PS: OK, I agree there are men with good taste that could also have made a good looking dress for female inquisitors, and also nice hairstyles for her. And there are also women with poor taste ... Well, it takes all sorts, as they say. I cannot edit the title of the thread, though, and change it to "Please Bioware let designers with good taste make dresses and hairstyles - Spoilers"
Yes, you can.
Click "Full Editor" and edit the title to your heart's content.
Did you notice the ps. at the bottom of the first post?
I was responding to the post as originally written, as well as many of the responses. To clarify, I used the "go to first unread post" button.
Erm... is it weird that the first thing I noticed were the untied shoelaces? 
Erm... is it weird that the first thing I noticed were the untied shoelaces?
She looks like some sort of ritual sacrifice to the Lord of Mosquitos.
Business up top. Malaria down below.
Yes, you can.
Click "Full Editor" and edit the title to your heart's content.
Ah, great to know!
And of course you know that I can produce even more pictures than you of good designs made by women are horrendous designs made by heterosexual men 
And of course you know that I can produce even more pictures than you of good designs made by women are horrendous designs made by heterosexual men
In the world of fashion, bad examples will outnumber good ones regardless of gender. It's like abstract or performance art that way: If it wasn't baffling or incomprehensible to most of us, there would be no way to distinguish the insiders from the masses.
The real problem, knowing many radical feminists would be: Being feminine x not being feminine
For most women, being feminine is desireable, society provides them with all the "support" (more like slavery) to be feminine, and they love it, to be cute, girlish, sexy, and so on
For some women, being feminine fits some areas, but not all, and they would not like to be feminine as a warrior, perhaps they would think it is ridiculous
For very few women (usually feminist, with whom I do agree) being feminine is offensive, it is oppression, brainwashing that girls suffer from birth to death through millenia and have a huge social power pressing them to be feminine
Feminism and my opinion aside, seeing how this is a game so it should be great for as many players as possible what I think is... it should be optional. Gender indentity is very important for people, both, cis and trans, and the denial of this identity in clothing and gestures can be frustrating. However resorting to stereotypes can also be frustrating since many women are feminine but not the avatar of feminity and wouldn't be happy if they were, while others would like to be a cinderella...
Bioware can't possibly put as many option as it would be needed to please everyone, so they make choices, sometimes poor ones. Well, I guess tht clothes-wise they could do better but it is very probable that given the limited resources they had to choose between sexism and plain bad taste. As much as I hate the game, considering how bad sexism would be I rather like the way they went...
I love high heels and marvelous dresses (I am so jealous of orlesians, Vivienne and Morrigan [at winter palace]) but I love women not being portrayed as eyecandy even more. We already have (anorexic) supermodel PC character bodies so clothes perhaps help in balancing how they portrayed women? In a perfect world we would have thousands of option in all areas including gender but in the real world of limited resources I choose to believe they couldn't let us choose between feminine beautiful clothing and "male" boring clothing... so it follows we also couldn't choose anything in between.
I like that you teetered from generalizations of women to an inclusive plea for gender identity.
I think that one is actually sensible to presume -- they know in advance your character is going to attend the ball and represent your organization there, it seems like a no brainer he/she would be taught about expected etiquette, including the dance. You even get the last minute reminders how to behave, in the cutscene leading to the ball.To me the dance scene looked extremely unrealistic. My character is a small female elf mage. So it was unrealistic in several ways:
She is Dalish, she wouldn't even know a dance like that. (And it was never hinted that someone tought her to dance human dances before the ball...)
The Inquisitor isn't at this Palace on a social call. She's there to save the life of the empress and prevent an assassination. If she was in a dress and heels she'd have trouble running around wouldn't she?
The uniform is practical which is more important than looking nice.
Changing the Skyhold outfit on the other hand would be a nice thing to be able to do.
Have you played this part of the game? The party changes into armor before any running or fighting takes place...there is absolutely zero reason for practicality other than specific personal taste (which only fits some people).
I think the "dip" was put there to impress the gallery. Notice Josephine's reaction to the dance.
I wonder. Is there a youtube video of a dance with a female elf Inquisitor? Female elves are normally shorter than human females... so is there a "dip" as well?.
The dip from my female Lavellan was a little strange looking with how slight she is, but nothing compared to the dip by my Lady Cadash
Obviously, female designers are infallible. It's science.
The jellyfish one is actually coo-coo crazy and flamboyant enough to work for the Orlesian ball imo if the color were changed. I'd rather wear that than a men's nutcracker suit, complete with shoulder widening shoulderpads and waist padding sash. 
They didn't specifically need a female designer though, just a designer that knows women's fashion and how to flatter the female shape.
If you want your female character to wear more traditionally masculine-looking clothes, then you should be able to, but the same should be done for those of us wanting more feminine clothing. I can understand they went with the "military" theme for the ball, but I was so so so hoping I'd at least get the option to wear a fantastic dress... It's a romanticized notion, of course, but I would've liked the option since that was the main reason I wanted to go to the ball in this game :/
Also, someone needs to get rid of Solas' ridiculous hat. Please.
Also, someone needs to get rid of Solas' ridiculous hat. Please.
Hat? Solas was not wearing a hat in my game. I do have helmet graphics disabled though.
The real problem, knowing many radical feminists would be: Being feminine x not being feminine
For most women, being feminine is desireable, society provides them with all the "support" (more like slavery) to be feminine, and they love it, to be cute, girlish, sexy, and so on
For some women, being feminine fits some areas, but not all, and they would not like to be feminine as a warrior, perhaps they would think it is ridiculous
For very few women (usually feminist, with whom I do agree) being feminine is offensive, it is oppression, brainwashing that girls suffer from birth to death through millenia and have a huge social power pressing them to be feminine
Feminism and my opinion aside, seeing how this is a game so it should be great for as many players as possible what I think is... it should be optional. Gender indentity is very important for people, both, cis and trans, and the denial of this identity in clothing and gestures can be frustrating. However resorting to stereotypes can also be frustrating since many women are feminine but not the avatar of feminity and wouldn't be happy if they were, while others would like to be a cinderella...
Bioware can't possibly put as many option as it would be needed to please everyone, so they make choices, sometimes poor ones. Well, I guess tht clothes-wise they could do better but it is very probable that given the limited resources they had to choose between sexism and plain bad taste. As much as I hate the game, considering how bad sexism would be I rather like the way they went...
I love high heels and marvelous dresses (I am so jealous of orlesians, Vivienne and Morrigan [at winter palace]) but I love women not being portrayed as eyecandy even more. We already have (anorexic) supermodel PC character bodies so clothes perhaps help in balancing how they portrayed women? In a perfect world we would have thousands of option in all areas including gender but in the real world of limited resources I choose to believe they couldn't let us choose between feminine beautiful clothing and "male" boring clothing... so it follows we also couldn't choose anything in between.
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I'm not usually one to have any strong feelings over hair but one thing that did bug me in the character creator was the lack of a generic short hair option for males. It seemed like you could only either go with buzz cut type styles or elaborate hipster luxurious locks.
Yes, because it's practical going into medieval war in a silk dress and high heels. At least there's a little realism to fighting dragons and casting fire balls. Joan of Arc wore the same armor that the men did. Mages, maybe, but anything else no.
Hat? Solas was not wearing a hat in my game. I do have helmet graphics disabled though.
Oh yes it's horrible and the clipping is a nightmare:
Dorian and Vivienne should've had something to say about that, to be honest :/ Speaking of which, Shopping-with-Vivienne-and-Dorian DLC please!
Yes, because it's practical going into medieval war in a silk dress and high heels. At least there's a little realism to fighting dragons and casting fire balls. Joan of Arc wore the same armor that the men did. Mages, maybe, but anything else no.
A fancy party/ball for nobility and royalty=medieval war? If a freaking ball isn't the place for a fancy dress then what is?
... a men's nutcracker suit, complete with shoulder widening shoulderpads and waist padding sash.
Indeed. The uniform wasn't properly adapted to suit females.
I personally dislike the colouring and whole outfit and would rather even wear regular armor instead. But when the uniform is forced on all characters despite race and gender, it would have been appropriate to at least make a proper female version. Not one that screams "btw, this is a men's outfit you are wearing, Inquisitior".
It makes no sense from the story point of view either. Appearances are everything in Orlesian court. Why would a leader of a powerful organisation go to the grand ball wearing clothing that isn't even made for her? I know in real life I would feel anything but confident and "professional" if I wore something totally unsuitable for an important occasion.
And yes, I do realise this is just a game. 
It's just small things like these truly break the immersion for me - and this game has too many of these. In the end small things that wouldn't have taken much effort to make better and more finished.
Even weirder than seeing it on my Inquisitor was seeing it on Vivienne. I cannot in a million years imagine she would ever consent to wearing it, it is not her style whatsoever.
I liked how in the Mass Effect Citadel dlc, each companions had their own unique party outfits, and that was just a dlc. If you pay attention to the NPC's that populate the world, there truly are a ton of different outfit models, the majority of which the player never gets to utilize, and likely doesn't pay attention to. I highly doubt anyone would have noticed if they cut out one of these NPC outfits in favor of a separate ball attire or additional Skyhold outfits, but the lack of options for the player is most definitely noticeable.
I also agree about the whole animation issue. The dance with Florianne played out as extremely comical with a female elf pc. I could imagine it being better with another human, or Qunari, but the elves hardly look like they could lift a dinner fork, nevermind the Grand Dutchess. I can't even imagine it with a dwarf.
In DA2 I recall only a single instance where my female character had an exaggerated male walk (during the first meeting with Bartrand where the guy picks your pocket) but the rest of the cut-scenes were much closer to neutral, which I was appreciative of. Josephine and Leliana both use either neutral or female animations in their scenes, along with the protagonist in the female romance-exclusive scenes (with Cullen, Solas, Sera, and Blackwall,) and it was such a breath of fresh air. It's not as if these animations were exaggerated at every point to include extreme hip swaying, but they just looked natural for once.
I remember seeing this concept art of the Skyhold Judgements:
And the pose is so much more natural. I really, really wish this animation had made it into the game for those scenes. Watching the hunched-shoulder walk is irking, but watching the judgement animations, along with this scene with Josephine:
Spoiler
was just uncomfortable. I can't imagine that any female player, no matter how they characterize their pc, likes it.
There should be options for all tastes for sure, but I was thrilled, so thrilled I called my brother to see, about the Palace ball.
Because as soon as the quest started I thought "here we go. About to see her with a dress on, which I hate ans she hates and I'm sick of games assuming I like dresses because I'm female and its not me or my character at all and this always happens and its irritating and- Oh! Oh my god, yeeees. Yes!"
And I thought the outfit was cool, stylish, regal and kinda hot on My Inky , Josie etc
Dorian and Vivienne should've had something to say about that, to be honest :/ Speaking of which, Shopping-with-Vivienne-and-Dorian DLC please!
Yes, a Shopping with Vivienne and Dorian DLC would be great, Empress! 
Oh yes it's horrible and the clipping is a nightmare:
Sigh. And it is such a cute scene... (but of course the problems are a few bangs that occasionally clips, isn't it? 
)
Yes, because it's practical going into medieval war in a silk dress and high heels. At least there's a little realism to fighting dragons and casting fire balls. Joan of Arc wore the same armor that the men did. Mages, maybe, but anything else no.
If it were medieval lots of things would be different about it.
I think the ball scene where you look like a US marine without the cool hat was a bit much.
Also men and women had long hair in the medieval period.
Agreed, Zobert. DAI isn't medieval at all. Orlais looks more like XVIIIth century France, before the revolution. And in medieval times, women never wore trousers or short hair
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