I know this is a guy's outfit, but the only thing I was interested in was the tunic. It almost looks armored, and I was wondering what a suit of Calormene armor might look like for our heroine.

There is a painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau called "Tricoteuse" that I have dubbed "Aravis Tarkheena" because the girl in the picture reminds me way too much of her.

Here it is:

http://www.artrenewal.org/artwork/007/7 ... e-huge.jpg

The paisley and blue especially made me think of her. I can imagine this being a Calormene outfit. Plus the buildings do look Middle Eastern/Mediterranean in general.

And yes, I do have a copy of it in my bedroom The original is at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, FL...making it the Bouguereau painting closest to where I live. Bouguereau is my favorite painter, btw, if you could not tell.

I think the outfit Aravis Narnia suggested would be nice when she is a beggar.

I came across an illustration by Edmund Dulac that looked rather
Calormin-ish, so I searched for more. Here are some that I found.
They're all from fairytales. I know some are from a story called Blue Beard. the others I'm not sure of.
This on reminded me a lot of Aravis.

Tashbaan?
This is kind of how I imagined

Lasaraleen and her home. All it needs is a pet monkey.

A rather Calormin looking outfit.

These are the ones I think are from Blue Beard.
The clothes are so perfect!

I think something Aravis would wear would be a salwar kameez. I have one I got a few years ago, which I can picture her wearing. It's got a red skirt with sort of swirly sun designs, mirrors on the waist band, and lots of different beads on a goldish yellow top. It has a slight standing collar, a round neck, and little mirrors on the red waist border. It also has red trousers with gold borders on the bottom of the leg and neck red/gold scarf. I'm hoping to put on a picture later-I haven't had access to something I can load it online.

Lady Arwen Undomiel, I really like those pictures as Calormene concepts. The orange of the Tashbaan image is a great color for Calormene in general.

Aravis Narnia, that painting would definitely be great costume inspiration. Remember all the paintings used in the LWW costume design?

I drew an outfit for either Lasaraleen or possibly Aravis at home (click the thumbnail below)

I made some notes on the drawing - I'd want the long jacket to be of layers of stiff tulle (or whatever makes tutus so stiff!), cut at gradating lengths. Also, a middle layer of softer gauze to drape out of the sleeves' wrist end. I imagine sandals like these

Or these to go with it.

I like your costume design, Adeona! I'm intrigued by the layers of tulle in the sleeves; it sounds neat, but I'm having trouble visualizing it. What would the rest of the coat be made of? And how long are the sleeves? They look elbow-length in one picture, but then a little closer to wrist-length, so I'm not sure if they're pushed up or if the first cut starts at the elbow.
I'm also very curious about the overall colours; were you thinking warm or cool colours or a mixture?
My only little critique/uncertainty is that I'd always thought of Lasaraleen (and Aravis when she's being a proper lady at home) of wearing longer trousers, though this is probably just me.

Interesting! The Lady Arwen Undomiel, I love those illustrations! Those clothes look so Calormene! Personally, I'd love outfits like that!
For some reason, I could picture the rural people wearing more of the "warm" colors, and in Tashbaan, the upper class (such as Lasaraleen) wearing cooler colors. Is that just me, or did I hear that somewhere? *tries to remember all tidbits of Calormene research*
How many layers do you think Aravis would have worn? I'm trying to analyze that from the pictures, and it's a bit confuzzling. Pants, tunic/dress/whatever, and then a jacket/caftan-type/over-dress? Or is there sometimes another top peeking out at the neckline (maybe underneath the tunic/dress-thing?)
What kind of trim would seem especially Calormene?

What kind of trim would seem especially Calormene?

That's a good question! Since the Calormenes like stories, perhaps they would put some of their stories in the trim, maybe woven or embroidered.

I hadn't thought of the lower class wearing warm colors and the upper class wearing cool colours, but I think that idea could work, Lady Rosalia.
I'm not sure about the layers, but I'd guess less layers due to the heat, but certainly some sort of jacket at least for the cooler nights.

I like the idea of putting stories in their trim, Mel. For some reason I'm also picturing some brightly woven trim, perhaps metallic or golden at least? And maybe some trim with dangling metal discs, like larger sequins, but maybe that's too far out there.

@The Lady Arwen Undómiel
I love Edmond Dulec, I thought of the same thing when I first saw his pictures when collecting some of his art!
I believe he illustrated The Arabian Nights, which is fitting since that is what inspired Lewis for Calormen.
Here are a few more images from him that I've been collecting:

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Except for the time she's dressed as a slave for Lasaraleen, Aravis was dressed in her brother's armor in the book at least up until they reach the Hermit if I remember correctly. I would think she would have been in something different by the time they left the tombs just because if she'd been wearing armor, the Lion's claws would not have torn her.

Her Archenland costume I could see her opt for something that looks between a cross between Narnian and Calormen. Maybe something with Calormen accents and Narnian cut and color? Just something to hint at her background. Either that or something very similar to a Narnian style dress due to her trying to leave Calormen behind her.

Yes, Aravis wore armour when Shasta and Bree first met her, but Shasta had to get some peasant boy's clothes for her to wear when they transited Tashbaan. The armour was put into packs the horses were to carry, as if they were something else. Aravis' armour might have been still in the horses' backpacks, to cross the desert, but Aravis still wore her slave outfit at that stage. It was safer for Aravis to be dressed like that to get through the palace. The outfit was horribly unsuitable for walking in a desert, and I wonder if the armour was left at Lazaraleen's place.

At Anvard, Aravis and Lucy were looking at clothes she could wear. I'd imagine that some of these were some of Lucy's own clothing and/or clothes from courtiers or Shasta and Corin's mother, made over. Sort of flowing, soft, practical but maybe cut down to size. A salwar kameez might be a suitable outfit for here. Most of the ones I've seen are light but practical.

I've been enjoying looking at some images from the Lakme Fashion Week, and I present my favorites for your consideration.

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Oh, wow, Meltintalle! Those are amazing and so perfect. And, 7chronicles, several of the Edmund Dulac pics I had not seen! Thank you both for sharing.