin. Worse comes to worse, I thought, at the least you can make money on the trip, if need be. "The sooner the better!"
Finally the woman waved me down, and I descended from the stool. "Do you think we'll need cloaks? I have some old ones I can probably use that will travel well..." The idea that I was finally leaving the City of Elua was starting to sink in, and I couldn't help but grin.
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Post by Sophine Shahrizai de Amodour on Jun 29, 2010 0:00:01 GMT -5
I watched Sandrine getting measured, then shook my head about the cloaks. "I have a lot of cloaks, actually," I said, thinking about my wardrobe and what we should bring. "We'll need warm dresses too, to change into, because my father will probably not want to see me in breeches," I made a face at his old-fashioned ways, before taking Sandrine's place on the stool.
I suffered myself to be measure, even though words like "sticks" and "more meat on a starving dog" were being bandied about. I wasn't that thin, I thought indignantly, and I was sorely tempted to kick the woman. I didn't, however, and soon we were placing our order.
"You can pick these up the day after tomorrow," she said, handing me a receipt to bring along when I did.
"All right, that's done," I said to Sandrine with a grin. "What should we do now?"
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Sandrine nó Orchis
Adept
Orchis House
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
Posts: 776
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Post by Sandrine nó Orchis on Jun 29, 2010 0:30:54 GMT -5
"This might be the first time I'm agreeing with your dad...I'll really have to get used to these breeches." We had both already changed, and I flashed her a grin. "How about snacks?"
"She needs some," the woman said, under her breath but loud enough so I could hear her. Years of eavesdropping had honed my hearing.
"Ma'am, Sophine might be skinny, but no matter how many cakes I force down her gullet she still won't get any bigger. I can't believe it myself. In fact, I'm a little jealous," I said, patting my stomach. "But I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you'd stop all the teasing." I shrugged. "She is a paying customer, after all."
The woman opened her mouth, then closed it with a snap. I gave her my most disarming smile. "We'll be back in a few days."
I hooked my arm in Sophine's. "Now, how about those snacks? And maybe a gift for Denise? She does know we're leaving, right?"
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