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[Cainhurst Crow]

Why is it that orlesians are so obsessed with wearing masks? I get you can deck them out and customize them with all kinds of fancy and expensive crap, but did no one in the nobility question this fashion? Was this an emperor has no clothes thing where one of them was born so ugly they had to wear a mask to keep everyone from dying, and it just caught on as fashionable?

 

Its so easy to steal someones identity this way, and is such an obvious stupid flaw that can be exploited, I'm surprised its just embraced so much.

 

On the flip sides, I want someone like Rolan Quarn to pop up now in the DA universe pulling off the same kind of stunts. For those who don't play mass effect/don't know who that is, here ya go: http://masseffect.wi...iki/Rolan_Quarn

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

From fashionencyclopedia.com

 

Often considered one of the strangest accessories, masks had both practical and decorative uses among European women. Masks were first worn during the sixteenth century to provide protection from the sun and other elements while women were outside or riding horses, thus preserving the pale complexion that was in fashion. This practical usage of masks continued through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and such masks covered either the full face or just the nose and eyes. Full face masks were made of fine stiffened white cloth with holes for the eyes and mouth. They were held to the head with ties or, in a strange arrangement, with a button that was clenched between the front teeth.

 

Fashionable half-masks were most popular during the seventeenth century. These masks covered the area around the nose and eyes, and were either held to the head with ties or fastened to a small stick, which required that women hold the mask up to the face in order to remain concealed. Such masks allowed women to conceal their identity while attending the many theater performances that were prohibited for respectable women, or simply to maintain an air of mystery at a party or ball. They were either black or white and were made of silk, satin, velvet, or some other soft material.

Read more: http://www.fashionen...l#ixzz3LLdV4fB7

 

Apparently DAI extended this to men as well in Orlais because, well, they're French. So apparently the noble men in Orlais also want to maintain a pale complexion.

[DragonAgeLegend]

From The World of Thedas.

"A bare face in Orlais is considered gauche, especially in the presence of a foreigner or, Maker forbid a commonor.

The Orlesian nobility is "prone to wearing very elaborate masks in public," Genitivi once observed. "These masks are hereditary and identify ones family almost as uniquely as heraldry on a crest." One family might be associated with a lion crest, and matching lion masks will identify them in public. Retainers and servants wear a simpler form of a family's mask. Family symbols are well known among the Orlesian public, and anyone attempting to wear a mask that doesn't belong to their house runs the risk of a quick death if discovered.

Wearing makeup is another popular tradition for goth men and women in Orlais. Even chevaliers may wear cosmetics. There is both masculine and feminine makeup, although outsiders may have trouble telling the difference. Makeup can be a strong indicator of social sanding. The quality and rarity of ones makeup- uncommon hues and consistencies are prized- speak volumes of ones status."

[Han Shot First]

I think it probably ties into the Orlesian love of the Great Game as well. Masks hide your facial expressions and conceal your emotions. 

[Cainhurst Crow]

I think it probably ties into the Orlesian love of the Great Game as well. Masks hide your facial expressions and conceal your emotions. 

 

Finally, someone answers my question.

 

Been getting a lot of elaboration on how they wear masks, but not a lot of why they do it.

[whiteravenxi]

This is explained to you if you ask a party member about it during a certain mission