9 - Fashion and Pop Culture

Ñezyeki fashion is a common subject in societal norms- varying EXTREMELY from planet to planet, with a few common themes. For example, almost all tops or shirts tend to have zip-up, button-up, or buckle-up backs or fronts. This is to prevent getting your wings or horns stuck in your top, or preventing you from taking it off! Another commodity is easy-on or easy-off bottomwear- this is also why skirts are so common! The Ñezyeki have such large claws that it often prevents “slip-on” clothing from working, so it often functions like topwear, in that it needs to have easy-on-and-off functionality. Open-top and open-bottom clothes are extremely common, such as robes, skirts, and one-piece dresses. Ñezyeki underwear usually consists of simple cloth wraps, usually only around the chest, to prevent unwanted wardrobe malfunctions.

Popular culture is a heavy influence on the ways of many a world in the former Empire, often going so far as to change the daily lives of those living there. Most of the time, it is related to large political organizations imposing their own cultures upon a whole planet- oftentimes, due to the range of control of the former Empire, these politicians would be Yiphran in origin, and so lots of isolated pockets of formerly-Yiphran groups exist around the universe. Fashion often varies from these Yiphran norms, but the commodity around the universe is bright outfits with even brighter accents- precious metals are so common, that outfits incorporate them cheaply around the universe. Gold, iron, and numerous other metals are extremely useful in both practical and cosmetic forms. For example, they might be woven in to the threads to make highly durable clothing, or they might line sleeves or hoods or neck-holes, to add some glimmer to your glamour!

It’s also extremely common to adorn yourself with piercings and jewelry directly attached to yourself or your horns. Rings and jewels are common adornments to the horns of many-a-Ñezyeki, and are viewed similarly as septum piercings to humans- something unique, and oftentimes a source of intrigue to others. Direct piercings to horns and wings are just like those to genitalia or nipples for humans- something more sexual than the rest, oftentimes something that will draw the eyes of many. In a similar light, tattoos are a common cultural aspect, especially on the body. In cultures that may have bioluminescence or some sort of glow to the body, it is also common to “etch” the skin carefully with a sharp blade, just deep enough to pierce the outer skin but not enough to bleed, allowing the glow (often sourced FROM blood) to shine through. This is usually done in ornate or culturally-important patterns, or even fractals, initials of loved ones, sometimes even symbology related to one’s own life.

It’s also very common to dye your hair, your wing-fabric, or sometimes, even your eyes. There are safe methods for this, especially for species that may have darker scleras, unorthodox-colored eyes, or something similar, though it is often frowned upon, as movements for natural beauty are heavily promoted. It is usually done via the application (over multiple days) of dye diluted in a liquid solution via eye-drops, and the changes occur over multiple days- that, or a simple surgical process. For horns, hair, wing-fabric and other parts of your body, it is much easier, usually similar to human hair-dye but much cleaner and quicker, and less messy. It usually involves natural dyes or coloring, hot or cold-pressed into the region being dyed, which causes it to usually spread through the region without much effort.

It’s also incredibly common for Ñezyeki to go nude, or partially nude, in public. This is due to the fact that they do not have the same sexual connotation behind certain areas (breasts, butt, genitals, etc) as humans, and it is usually not minded. The common consensus is that if you cannot handle the beauty of a natural body in public, you should reassess how you think of things, and so there really are not many problems with this, even with the areas retaining their sensitive nature and connotations, and so nudity is a public affair and not something shamed in the same way as it is in human culture.