Middle Earth Ranger Forum

After skimming through the previous "how to dress for elf success" threads (ha ha, threads) I have a hot take: Elven personae should be allowed rayon, bamboo, and tencel fabrics.

They're all plant fiber based. Who is to say that elves couldn't refine plant fiber down to a silk-like texture?

This is partially tongue in cheek, but I thought also worth contemplating.

Bamboo would obviously be inappropriate for NW Middle-earth, but we already know they CAN turn mallorn bast into silken hithlain rope (and presumably the Galadhrim's cloaks are made of the same stuff or similar), so....in light of Clarke's quote about "sufficiently advanced technology", I think lyocell, tencel, etc. (plus rayon to a slightly lesser extent - it feels more 'chemical' to me) could be acceptable for elven kits. Blends with wool, silk, or linen would be ideal, of course.
I have a hard time seeing more 'rustic' Elves like those of Mirkwood using these fibers...I think they're definitely more appropriate for the high-tech Noldor.

That seems reasonable. I mention bamboo as an example, but you're right it's not regionally appropriate.
I had forgotten that Clark quote, but that was the angle I was going for. Bast fibers have been used by several cultures as a textile, eg the Ainu.
I like the idea of blended fabrics. It makes sense to get the desired texture of one and the strength of another.