The Heroine Wore A Housecoat

Okay, so last post I complained about the clothing dilemma in terms of the hero. And I also wondered just what on earth a housecoat was. Thanks to Lorraine and Joanne(who has posted a lovely You Tube clip of Hilda Ogden on her blog), I now know! Yes, it is - as I feared - something my nana would have worn if she were still alive (RIP). Otherwise known as a 'pinny'. Attractive no? Can you imagine dressing your heroine in one of these? I guess they were probably thought of as hip and up to the minute in...I was going to say the seventies here but surely by the seventies they would have had fifties housewife written all over them?

Anyway, thank God the housecoat is no longer to be seen because I'm not sure I could take a heroine who wore one entirely seriously. Which brings me to another item of clothing dearly beloved of romance heroines (the ones I've read anyway): the shirtwaister. Now, I have puzzled long and hard about exactly what a shirtwaister is. I have always thought it was a little bit between a housecoat and a dress, and you know what? It is! All you have to do is add a belt!

Seriously, the shirtwaister isn't too bad all things considered. At least, it's little sexier than what I thought. Still, I can hardly talk - my heroine is wearing leather trousers at the moment. Not sure why since she's not really a rock chick and I'm not hugely fond of leather trousers myself. It just sort of...happened. She had all her clothes nicked and the hero's seventeen year old sister took her shopping and...and... Look, she's just wearing them because she likes them okay? ;-) But hey, at least she's given up her strappy sandals, a cliche according to Jenny Hutton's tips on the Mills and Boon boards...

So, what's your favourite heroine outfit then? Housecoats? Shirtwaisters? Leather trousers? :-)

The Hero Wore Pink Trousers

I've been working on my WIP today and ran into the clothing dilemma. What, you say? Clothing dilemma? Yes, indeed. The clothing dilemma frequently happens to me when I'm describing what my characters are wearing and an incredibly cool, styley outfit ends up sounding like something an old man/woman would wear. For example, I saw a picture of a fab Ralph Lauren outfit for my hero and it came out sounding thusly: "He wore a pale grey, pinstripe suit, with a bright pink pinstripe shirt, and a pink and yellow paisley tie." The outfit looked great and the guy wearing it looked really hot. Honest. No? Okay, what about this one: "His black shorts showed off his powerful thighs, the purple jersey he was wearing a nice contrast to the bright green lapels of the shirt he was wearing underneath it." Still no? All right, what about this: "The pink trousers he wore hugged his rear nicely, a pale green jersey stretched across his broad chest." No? Hey, this is Ralph Lauren. Okay, then I guess I definitely wouldn't be able to get away with the fabulous World Man outfit I saw in the shop yesterday. World (NZ designers) do great men's clothes but if I dressed my poor hero in baggy black pants, spotted shirt and a waistcoat with horses on it, it's going to sound naff.

I guess it all comes back to being scarred by reading an old 80s Mills and Boon where the hero wore a cream jacket with brown box pockets and epaulettes, and the heroine a housecoat. Ever since then my heroes have to stick with jeans and a t-shirt. Or a suit. Cut offs at a push. No patterns. Easy to describe, easy to envisage. And don't even get me started on what the heroine wears.

Anyone else have this problem or is it just me? And just what is a housecoat anyway??