Wing dress

The wing dress is the traditional female dress of the Hirvi people. With it's lower back and center back placement of the straps that are fastened with buttons in the front for ease of dressing makes it an idea dress for winged females. It has a full dress shaped sleeveless design that is about ankle length. It's unique strap design is what truly sets it apart for any other style of dress. This dress is commonly worn with a backless long sleeved shirt to cover the shoulders and neck from the sun.

Significance

Wing dresses are not just a pretty dress. They have a larger social significands to the Hirvi communities. Within these communities Hirvi females do a big part of the physical labor that is needed in the farming of there produce. The reason they do this labor is because unlike the males the females have wing. They uses these wing to decent to the serves to sow, take care of and harvest the crops. This labor needs one the move easily leading clothing that is practical clothing that just that, practical. A wing dress allows females to let got of that part of there lives and be comfortable doing it. Its design has developed fully around freedom on wing movement without losing the famine look that work clothing does not give them. One wing dress can last an full grown Hirvi woman her entire life when it's properly taken care of and mended when needed. Because of the shape of the garment it will chainage with a changing shape of the body, for example in pregnancy or when one gets older. Most females have two to three wing dresses. One is very basic, it usually made by a family member. One is a lighter weight dress for the warm seasons. For the cold seasons they will layer under dresses to keep warm. And the third one is there wedding wing dress. This dress is not only worn on the wedding day of the female but will become her main dress after. This does however not mean that the dress is not special on the wedding day. Asseccories are added to make the dress extra special for that day that are removed or swapped out for simpler pieces. The wedding dress is made by the wearer and the trim that is used the finish the neckline and armseye is made by the to be husband as a commitment to his bride. Sometimes an other dress that one might have is a formal wing dress. it is not common to have one for most females, but if one is to spend a lot of time in formal setting they will have a formal dress for those occasions.

History

The Wing Dress is a garment that has been worm by Hirvi woman for centuries. Before it became the garment we nowadays call a wing dress it has seen many iterations. The oldest version of a dress worn by the Hirvi females could be described as a length of fabric wrapped around the body. This design did not involve any sewing. In later versions buttons and pins were used to secure the fabric across the top. The first version with shoulder straps had simple ribbons attached to the dress that acted like straps. These straps made it possible for the dress to be less tight around the chest leading to more mobility in the wings. Over the years the straps have become wider and more comfortable. The dresses have gotten a lot more volume not that it doesn't have to relay on a strepless design. The evolution of this dress has allowed females more freedom in there clothing.

Material and Production

Material

Hemp - Wing dresses are commonly made of Hemp. Hemp is a bast fiber, this means that the fiber producing past of the plant surround the woody core of the plant. the fibers run along the length of the stem leading to long unbroken fibers ideal for creating fabrics and yarns that can be used in clothes production. It is a fast growing plant with is naturally resistant to many pests and needs little water to cultivate. Hemp is one of the crops that the Hirvi people crown on the serves giving them easy eases to these fibers.

Silk - An other material that is used is silk. Silk is an expensive material and where they can make there own hemp fabrics silk needs to me bought form silk makers adding to the already high price of the textile. For day to day dresses silks are not used. Even wedding dressed are usually not made of silk. Most of the silk dresses that have been made have been warn to court where once best dress is expected. If a Hirvi has to regularly appear in court and take part in there formal celebrations they might infest in a silk wing dress. Silk is however very expensive and out of budget for most Hirvi.

Other - Other materials can of coarse be used to make wing dresses are the chap and cut is what makes the it unique. Do note that the material can not be to think as that can make the pleading at the garment look bulky.

Fabric

Fabric - For the making of a wing dress the hemp fibers first need to be spun into a fine tread and then woven on a loom. Fabric that is woven on these looms is about a meter in with and about three to four widths of fabric is used in the making of a dress. The fabric is commonly with a basked weave to create a strong and sturdy fabric. In some occasions there fabric might also be woven with a satin weave to grate a fabric that has a nice sheen to it. This fabric is seen as a more luxurious fabric and is thus mostly used for special occasions and formal dresses. An other way fabrics can be made of a finer and more luxurious is by use of finer weaving treads leading to a finer fabric that has a softer drape to it. This can be combined with a satin weave to get a very dreamy fabric.

Finishing tape - Wing dresses are finished with a length of tape, a narrow ribbon of 2 to 3 centimeter wide, around the neckline and arms eye. These ribbons are woven separately from the main fabric on special tape looms. These looms are made specifically to make the weaving of these tapes quick and easy. They are often made of the same material but can be made from silk to elevate a hemp dress. The weaving of these tapes is done by the males of the community and it is costume for a male to weave the tape used on his brides wedding dress as a sign of the commitment to the relationship while they are off working the fields. Many males take this very serious and come up with elaborate designs in weaving patterns, prints and colors for there wedding tapes.

Construction

A wing dress is very simple in its construction. In short it is a tube of fabric finished with tape at the topside and shoulder straps. These straps is what makes a wing dress a wing dress. In the front the straps attach via buttons on the inside of the dress. They can detach to make it easier to get the dress on. This way they don't have to maneuver there wings through a hole but can pull the straps over there shoulders. On the back the straps meet at a single point in the middle of the back panel. In some cases the straps are attached right to the dress, in others there is a small fabric panel the the shape of an upside down trapezium or triangle that is attached to the dress and the straps are attached to that. Which ever version is used is up to the individual person and what they find comfortable with. The length of a wing dress is commonly about ankle length. Lighter versions for the warmer seasons may be shorter with a length of about mid calf. Formal versions of the dress are often longer with them being floor length.

Gathered dress - The simplest is a gathered wing dress. With this the multiple widths of fabric are sown together along the selvage of the fabric leaving about a centimeter of seam allowance that is felled down to finish the garment. The edges will not fray because they are on the selvage. The top edge is then gathered up into the finishing tape. This makes for a very full wing dress.

Shaped dress - A more complicated way to make a wing dress. For a shaped dress the panels are cut our of the fabric to have a tighter fit across the chest. There are gores added to the sides and back to add volume to the dress starting from under the bust. Because these dresses have a tight fit around the bust there needs to be a slit down the front so one is able to get the dress up over the hips. This slit is often no longer than ten centimeters and is fastened with buttons. This slit might me added to other styles too but will function a mostly decoration purpose where here it's fully functional. Hirvi that like to wear this style of wing dress are often larger chested and want that extra support that this style gives.

Semi gathered dress - A combination of the gathered and shaped style dress. the front of this dress is shaped like a shaped dress but the back has the gathers of a gathered dress. This leaves the front smooth while still having the volume that comes with a gathered dress. Where the gathers start can differ. Some start as far forward as the attachment point for the straps in the front and other only have as little as twenty centimeters in the back.

The style of dress one choices is largely depended on the community they are from. Every community has its own style when it comes to the dress body and most in that community follow that shape expressing there personal style through adding embellishments to the dress.

Other common ways of personalizing is by adding belts or pins to it.

Embellishments - Wing dresses might de decorated with ribbons, ruffles and embroidery. These embellishments are added to show someone's personal style or the occasion the dress is made for.

Color

Fabric - Most fabrics are dyed before being made into a garment. Denim blues, soft greys and warm whites are the most popular colors chosen for everyday dresses. For formal dresses colors like periwinkle, light blues, soft pinks, soft greys and golden yellows are popular.

Patterns - Other things that people do to give visual interest to there garment is to add patterns to the dress fabric. These can be added by painting the design on with stamps or by hand, or they can be woven into the fabric. The most common design is flower, grain crops imagery or clouds.

Tape - The tape that finished the neck and armseyes of the dress are often in a different and contrasting colors to the dress. Popular colors are red, blue, golden yellow and orange with gold and silver being popular for formal dress. Small patterns woven into the tape are popular with married couples where the male weaves the tapes for his wives dresses.

The most popular color combination for wing dresses is a blue dress with red tape along the neck and armseye.