Robes

One of the unique traits of almost all Mendalian societies is the use of robes as a common form of outerwear (similar to coats and jackets on Earth) and as a designation of rank.

Robes came into fashion in 165 TS. A tailor by the name of Terrance Stokenshire designed the first robe for his wife Sarah Fantas-Stokenshire, the then current Daughter of the Sun as a way to distinguish her at formal occasions. This particular robe, unlike most modern robes, did not have a belt or sash but buttoned up. This was the first garment ever designed using Ustus a type of fabric that is made using mentus and was first created by Terrance.

After seeing the robe, Terrance's father-in-law, [Marius Fantas] the current Fantasma, was impressed with the abilities of ustus and the robe concept and asked Terrance to design robes as uniforms for his staff as a way to set them apart. Terrance created another type of robe, this time with special belts. They were light and did not encumber the wearer. Symbols from the old Mendalian language were woven into the front of the robe as a way to distinguish staff positions. Soon after Fantasma's request, many other sections of the Fantasmal Government began requesting robes for their staff members. Soon more and more people wanted robes to accompany their day-to-day clothing and Terrance began designing more and more elaborate robes.

In 178 TS, when the first guardians were established, Terrance's robe design went through another incarnation. He designed robes that could be used for travel. Using mentus he gave the robes several dozen pockets that lined the inside. These pockets could hold objects of all shapes and sizes without burdening the wearer. Even bulky objects like books, parcels, and spare sets of clothing could be easily stowed within a robe pocket and there would be no visible change to how the robe hung off a person's body. Guardian robs were also the first to be designed with hoods.

Terrance made the robe design extremely simple in contrast to the elaborately designed robes so as to reflect the serious nature of the guardians role. He choose a shade of purple that the Fantasma was known to favor as the primary color for the robes and he made the belts grey. However, the Fantasma gave Terrance a special adimus marker that could be used to make the belts silver, something that was impossible to do with normal mentus because true silver and gold could not be synthesized by mentants. However because of the power granted by the Fantasma, Terrance could make silver belts so that it would be clear that the guardians were genuine and sent from the Fantasma.

This method of establishing rank quickly became popular as people saw how Fantasma had used robes to identify his guardians. Within a year, dozens of other tailors were creating robes based on Terrance's design. Because of innovations with ustus and robes, Terrance became widely known as the greatest tailor in the world. Even other well-known tailors came to him to learn.

Because Terrance was the only person given Fantasma's special adimus marker, he was the sole creator of robes for guardians for several years. However as robe popularity grew worldwide, a demand grew for a wider range of uses for Terrance's silver ustus. In 185 TS the [Global Trade And Commerce Authority] finished drafting a set of standards for how the adimus marker could be used in robe design, these standards included the anticipation of a gold adimus marker that could also be used in conjunction with the silver marker. After the rules and regulations were drafted, they submitted them to the Fantasma and the Authority's standards were ratified and approved. Terrance was the first to receive the new adimus gold marker and he used this to design a special guardian robe for the Fantasma with a gold belt.

Because of the GTCA's new standards, robes became the official sign of adimus classification, rank, and political office all across Mendala. Soon other qualified tailors were given the ability to use the silver and gold markers which became collectively known as [Fantasmal Gold]. These tailors were known as [Fantasmal Tailors] and were bound by strict guidelines not to use the Fantasmal Gold markers for anything other than certified uses. Because of these restrictions, silver and gold ustus could be used as a sign of rank and the use of robes spread throughout the world until almost everyone had at least one robe that they wore for their job or for travel.