Neither of these two things seem out of place, because you can assume Symone and Jysline are trying to fit in with the 'natives' on their off hours. When Jysline buys her dress for the date in chapter 3 (also in human style) you can reason it as a further attempt to make Jason feel comfortable. But shouldn't the Faey at the Opera dress in uniquely Faey styles? The men wear robes, with or without jewelery and accented with sashes of different color. The women are vaguely described as wearing dresses. *Takes a moment to look up the exact quote*
Scattered through the lobby were about a hundred Faey, all dressed in elegant formal wear. Women wore gowns of every color imaginable, some plain, some almost guady, and all of them had their hair done up elaborately. Jyslin looked positively plain compared to most of them. Some were dripping with jewels from their fingers and throats and ears, and as he got a closer look, he saw that the Faey seemed to have no concept of the idea of a high neckline. Every single dress exposed cleavage to some degree, and a few of them were so deep that more blue-skinned breast was revealed than concealed. Jyslins gown was rather modest compared to most.
Why are the females, the dominant gender of the race, wearing dresses at all? In a telepathic culture, where the males and females have equal physical strength (one the professors said it in chapter 1), shouldn't the female clothing be more practical?
I've never really paid much attention to clothing before, and I certainly have not taken any classes or courses on the subject, so I'm probably the anti-expert on fashion, if such a title exists. But it seems to me that dresses, skirts, and all the other stuff women wear to look more 'feminine' are cultural. Women seem to perfer robes in the middle east and indian regions, although that might be due to religion. But dresses themselves don't seem like something the 'dominant' gender would wear. The styles for males here in America (along with quite a few other countries, I'm sure) seem to reflect utility. Pants and shirts are in general baggy, or in some manner allowing for freedom of movement. I'm guessing it's some sort of reflection that men are supposed to be the strong or physical sex. While guys certainly don't walk around in nothing but loincloths, showing off their impeccably muscular chests, the male clothing seems to subtly highlight physical features of strength. Female clothing, on the other hand, can be as restricting and confining as the wearer wishes. Certainly not all female clothes are, but there's variety. Women's fashion seems to highlight completely different parts of the body. (Okay okay, get your minds out of the gutter.
) Look at V-neck shirts and dresses with 'plunging necklines.' A 400 pound man may have just as large a pair of breasts as a slim woman, but it's taboo if he wears clothing to show off his 'cleavage.' As a man, he's expected to look 'masculine' rather than 'feminine' (whatever that means). So anyway, my whole point is that fashion reflects culture. The Faey have a culture that has very little to do with physical prowess. Intelligence and telepathic ability are the quick routes to popularity in Faey high schools (Jyslin, chapter 3, in the limo heading to the opera) and, one assumes, everywhere else. In fact, the dominant genders have been transposed in Faey society. So, given all of that, why wear a dress? I noticed that Jyslin describes the Faey homeworld (aparently, it's just called "Homeworld") as rather hot (chapter 3, dinner at copeland's). Shouldn't the fashion reflect that? Maybe the Faey should just all wear toga's or something. *grin*
Just thought I'd bring it up for discussion. Maybe I just need some educating on what femine and muscline are supposed to be... *shrug*
... oh, and at the opera, why do some of the men choose not to wear jewelery (the primary purpose of which is decoration) and yet *all* of the women wear it? Shouldn't that be the other way around?
