Wedding outfits for Craft characters
And now for something completely different.
Earlier this year I was maid of honouring (for which I got an A+, with guests asking if they could hire me for their weddings, so YAY), and of course had to make it all about the Craft Sequence.
Disclaimers and relevant info about my process:
We don’t know a great deal about wedding traditions in the various cultures of the Craft Sequence. Marriage, wedding, husband, wife, and forms of these words aren’t used a great deal other than by Temoc and Mina in Last First Snow, and about Caleb and Mal in Wicked Problems and Dead Hand Rule.
I have decided, therefore, for the purposes of this essay to work with the current Western tradition of white bridal gowns as the basis for our characters, with variations on that theme. Many characters mentioned would likely wear culturally traditional outfits if they were to get married in the books; we are ignoring that for this essay, as I don’t have the relevant cultural knowledge.
The exception is kilts. As a Scot, I am handing out kilts as an option.
I am not particularly knowledgeable about fashion, so I must give thanks to Alysia Cole Styling on TikTok, who has amazing knowledge and recommendations outwith the norm. Her “niche wedding inspiration” series is well worth a look, featuring very genuine styling tips for concepts such as “I’m looking for something that says Muppets, but not muppet themed - more like if they were to show up it wouldn’t be surprising,” “can you do romantic clown,” “recommendations that just…totally serve without serving any particular gender,” and “frog and toad style if one of them were femme.” Honestly, check the whole series out. Truly incredible.
Not all characters are included, because not every outfit jumped out to me as for particular people. I may do more such essays in future if I find the right images to inspire me.
And, finally, I am using photos and screenshots from designers under fair use and as transformative works. PetaPixel reported on two court cases earlier in 2026 where a court reasoned that a blogger was ok using a photograph because the blog provided fashion guidance rather than commentary already apparent in the photograph, and where a museum was permitted to use a copy of an image without licence as it was “used for a purpose that was different from the original.” This essay, crediting and linking to original designers where possible, does not comment on or review the outfits in and of themselves, but solely as inspiration mood board style images for fans of the Craft Sequence to imagine how characters may dress as a transformative work under fair use.
Okay, let’s go.
Kai Pohala
Kai was one of the easier ones to find appropriate dresses for, because we’ve actually seen her dressed up for fancy events several times. For both the opera in Wicked Problems and the ball in Dead Hand Rule, she went for sexy slinky. Jaw-droppingly hot, at least to Tara. A few choice descriptions:
“the dress code called for roughly an acre of silk on Kai’s behalf”
“Kai’s shoulders were bare, save for a stole that seemed to have been spun out of clouds. … The dress—or was it a gown at this point?—had an architecture all its own for accentuating Kai’s figure, and there was something going on with the silk, as if the colour had depth and volume. It was, she realised, actually shifting, like the ocean when you stared down and in, its colours blooming into other shades.”
“So she wore the silver halter-neck satin with the heels and the pearls, and she had someone do her hair in high ringlets and work more pearls into it, and yes, Everything Was Happening, but damn if she didn’t feel some kind of way.”
My first dress for Kai is Rim by Wink Atelier.
We’ve got the slink and silk from earlier descriptions, along with architectural elements and the bust and through the draping of fabric at the waist into the skirt. Undeniably feminine without being girly, hugging Kai’s body.
It’s the kind of dress that looks deceptively simple but has a lot of complexity in its construction. Sounds a lot like Kai. The flow of the skirt reminds me of running water, perhaps a waterfall. Kai is strongly associated with water, from the pool at the top of Kavekana’ai to growing up in her mother’s shipyard on the waterfront. There’s also, I think, an element of moonlight, bringing in Seril’s connection and influence.
I don’t like the back quite as much as the front. The train seems almost tucked in to the neckline rather than flowing as easily as the front of the dress.
My second option is the opposite - the front isn’t quite right for Kai, but the back is PERFECTION. Not even going to show the front, actually. Just look at these photos of the back of River by Danielle Frankel:
That second one, with the model reclining on a chair, screams Kai Pohala to me. Again we’ve got the silk and the flow, with a bit of drama.
Tara Abernathy
From Kai, we must go to her current paramour, the one and only Tara Abernathy. Tara has similarly been described dressing up for the same formal occasions as Kai. For the first, she is in drag as Kai’s husband, but for the second she chose a more traditionally masculine suit as herself rather than a character. I feel, therefore, that we need to honour her stylistic choices and go for a more male-coded outfit.
My first option is not super traditional, but definitely still has the suiting element. I can’t actually find a name for this outfit, but it is about halfway down this page of Vivian Chan’s collection.
I really enjoy how some elements are more typically masculine - the collared shirt, the waistcoat, the trousers, but there are unexpected twists in the sleevelessness (is that a word), and the sheer jacket over the top. Imagine this with Tara’s skeletal hand! She could also put any sort of neckwear with this, but I admit I am partial to a cravat and thus personally think of that.
However, the outfits we’ve seen Tara in thus far are more traditional - we’re talking tailcoat levels of formality. Sadly, I have struggled to find good photos of women in traditionally masculine tuxedos or top hat and tails kind of outfits, and the men all look like the posh twats I went to university with. So, instead I’ve gone to celebrities. These are my top three for Tara Abernathy:
Of course, all three are vastly different styles, and not quite the white-tie-morning-suit I was initially thinking of, but all three have a bit of swagger I think I like for Tara.
And finally, along the menswear theme, were Tara to wear a kilt I think it would be something like this:
This gorgeous dark kilt with a Prince Charlie jacket is actually from the same kilt supplier that my brother got his from, as did the groom in the wedding I mentioned in the intro. I can personally attest to how amazing the sales staff are - if you’re in Aberdeen looking for a kilt, look not further than McCalls Highlandwear.
Why this kilt? Well, the jacket is the most formal of kilt jackets, and for some reason I see Tara in monochrome (other than the white shirt…). I really like the dark greys of the tartan, sporran (bag), and socks, and I feel like Tara would appreciate the added flair of the fly plaid over the shoulder. Imagine a brooch made out of bones - so Craftswoman!
Kilts are also traditionally worn with a small dagger in the sock, known as a sgian dubh. I feel like Tara would enjoy this. Her sporran could also be ever-expanding like the purse she wears to the opera - imagine the delights she could store in there, beyond the traditional flask of alcohol!
Dawn
From Tara, I feel inclined to go to Dawn. I have selected two dramatically different looks for Dawn, one each for pre- and post-Sybil.
Dawn Antesybil (as I named her in my recent Dawn essay) is young, sheltered, provincial. She’s beginning to learn the fundamentals of the Craft, but before this she was a farmgirl, wandering from place to place with her father. For this Dawn, I was drawn to a floral dress by Sylvie Facon. Something about the bodice feels reminiscent of traditional pastoral outfits, and the additional fabric ruffles and whimsical embroidery seem youthful and innocent to me, somewhat fairy-like - which also hints to the darker edge of Dawn, if you think of traditional sidhe myths. This is Dawn dancing at the Edgemont festival.
Dawn Posttellurian, on the other hand, gets this Alexander McQueen Oyster dress. This dress looks hewn from nature; there’s something that looks almost rotting in it, in a beautiful way. Do you see Ajaia like I do? This is Craft-goddess Dawn, with Sybil wrapped around her arm. This is the Dawn who raises dead gods, who makes the Badlands come alive with sentient weapons, the Dawn who is so much more than a girl with a snake.
Cat Elle
I have no segue to Cat, so let’s jump straight in.
Cat isn’t flouncy or super-femme, but I don’t think she would do a suit like Tara. She mentions in Three Parts Dead that the Blacksuit is hell on one’s clothes, particularly ripping through anything with a bit of slink - so she does like a bit of slink. Although she doesn’t seem to wear dresses or skirts in the series, I think she would go for a dress if she was bothering to actually get married. I have a couple of vibes I like for her.
Some of the things I was looking for in a dress for Cat were: simple lines, covering her neck (vampire bites), and showing off her arms (she’s strong). A few I enjoy for some or all of these features are Adaline by Ferrah, Hildur by Alberto Palatchi, and Nikola by Sarah Seven (but ideally with a neck cover).
Adaline by Ferrah
Hildur by Alberto Palatchi
Nikola by Sarah Seven
I like how these are simple but have something of interest that makes them stand out from the norm - whether a flowy cape-thing, or a little keyhole in the neckline. Clearly bridal but no frills, no sequins, no lace.
I’ve struggled to find pictures for exactly what I want for the second vibe for Cat, but basically: a short (simple, not floofy) white dress, with a leather jacket. Everything I can find either has a long dress with the jacket, a fluffy or lacy or sequinny short dress, or is too grunge. Also they seem to often have “wifey” written on the back, which I hate.
I could post several that contain ok elements, but honestly I haven’t found anything approaching what I want, so we will have to use our imaginations.
Izza Jalai
I don’t have a particular sense of Izza’s clothing, other than practicality. So I am Izza’s section in a different direction - this is the wedding outfit for the Prophet of the Blue Lady.
Most of my reference images were found months ago, but I am SO glad I had another quick look now because I found this stunning gown from Iris van Herpen’s recent Sonic Starquakes collection.
The blues are unspeakably beautiful. The layering of the shades makes me think of shallow waters around islands, like Kavekana. Like some of the others above, there’s a mix of structure and flow that feels fitting for a character like Izza, who is sharp as a knife yet flows into crowds and disappears into shadows.
The fact that the dress is shown on a dark-skinned model is coincidence, but does also show how it could look against Izza’s dark complexion.
I also imagine the edges of the layers glowing with the Blue Lady’s grace. Can you see the vision?
Mina and Temoc Almotil
Again, we don’t have the greatest sense of Mina or Temoc’s fashion sense, but I do have a pretty strong vibe from both of them, so that’s what we’re going with. Temoc would, naturally, wear traditional Quechal clothing. I lieu of that, he’s getting a kilt. Cultural sharing and all that jazz.
My choice for Mina is Athena by Christy Dawn. The flowy, somewhat bohemian, fairly simple look feels like something comfortable Mina would happily throw on for a quick ceremony and a luncheon, in between archaeological digs and office hours. After the wedding, she would dye it another colour and wear it to any event that required her to dress up.
Temoc is, as we know, a man built on a different scale. This man is humongous. Many of the men who compete in the Highland Games are massive by our standards, but they aren’t a Temoc. I cannot find pictures of a large enough guy, so use your imagination.
The standard kilt most people wear these days, and which I used above for Tara, is the military style kilt. This is a pre-pleated large length of wool with buckles sewn on for the closure. It’s still pretty heavy, but you don’t have to do very much to put it on. The style we’ve used for Temoc, however, is the Great Kilt. I couldn’t find a photo that showed the angle and style I wanted, so this is a screenshot of a video from Lachlan the Highlander!
A great kilt is a several yards (depending on your size) of tartan wool which you wrap and belt around your body, with excess fabric thrown over your shoulder.
This is a fantastic video showing you how a Great Kilt is worn:
Temoc would, naturally, be shirtless beneath the plaid.
I didn’t mention this above, but the colours of tartan being historically associated with clans is actually a modern myth. Tartan colours were based on whatever dyes were available locally. Now, anyone can have a tartan made (if they pay enough money), not just clans. A lot of countries have their own tartan, even if they have zero connection to Scotland. Glasgow WorldCon had one made. It’s pretty cool, tbh.
The reason I say this, is that I haven’t given much thought to the colours either Temoc or Tara will have in their kilt other than look and vibe. If I show a picture of a particular tartan, I don’t mean that the history of that tartan aligns with Temoc (though that would be cool if someone else wanted to do it). The tartan above is just the one in the photo that best showed off the Great Kilt.
Okay that’s enough for now
I have some more reference photos for other characters, but this is already getting quite long and it’s 9pm - I really want this essay out in July! So, if you have enjoyed this essay, let me know and I’ll share some more. I have LOADS for Donnie Albrecht (perhaps she needs her own post?), and a few for others. More research to be done!
What do you think? Let me know!
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