[open] not a swatch, not a skein had gone to waste

[doneisdone]

WHO: Teren von Skraedder and cheapskates
WHAT: Outfit consultations/fittings/alterations for the ball. From this post.
WHEN: From early Drakonis to the night of the event
WHERE: The Herald's Rest, second floor; personal rooms
NOTES: She can do anything an Orlesian tailor can, and without a stupid mask.

Teren can be found at a large corner table in the Herald's Rest, where she has set up an impromptu workshop for those who can't afford or would prefer not to use the Orlesian tailors.

She is also making house calls for those who request them. (Just put it in your starter!)

Comments

[bookish_lioness]

While Hermione had passed through the Herald's Rest on her first tour of Skyhold, she isn't overly familiar with it, and so has to ask for directions as she curiously moves throughout the tavern. When she finally finds Teren, she stops just a bit away from the table, a slightly tattered red dress draped over her arm.

"Excuse me?" she starts, a small, polite smile on her face. "Are you the one who put up the advert for making alterations on party clothes?"

[doneisdone]

Teren looks up from her work and, at the sight of the girl, offers a genuine if wry smile.
"Well hello," she greets, "aye, that's me. Glad to see you arrived in one piece."

[bookish_lioness]

She hadn't been sure if the name had been right, given how many people she'd met over the past couple of weeks. But when she sees Teren and the recognition in her eyes, her smile turns into something a little more genuine.

"I did, yes. I've had a little help from a lot of people. I didn't realize you were a seamstress here."

[doneisdone]

"I wasn't," Teren brusquely replies, "but now I am. I like to make myself useful when the Wardens aren't up to their usual business." Which is to say, fighting darkspawn and being the pariahs of Thedas.
"Now then-- what is it I can alter for you?"

[bookish_lioness]

The mention of the Wardens intrigues her, since Hermione had only heard about them briefly and was curious to learn more. But it wouldn't be fair to come here for one thing and ask for another, and so she decides to ask Teren more about that later.

So for now, she holds up her dress, which looks as though it's seen better days, likely before it had been spat out of a rift. "I happen to have this, but I wasn't sure if it would fit in with local fashion. I'd like to know if it's too short or too revealing or simply inappropriate for the kind of party that's being thrown, and if it is, whether it could be altered so it looks a little more acceptable."

[doneisdone]

Teren immediately cringes at the sight of the dress, reaching out to pluck gingerly at its hem. "Goodness, girl, you're not going to a brothel," she exclaims, "yes, we'll need to extend the skirts by quite a lot. ...and the sleeves." Really most of this dress is wretched and whorish, but she's willing to give Hermione the benefit of the doubt, being not from around here and all.

"It fits fine otherwise?" she asks, looking at it gingerly.

[bookish_lioness]

She's a little surprised (and more than a little offended) by the appraisal, though really, it's not really anything she hadn't expected. "It was for a summer wedding," she explains, almost petulantly. But she lets that pass quickly enough, since she admits, "I thought the length would be wrong, but as I don't really know what sort of thing counts as appropriate dress at an affair like this, I figured it best to ask. It fits well enough, yes."

[doneisdone]

In a time and place where women are free to wear trousers as often as they do skirts, unfortunately the shorter versions still tend to be reserved for the trollops. It's a fact of life that Teren knows well, and she would never in good conscience send a young lady out in public wearing so scandalous a garment.

"You were right to ask," she says, a bit more gently, appraising the dress. "Depending on complexity, this shouldn't take altogether too long. I imagine you need it before the ball?"

[bookish_lioness]

It's a good thing Hermione didn't show up in her Hogwarts uniform, in that case. That skirt would have left her far too exposed while dealing with demons in Emprise du Lion.

"So long as it covers enough that I won't be stared at. If the ruffles make things complicated, you can undo the stitching on them and leave it plain. I don't exactly have anyone to impress, after all." Going through her pockets, she adds, "If it's convenient; I can pay you a partial fee now and give you the rest when it's complete. I've only just started working, so I'm sorry if that's not how things are done here."

[doneisdone]

"I'll ensure you're fit to attend," Teren assures her, "and don't worry about pay just now, wait until I've finished the thing." She might charge half upfront for a more troublesome client, but she doubts this girl has a bone of guile in her body.

[bookish_lioness]

Normally, Hermione might insist upon a down payment. But as she has no idea how much the entire thing might cost nor what would make for a good offer without being insulting, she doesn't press it, though she's clearly grateful for it. "Oh! ... well, thank you. If you could give me a good approximation of how much it will be, I'll make sure to have that when I pick it up. I'm available for any measurements you might need to take for the sleeves or longer cut; just say when."

[doneisdone]

"For the extra fabric and labor involved, I'd say two silvers," Teren decides. It's not as much as she would charge for a new dress, but still more than basic alterations. "We might as well do your measurements now, while you're here."
Her measuring tape is right on the table beside her, having seen a lot of use today, and she snatches it up and gets to her feet. "Arms out straight," she commands, and assuming Hermione complies, goes through the full measure-taking process with an almost military level of precision and efficiency.

[bookish_lioness]

With no frame of reference, she doesn't blink at the proposed price, though she does hope Teren isn't the sort who would try to cheat a rifter. She decides that that's not overly likely, so she only nods, putting the dress down before holding her arms out as instructed. "Thank you. I normally wouldn't trouble anyone, but it doesn't make any sense to do this myself when I don't know what everyone else will look like. Or, at least, what I shouldn't be looking like."

Pausing as she glances at the dress, she frowns a little and asks, "Does it really look like the sort of thing someone would wear at a brothel?" She should be glad she hasn't had reason to wear it without running it by someone first, in that case.

[doneisdone]

Scribbling down the last of the girl's measurements, Teren straightens and begins to put her things back in order. "Showing a lot of leg generally says you're a certain type of person," she says, considering her words-- she never thought she'd have to explain this to anyone, since for the most part it's obvious. "Loose women. ...and men. Especially in regions this cold, wherein there's no practical purpose for bare skin other than easy access."

[bookish_lioness]

Her frown just grows at that. "I suppose that's still the norm for some cultures in my world - and most people wouldn't want to wear something too short regardless, whatever 'too short' might mean for them. But what about in warmer or more temperate climates? Surely the people there don't keep themselves all covered up?"

[doneisdone]

Teren considers her a moment, lips pursed. "Unless one is in... the farthest reaches of Orlais, or I suppose Par Vollen, I doubt one would be too uncomfortable." She tilts her head, considering the girl. "The weather round here is fairly uniformly cold-- don't expect the keep's appearance to change much, even as we go into spring. And from what I know of Ferelden, it's damp as well, making for a doubly unpleasant experience."

[bookish_lioness]

"There's never any warmth?" Hermione asks, seeming genuinely saddened by this. She enjoys cold weather well enough, and England is known for being a bit damp in the way that Siberia is known for being a bit nippy, but to deal with long stretches of cold with hardly a spring and no summer at all to speak of....

"That's unfortunate. I suppose I can see why showing much skin at all would get me looked at, then."

[doneisdone]

"Not often," Teren confirms, and, glad to see Hermione is catching on, gives her a firm nod. "Aye," she says, "but don't be too put out about it, you're still new to the region. I'll ensure you've got something proper to wear, that still befits someone your age." She was a young lady herself once, and she knows what kind of trust they put into someone who has the power to dress them.

[bookish_lioness]

"Thank you," she murmurs, frowning a bit as she looks down at herself. After a moment of staring down at her jeans and button-down blouse, she hesitantly asks, "There isn't anything too out of the ordinary about what I usually wear, is there? I suppose I haven't seen anyone around here in denim, but no one's made any snippy comments about my clothes." And, quite frankly, she's not entirely sure Adelaide will be paying her enough to account for an entirely new wardrobe.

[doneisdone]

Teren looks her over, smirks a little, and shrugs one shoulder. "There are all manner of odd vestments going about these days," she says, "I wouldn't be too concerned." Women wearing pants has never been exceptionally unusual, after all, so there's no need for her to remark on it. "I've seen stranger by far. ...and some of the strangest have come from Thedas."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione wouldn't have switched to exclusively skirts and dresses even if that had been the local custom. She's run away from danger in a dress before - this dress, as a matter of fact - and she has no intention of attempting that again, especially when she can't just Apparate to safety. "Oh? Fashion at home can be a little odd, too. What's the strangest thing you've seen here?"

[doneisdone]

Teren smirks and leans back in her chair a bit, glancing over her worktable and seeming to pick over it with her eyes as she answers. "Orlesian court fashion is the easy answer. But Maker, are there some ugly getups in Ferelden as well. In the nobility. I don't know what it is about nobility." She's not about to speak against clothing choices in the peasantry, since it's not like they can help it. Her judgment does have some limits.

[bookish_lioness]

"Well, nobles are mostly making fashion choices with the intention of being seen, aren't they?" Hermione asks, treading lightly. She may know about history, but historical clothing isn't exactly something with which shes highly familiar. "At least, that tends to have always been the trend back home. It guaranteed that people would be talking about you. I'd just wish that people would be more discerning about the kind of talk they purposely generate."

[doneisdone]

"Oh, yes, it's true-- and in doing so they waste both coin and resources in making themselves look as ridiculous as possible." Tell us how you really feel, Teren. "I doubt those of us without money will ever fully understand the lives or intentions of those with it. And perhaps that's for the best."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione decides that it's probably for the best that no one here knows she comes from a relatively well-to-do family; a pair of dentists hardly counts as nobility and she's never been tarted up for the sake of fashion, but she'd rather not invite the kind of ire Teren seems to have towards the rich. "It does seem a bit silly, making yourself out to be a peacock when you should be focused on more important things."