5.4: Silks and Clothing

The attire of Gorean slave girls is of great importance to their masters. They concern themselves with its tiniest details. The clothing, you see, as well as the girl, belongs to the master; it is natural for him, thus to take an interest in it; both, in their diverse ways, can be reflections upon him, his taste, his judgment, his discriminations. that a male of Earth may not even know what clothing his wife owns, or what she buys, would be unthinkable to most Goreans, even those who stand in free companionship. To the master it would simply be preposterous. What his girl wears, if she is to wear anything is of great interest to him. After all, she is not a wife she is much more important; she is a prized possession. The clothing she wears, any cosmetics or jewelry, or perfume must be absolutely perfect. He is "in" so to speak, on every thing. Should she tie her hair with a little as a new ribbon it must pass his strict inspection. If it is not "right" for her, she will not be permitted to wear it. That a wife might wear a new dress and her husband not even notice it would be incredible, if not incomprehensible, to any Gorean, whether a proprietor or a companion. In short, Gorean master concerns themselves closely with their girls. (Slave girl of Gor, page 76)

"There are many types of slave garments, of course, other than such obvious categories as tunics, camisks and Ta-Teeras. Pleasure silks, in all varieties, and swirling, diaphanous dancing silks, might be mentioned. The leathers forced on the slave maidens of the Wagon Peoples, taught to care for the bosk and please their masters, too, might be called to mind."
(Guardsmen of Gor Page 108 )

Silk colors according to the books:

The idea that silk colors mean anything other than a slave being a virgin (white silk) or not a virgin/opened to men (red silk) is largely an online adaptation. Because people did not know how to rank their girls as they trained, they used some of the colors that were used in the books to denote different levels of training. Of course this is not a book based practice. In the books slaves wore what their owner gave them, whether it was red, blue, yellow, brown or just a grain sack.

A slave was always thankful for any clothing that they may be given, slaves were dressed differently according to region, profession or type of slave that they were, as well as their Master's whim. There really is no symbolism to slave silks or colors besides the white = virgin, and red = opened to men.

"Are you white silk?" I asked.
"I am a virgin," she said.
Then you are white silk," I said.
--Explorers of Gor Pg 172

"There is a stain on your thigh," I said
"My Master took my virginity," she said.
"You are now a red-silk girl," I said
"Yes, Master," she said, "I am now a red-silk girl.".
-- Explorers of Gor Pg. 200

"Similarly, the expression `red-silk,' in Gorean, tends to be used as a category in slaving, and also, outside of the slaving context, as an expression in vulgar discourse, indicating that the woman is no longer a virgin, or, as the Goreans say, at least vulgarly of slaves, that her body has been opened by men. Its contrasting term is `white-silk,' usually used of slaves who are still virgins, or, equivalently, slaves whose bodies have not yet been opened by men. Needless to say, slaves seldom spend a great deal of time in the `white-silk' category. It is common not to dally in initiating a slave into the realities of her condition."
--Blood Brothers of Gor page 472

Other Silk Colors Used in the Books:
It could be assumed that a slave can wear any color really... clothing or lack of clothing is at the whim of their owner. Other quotes may be found describing silks that FW wore under their robes in purple, as well as white and gold.. probably others as well. I did not place them here so the quotes would not be used out of context.

She danced before me for several minutes, her scarlet dancing silks flashing in the firelight, her bare feet, with their belled ankles, striking softly on the carpet.
Tarnsman of Gor Page 135

There was a flash of slave bells at my side and a dark-haired, yellow-silked girl, a paga girl, knelt beside us, where we sat cross-legged behind the small table.
Hunters of Gor Page 46

She came through the kitchen door, in the tiny slip of diaphanous yellow silk allotted to paga slaves, bells locked on her left ankle. She was doubtless returning to the floor after her rest, to freshen her for further service. I had not seen her before. She carried a vessel of paga. She was barefoot on the tiles.
Hunters of Gor Page 56

The silk girl was heeling her master, a captain of Torvaldsland. She wore, indeed, a brief tunic of the south, of golden silk. She wore a collar of gold, and, hanging in her ears, were loops of gold.
Marauders of Gor Page 145

"She wore a tasteful garment of bluish gauze, in three layers, which fluffed about her. It came high on her thighs. I could see that her breasts in the garment, as she knelt, were exquisite. Her arms and feet were bare." ...
...I then turned my attention again to the dancers. There were three of them in blue silk and golden collars.
Guardsman of Gor Page 231

The Pleasure Slaves who served wore green pleasure silk, and the tops of the tables and the walls were also painted green; even the curtains on the alcoves by one wall were green.
Assassin of Gor Page 167

I wore the belled collar, and belled ankle ring, of the tavern, and a bit of black silk. On the silk, in yellow, there were words, which Narla had translated for me. “I am Yata. Own me at the Chatka and Curla.”
Slave Girl of Gor Page 340

She wore a brief bit of transparent brown slave silk, gathered before her and loosely knotted at her navel.
Beasts of Gor Page 393

"He then replaced the whip on the table and handed me, from a basket, two tunics. They were folded, and washed, and brown. "Thank you, Master," I said. I held them close to me. I would later discover that they were rather common slave tunics, brief, with no nether closure. Too, they were sleeveless, slit at the sides, and with a plunging neckline."
Kajira of Gor Page 269

"I looked at the girl in the light, floral-print tunic, kneeling a few feet from the bed. It was almost diaphanous. It was not difficult to detect the lineaments of her beauty beneath it. It seemed a garment which was, in its way, demure and yet, at the same time, extremely provocative. To see a woman in such a garment, I suspected, might drive a man half mad with passion."
Kajira of Gor Page 41

"There is something on your left leg," I said, "High, on the thigh, just under the hip." I saw this through the almost diaphanous, white, floral-print tunic she wore"
Kajira of Gor Page 46

"She wore a sleeveless garment of diagonal stripes, the brief skirt of which terminated some inches above her knee."
Tarnsman of Gor Page 25

"She blushed, and quickly put down the garment of white wool, and fetched the gray garment of the state slave. I smiled. Well had she displayed in that brief moment her master's property. In an instant she had drawn the tunic of the state slave over her head and was smoothing it down about her hips"
Magicians of Gor Page 358

Slave Attire

Camisk

The camisk is a rectangle of cloth, with a hole cut for the head, rather like a poncho. The edges are commonly folded and stitched to prevent raveling. The camisk, I am told, normally falls to the knees...The camisk, I am told, was at one time commonly belted with a chain. However, the camisks that I have personally seen, and those we were given, were belted with a long, thin strap of leather binding fiber. This passes once around the body, and then again, and then is tied, snugly, over the right hip....The belt of binding fiber not only makes it easier to adjust the camisk to a given girl, but of course, the binding fiber serves to remind her that she is in bondage. In a moment it may be removed, and she may be secured with it, leashed, or bound hand and foot....The camisk, in its way, is an incredibly attractive garment.It displays the girl, but provocatively. Moreover, it proclaims her slave, and begs to be torn away by the hand of the master. Men thrill to see a girl in a camisk.
Captive of Gor, page 64

Chalwar (clothing from the Tahari Region)

She wore a high tight vest of red silk, with four hooks; her midriff was bare; she wore the sashed chalwar, a sashed, diaphanous trousered garment, full but gathered in, closely, at the ankles; she was barefoot; her wrists and ankles were bangled; she was veiled; she was collared.
Tribesmen of Gor, page 105

Chatka

the strip of black leather, some 6 inches by 5 feet long, worn like a breech- clout over the curla by the slave girls of the Wagon Peoples.
Nomads of Gor, page 30
Slave Girl of Gor, page 329

Clad Kajir

Among the Wagon Peoples, to be clad Kajir means, for a girl, to wear four articles, two red two black; a red cord, the Curla, is tied about the waist; the Chatka, or long , narrow strip of black leather, fits over the cord in front, passes under, and then again, from the inside, passes over the cord in back; the chatka is drawn tight; the Kalmak is then donned; it is a short sleeveless vest of black leather; lastly the koora, a strip of red cloth, matching the Curla, is wound about the head, to hold the hair back, for slave women, among the Wagon Peoples, are not permitted to braid, or otherwise dress their hair; it must be, save for the koora, worn loose. for a male slave or Kajirus, of the Wagon Peoples, and there are few, save for the work chains, to be clad Kajir means to wear the Kes, a short, sleeveless work tunic of black leather.
Nomads of Gor, page 30

Curla

the red waist cord worn by slave- girls of the Wagon Peoples; supports the chatka.
Nomads of Gor, page 30
Slave Girl of Gor, page 328

Kalmak

vest of black leather worn by the slave girls of the Wagon Peoples.
Nomads of Gor, page 30
Slave Girl of Gor, page 329

Kes

short tunic of black leather worn by the male slaves of the Wagon Peoples.
Nomads of Gor, page 30

Kirtle (North such as Torvaldsland)

She was blond; she was barefoot; she wore an ankle-length white kirtle, of white wool, sleeveless, split to her belly.
Marauders of Gor, page 81

Koora

strip of red fabric worn as a headband by the slave girls of the Wagon Peoples.
Nomads of Gor, page 30
Slave Girl of Gor, page 329

Pleasure Silks

Diaphanous silks of varied colors which are used to entice men. They do not conceal but enhance the slave's body

I slipped on the bit of silk. I looked in the mirror and shuddered. I had been naked before men, many times, but it did not seem to me that I had been so naked as this. It was Gorean pleasure silk. Not naked, I seemed more than naked.
Captive of Gor, page 322

Slave Livery

She wore the briefly skirted, sleeveless slave livery common in the northern cities of Gor; the livery was yellow and split to the cord that served as her belt; about her throat she wore a matching collar, yellow enameled over steel.
Assassins of Gor, page 7

Slave Rag

Another name for Ta-Teera.

Joyfully I drew on the garment, slipping it over my head and fastened it, more tightly about me, by the two tiny hooks on the left. The slit made the garment, a rather snug one, easier to slip into; the two hooks, when fastened, naturally increased the snugness of the garment, drawing it quite close about the breasts and hips; deliciously then, from the point of view of a man, the girl's figure is betrayed and accentuated; also, the two hooks do not close the slit on the left completely, but permit men to gaze upon the sweet slave flesh held pent, held captive, within
Slave Girl of Gor, page 76

Angrily Alyena, the former Miss Priscilla Blake-Allen of Earth, took the tiny, triangular yellow veil, utterly diaphanous and held it before her face, covering the lower portion of her face. The veil was drawn back and she held it at her ears. The light silk was held across the bridge of her nose, where, beautifully, its porous, yellow sheen broke to the left and right. Her mouth, angry, was visible behind the veil. It, too, covered her chin. (edited for length) The slave veil is a mockery, in its way. It reveals as much as conceals, yet it adds a touch of subtlety, mystery; slave veils were made to be torn away, the lips of the master then crushing those of the slave.
Tribesmen of Gor, pages 69-70

Ta-Teera

The Gorean Slave Rag, it is scandalously short, fastened tightly about the body to accentuate every curve of the slave which wears it. It is an utterly sensual garment.

Eta pulled at the bit of rag she wore. "Ta-Teera," she said. I looked down at the scrap of rag, outrageously brief, so scandalous, so shameful, fit only for a slave girl, which I wore. I smiled. I had been placed in a Ta-Teera.
Slave Girl of Gor, page 81

Thrall Tunic (of Torvaldsland)

Men in the fields wore short tunics of white wool; some carried hoes; their hair was close cropped; about their throats had been hammered bands of black iron, with a welded ring attached.
Marauders of Gor, page 82

Turian Camisk

The single garment of these women was the Turian Camisk. I do not know particularly why it is called a camisk, save that it is a simple garment for a female slave.The common camisk is a single piece of cloth, about eighteen inches wide, thrown over the girls head and worn like a poncho. It usually falls a a bit above the knees in front and back and is belted with a cord our chain. The Turian camisk, on the other hand, if it were to be laid out on the floor, would appear somewhat like an inverted "T" in which the bar of the "T": would be beveled on each side. It is fastened with a single cord. The cord binds the girl at three points, behind the neck, behind the back, and in front at the waist. The garment itself, as might be supposed, fastens behind the girls neck passes before her, passes between her legs, and is then lifted and, folding the two side of the T`s bar about her hips, ties in front. The Turian camisk, unlike the common camisk, will cover the girls brand; on the other hand, unlike the common camisk, it leaves the back uncovered and can be tied, and is, snugly, the better to disclose the girls beauty.
Nomads of Gor, page 90