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Melanii

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What words would you use to describe a body type like this?

product-image


Also, how would you describe jeans without calling them... jeans? Like the texture or material?

Thanks!
 

Maryn

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She's voluptuous, curvy, curvaceous, buxom, shapely, full-figured, an hourglass, a D-cup (guessing). And sexy as can be, though entirely unfashionable in shape.

Jeans are soft denim except when they're new. If you need to refer to someone's pants very often, you can call them jeans or pants and occasionally reference what they're made of, their color, the texture, etc. via metaphor or simile.

Maryn, whose characters wear jeans
 

WriterDude

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I believe the correct word is Sherwing, though you may have to check the spelling.
 

Osulagh

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What words would you use to describe a body type like this?

Also, how would you describe jeans without calling them... jeans? Like the texture or material?

I would have the characters describe both with the reason they are describing such things.

Personally if I was taken as a character, I wouldn't describe the woman's body by itself--which is very objectifying--and would relate more to how she appears in relation to what she's wearing or any other specifics to her person. As for the jeans, rough and tough blue cloth trousers.
 

dawinsor

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Re jean, depends on what you're going for. Work pants, overalls, Levis, denims?
 

Melanii

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I wanted to know the body shape as a "just-in-case" it comes up.

My story is secondary fantasy, but I wanted "jeans" as a precursor to our modern jeans. XD

Thanks for the helpful words though!
 

Maryn

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It may be just me, but she doesn't appear large enough to qualify for zaftig, which I associate with being more plump yet still attractive. I hear Yiddish fairly often and see the women they're referring to as zaftig, which has undoubtedly affected how I define the word for my own use.

Maryn, whose town has a large Jewish population
 

constanceg

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For your proto-jeans, I would go with something like "rough work trousers" or "denim trousers." Jeans were called "bluejeans" (one word) for decades before they became jeans as we know them, but that might be too modern for your purposes.
 

yetanotherheather

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With a nod to Osulagh's caution against objectification, I think Maryn did a great job describing the figure.

As for your other question, what about "dungarees"? It's an old-fashioned word I remember my grandmother using to refer to jeans.

Best of luck!
 

Melanii

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Denim... Haha. That makes me feel dumb for not thinking of it lols.

I wouldn't objectify her body. But I wanted to know in case like another character mentions it or if I do an art trade and want to describe her. XD

Thanks everyone!
 

Gringa

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Well it depends on the eye of the beholder. Some might say she's voluptuous. Others might say she's a bit chunky or thick or even big-boned which always seems to be a more polite description.

Round. Curvy. Curves in the right places. Plus size. All woman. Strong. Hefty. No skinny minny.

Bottom line: Most women will think she's fat and could lose about 30 lbs. Most men? Something to hold onto.

Gringa
 

TessB

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(She's got curves like my first girlfriend, so my first reaction is 'hella fine.' ;) )

How far pre-jeans are you going? Denim cloth was originally 'de Nimes,' named for the place where it was woven, and you could have trousers, slops, dungarees...
 

snafu1056

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Pulchritudinous! Actually that just means really, really hot.
 

WriteMinded

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Full-figured. But actually, it depends on who's doing the describing.
Denim.
 
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Reziac

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She's voluptuous, curvy, curvaceous, buxom, shapely, full-figured, an hourglass, a D-cup (guessing). And sexy as can be, though entirely unfashionable in shape.

All this, and perhaps also lush (which to me conveys a bit of perfectly understandable drooling on the part of the beholder).
 

Orianna2000

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The first word that popped into my mind was "buxom." But it would definitely depend on who's describing the woman. If it's a teenager with body issues, she might call her "fat," "plump," "overweight," or even something ruder. If it's a guy who likes his women with a bit of flesh on their bones, he might call her "voluptuous," or "luscious," or "busty." If it's someone prone to giving detailed descriptions, she might be called "a woman with curves in all the right places," or if you're talking medieval times, "a woman whose lover gave her plenty to eat," or even something like, "a woman with wide, childbearing hips, and breasts that already looked like they were producing milk."

It all depends on who's doing the describing! :)
 

Roxxsmom

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I'd say curvy or curvacious, lush, voluptuous, ample, perhaps. In a pre-industrial culture, women with such figures might well be the height of fashion.

As for jean like pants in a society prior to the 1800s or so so-called "dungaree" fabric dates back to the 1600s. I think the term "dungarees" to refer to early precursors of blue jeans only dates back to the 1800s, however.

This wikipedia site has some interesting, and somewhat contradictory, information and links about the history of "jeans" as a cloth and a style of clothing. Might be a starting point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeans

I'd probably be knocked out if people in a pre-industrial world were wearing something described as jeans or described as looking just like modern blue jeans, but breeches or trousers made of blue dungaree or similar fabric might work.
 
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Reziac

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Same here. "Jeans" would put me firmly on near-contemporary Earth (as would "denim" which is a farily modern word). But "canvas trousers/breeches" might fit. "Canvas" goes back to the 13th century and is a more-generic term for a type of sturdy fabric.
 
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Roxxsmom

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That's what I did in my world--canvas work breeches, worn by dockworkers and laborers. But I don't imagine them as being cut or trimmed like modern jeans, more along the lines of something that would likely be sewn by hand (my setting is roughly early modern, and sewing machines, as far as I know, didn't make an appearance until the end of the 18th century).

Canvas has the advantage of not needing to be made of cotton either (the earliest kind was made from hemp, then later linen). Canvas is plain weave instead of twill weave, so it would be easier to make and more affordable, I'm guessing, than dungaree cloth, but be less sturdy?
 
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Reziac

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Judging by Carhartt ranchwear's longevity under daily abuse, canvas outlives denim by a considerable margin, mostly because it takes longer to wear a hole, and doesn't tend to ravel so much when worn through. But it's stiffer and less comfortable.
 
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