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Grinding out post-thread ennui on finishing these. The last pair should be out before the thread dies.
Firstly, the Duchess Kamilia von Katski, in an Ellowian Diving Sleeve...or something styled after one, as Ellowian Diving Sleeves originated as utility wear, and do still serve as such, in places. Ellowians are not often considered a particularly sea inclined folk. That assumption would be correct for most- but over its eastern mountains and on the stony shores around the calm Bay of Refuge- there is an exclave of maritime culture. The seas that these people fish are not particularly generous, and often, divers must reach into sharp stones and corals and holes after fiercer and stinging sea life.
To mitigate the dangers, the fisherfolk have begun to wear tight fitting cloth protection that keeps their arms from being cut up, while also presenting as little water resistance as possible, as if the protective sleeves were caught in the stones, they would be of little worth. Given both the expense and the necessity for agility, these "diver sleeves" usually only reach upper body.
Of course, women dive as much as the men, and while traditional diver sleeves did not show much of the underside of the breasts, current fashion has them do so now. There are various stories as to why, but one claim is that coastal women are typically slender, so more endowed women push out where it was not known before. Another story claims that coastal women, lonely and unhappy with their dreary, poor surroundings, sought to captivate sailors and tourists, so their diving sleeves climbed upwards over time to draw the attention of those who might whisk them away.
Thus there is an odd contradiction in Ellowian swimwear where the underside of the breast is more often seen than the top side- though the Duchess here has employed transparent material to circumvent that. After all- she is no diver or fisher, and there is little of that kind of work to be done in a bathing house meant entirely for leisure. Coastal Ellowian women in general have received a mixed reputation because of this suit and its origin stories- even amongst fisherfolk, to call a woman a "bad diver" implies that she makes ends meet through trampish behavior rather than being talented at a risky job. Conversely, a "smelly woman" would be one of the many fishwives who gut, prepare and hawk the catches- less prestigious than divers.
Regardless of how frequently these often rather poor fisherwomen actually are seduced by sufficient money, a "Wyshkormi," an abbreviation of "eastern cormorant" is a stereotype of a poor and easily seduced young woman, and to "go diving in her sleeves" refers to...well, the open part of the diver's sleeve requires little imagination.
Is this a lot of lore to explain neathage? Yes. But I won't suffer to have no explanation for it.
