Gamers, by our nature, are not ones to dress to the nines. But, as Mark Twain Said: “Clothes Make the Man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” There are a slew of things that your clothing says about you. Especially at game. There are also a lot of ways to use the way you dress to impact your game.

Gamer Gear
We’ve all got a slew of T-shirts with geek sayings on them, or accessories that come from beloved shows or books. Clever bits of geek culture that connect us to the things we like. They also mark us out as what we are: Geeks. Every sub-culture of society has their own markings that connect them with others. Have you ever been walking through a random non gamer place, seen a person in a Star Wars or D20 shirt, and made a comment because you knew there was some common ground. Their gamer gear marks them out as someone of the same sub-culture as you are.

jaynehat-thumbAt the table, Gamer Gear helps you get immersed in the game. Whenever my group plays D&D or fantasy games, red dragon shirts and “I Roll Twenties” adorn the gathered. When playing a Star Wars game, we all wear Star Wars shirts to each game. Once I had my Jayne hat, I had to run a Serenity game, just to have a chance to wear it.

 

Dress To Impress
suit-thumbDressing up in gamer gear helps you get into the game, but it isn’t always the best way to dress. Ever want to make a deep impression on your players? Show up in a suit. Wearing a suit, dressing more nicely and cleaning up puts you in a different frame of mind and gives a different sense of authority. Dressing more professionally can also be great for getting your players to take a game a little more seriously. When you’re acting out the part of the Mr. Johnson, or the CEO of a Megacorp, and all your players can see is you in a suit, they can’t help but impose the sense of professionalism you bear onto the NPC.

 

Dress To Break The Mold
At my day job, I often try to have one piece of unique clothing on, just to offset the work-a-day world that I have to be in. Either a pair of cargo pants with lots of pockets, a wide black double pronged belt or my favorite felt newsboy cap. It doesn’t break the dresscode, but makes me feel a little unique. It’s an old confidence trick, like imagining everyone naked. A small way to show rebellion.

Dressing to break the mold can help get more quiet players over their shyness and help them participate in the game more. If no one else is wearing a hat, but they are, then they’ve got something unique that helps them feel like they stick out a bit more. Sometimes all it takes to get a person over shyness is that first little step, and sometimes it takes a kilt and goggles.

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Dress for the Game World
One of my many steampunky costumes.Getting into costume for a game can be fun. Even a small prop can help you get into the role of the character. One of my friends showed up to a Star Wars game in full Stormtrooper armor. It was hard not to get immersed in the feeling of being a squad of elite Stormtroopers after that. Another friend set up a whole costume as a skater punk elf. It was a little dorky, but it really cemented the idea of his character in the players heads. Me, I build props in my spare time and always have something new each con season. Whether its a small prop or a full costume, dressing for the game world can really amp up immersion. Just be careful not to cross any common sense lines with your costumes.

 

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A Warforged head I made for one game.

 

 

 

lightcostume-thumb-1There are an incredible number of options for clothing at game. Whether you dress in the most chic of gamer gear, outdo your friends with your fashion sense, break the mold or dress to immerse yourself in the game world, paying attention to your clothing always has great benefits. So take a minute or two and think about what your clothes say about you at game.

What type of clothing do you usually wear to game? What is your favorite piece of gamer gear?