I hate writing appearance sections and don't think I've been secretive about it, haha. I just feel like I usually have nothing to say beyond hair color, eye color, height, wears clothes. Also, am I the only one who feels hella conspicuous writing things like "they don't consider themselves attractive" when, like, their PB obviously is??

You know what I always find myself wishing was in other people's profiles, though? What they smell like. It's relevant in posts sometimes and it always feels weird to ask and if someone had an indication of what kind of cologne/perfume/aftershave/etc they used I would absolutely use that knowledge.

So... I'm considering revamping my appearance sections to include the types of physical things that come up in threads sometimes but aren't usually covered by profiles. To that end: what things have come up for you? Have you ever spent ten minutes looking at a character's profile trying to invent an answer for what ends up being half a line of internal monologue? am I the only one who does this?

The other thing I'm thinking about is notable accessories/ things they usually have on their person, like describing their pocketwatch.

  

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MJ made this <3

I actually like writing appearance sections & it's because I like to talk about:
- how expressive they are
- how they generally carry themselves
- what colors they typically wear
- recurring nervous tics

I also am interested in what people's characters smell like lol

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MJ made this!

Oh ALSO if you found something particularly useful in a character's appearance section, what was it? Like MJ's description of Elias slouching made me think wow, I should really include some indication of posture for everyone because that's actually an impactful detail.

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MJ made this <3

Also, am I the only one who feels hella conspicuous writing things like "they don't consider themselves attractive" when, like, their PB obviously is??

So this is legitimately in the first line of Elsie's appearance section; my argument is it's a confidence thing and it shows in the way Elsie carries herself. She doesn't think she's pretty, which is why she's always been a wallflower who tries to blend in and blushes easily. Is Alexis Bledel pretty? Heck yeah. That doesn't mean Elsie thinks the same about herself.

But I digress; I like fashion sense and quirks included in appearance section. IE, Daffy and her flower crowns.

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   Amelia Evans

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MJ always makes her so pretty

So this is legitimately in the first line of Elsie's appearance section; my argument is it's a confidence thing and it shows in the way Elsie carries herself. She doesn't think she's pretty, which is why she's always been a wallflower who tries to blend in and blushes easily. Is Alexis Bledel pretty? Heck yeah. That doesn't mean Elsie thinks the same about herself.

This is very similar to what I wrote in Ford's profile & the reasoning behind it <3 but Ben is the only character of mine who's supposed to be objectively attractive so I do think I get stuck in a rut trying to find reasons to explain why this character isn't really as pretty as they look hahaha.

  

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MJ made this <3

This goes under 'how expressive they are' really but HOW OFTEN THEY SMILE OR NOT, like, level of resting bitch face, default cheerfulness. Like, e.g. so you know when Evander smiles in a thread it's a Big Deal.

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look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

This goes under 'how expressive they are' really but HOW OFTEN THEY SMILE OR NOT, like, level of resting bitch face, default cheerfulness. Like, e.g. so you know when Evander smiles in a thread it's a Big Deal.

the "his smiles are usually blindingly sincere" detail in Jude's profile is helpful to my life also

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MJ made this!

Period scent references: for men and for women

Also related: the first deodorant was produced in 1888 and antiperspirant in 1903:

Before deodorant was introduced in the late-1800s, women used a combination of regular washing and copious amounts of perfume to combat body odor—and at the time, body odor was not considered an issue for men as it was viewed as masculine. So, when deodorants and antiperspirants were first introduced, they were primarily marketed to women. In the 1930s, marketing began to encourage women to buy deodorant for their husbands, too.

source. Also Jack heard in a podcast that sometimes young women would ball up cotton and shove it in their armpits and hold it there for hours to prevent bad smells from leaking out, which is hilarious and someone should talk about that in a thread.

  

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MJ made this <3

So I'm currently reading How to Be A Victorian by Ruth Goodman and it's been hugely enlightening. On the matter of cleanliness the upper classes were extremely fastidious. Like I don't know about you guys but I assumed because we bathe and wash our hair way more than people ever used to that Victorians weren't so intense about it but apparently changing your underthings (all of them) multiple times a day was the ideal. Any less than once a day was nasty.

The middle - upper classes also had this whole snobbery thing about smelling like soap apparently. They apparently back and forthed over whether warm or cold water was healthy or disastrous and then soap came along and health experts were like YES, WASH WITH COLD WATER AND SOAP FOR ULTIMATE HEALTHINESS but soap was expensive and it was was pungent and it became this whole social status thing that if you smelled like soap you were clearly rich because you could afford to buy a bar of soap and use it every morning. It was pungent enough to mask most body odors apparently. By our part of the century though they'd figured out scented soaps and were sticking lavender and other floral scents in it but it still had undertones of soap and it was like YES I AM CLEAN AND WEALTHY SMELL MY fANCY SOAP, GOOD SIR.

The book also mentions the removable easily washed dress protectors which you stuck in your pits to save your dress and apparently those are a thing you can still buy from haberdasheries. Also scented dusting powders for your sweaty parts which is not so revolutionary to me because I sell powdered deodorant on the daily. LYCOPODIUM POWDER IS INSANE.

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I thought I was the only one that panicked at the appearance section! But for real, this is so freaking helpful! I spend so much time wondering how to capture all the little pieces that go beyond height and build.

As a person that navigates the world nose first (don't know why just do), all my characters have signature scents, and I spend a lot of time guessing on other people's characters and trying to keep it vague.

Considering status and personality are so evident in personal scents, this will be a great addition to characters!

  

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MJ made this miracle!

The book also mentions the removable easily washed dress protectors which you stuck in your pits to save your dress and apparently those are a thing you can still buy from haberdasheries. Also scented dusting powders for your sweaty parts which is not so revolutionary to me because I sell powdered deodorant on the daily. LYCOPODIUM POWDER IS INSANE.

Not related to appearance sections at all, I'll probs have more thoughts on this tomorrow but —

OMG I've worn one of these before for theater. Obvi not something from the era, but I read "protectors which you stuck in your pits" and that literally just flashed me back to trying on the coat and seeing the little pads.

Though now that I think of it, this might just be regular practice in theater so you don't sweat thru your costume and the costume dept doesn't have to wash them every night after you sweat through it xD

  

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