Monastic Clothing
All monks, male and female, wrap themselves in a long, winding cloth called a "Lahgu". The Lahgu is roughly two and a half feet wide and made from simply spun wool, a light tan in color. There are three sanctioned ways to wear the Lahgu: the Oibri style, the Luarr style and the Foirim style.
The Oibri is the style used for physical activity and looks essentially like a short toga with the excess fabric of the Lahgu wrapped over the shoulder and under the opposing arm. It keeps the legs and arms free for maximum movement and is also relatively well ventilated.
The Luarr style is used for more sedentary pursuits and is worn by monks relaxing, praying or eating. In this position the material falls to the ankles and is pinned above one shoulder.
The Foirim style is used only on formal occasions like high holy days, the visit of nobility, and those rituals revolving around death. Used this way, the Lahgu falls to the feet and drapes across the torso from neck to elbow before rising to cover the head like a cowl.
Though not a formal style, the Lahgu is unwrapped and used as a blanket for sleeping monks.
In addition to the Lahgu itself, all monks use a brown cord called a Conarth, which symbolically represents their ties to Order. It is worn around the waist and used to help support and hold steady the material of the Lahgu. Finally, all monks are issued three silver pins representing the brightest stars in the night sky, Briena, Leof and Cennestre, and used to secure the strip of cloth as well as holding it closed along its edges.
Monks wear simple leather sandals with open toes in the warmer months and with closed toes in the winter.
Each Lahgu is decorated differently based on the rank and sect of the monk that wears it. If the monk is a novice, the Lahgu is plain and undecorated. If the monk is a brother or sister, the Lahgu bears an inch-wide border in the color of the monk's sect. If the monk is a dean, the border of her Lahgu is dual-striped. A Prior wears a Lahgu made entirely of the color symbolic of his sect, while an Abbot wears the same robe but with an iron chain around his neck, signifying his bond to the monastery and fellow monks.
Monks are permitted no other clothing or jewelry.
Clothing in the World
(to be written)
