Often enough, after I take care of a review for a new cash shop glamour set, I put the pieces in storage and rarely think of them again. Usually, such sets don’t really suit Alahra, but every now and again, I really strike gold. That’s the case for the new Dirndl’s Attire, which does something I’ve been hoping Square Enix would start doing for a long time: separating longer pieces that don’t have to be dresses into a top and a long skirt. I rarely do much with long skirts, but there are so many dresses, robes, and armored coats I love from the waist up and never find much use for. Traditionally, of course, dirndl attire consists of a separate bodice and skirt anyway, but we have a variety of pieces like the very old Riviera Dress that could have easily been split, and I’d really like to see the new set mark the beginning of a trend.

Having the bodice separate from the skirt in this case gave me a glamour idea almost immediately. With one of Alahra’s canon jobs being Monk, I’ve always imagined that she dresses in a way that would leave her ready for a scuffle even during her leisure time (which is part of why I was so fond of the Neo-Ishgardian Top that it’s been my standard Monk glamour since February). Monk tends to be my go-to for in character idling in public spaces as a result, and the Dirndl’s Bodice seemed like just the sort of thing Alahra would wear for a casual get together or a night out on the town.

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Glamour Components (Requirements: MNK 50, Female)
Weapon: Emperor’s New Fists
Head: Reading Glasses (Ul Brown)
Body: Dirndl’s Bodice (Gunmetal Black)
Hands: Common Makai Manhandler’s Fingerless Gloves
Legs: Brand-new Skirt
Feet: Saurian Boots of Striking (Jet Black)

While the bodice works well in a large variety of colors (a rarity that makes it all the more special), my natural inclination for a canon Alahra glamour is to start in black or white, and for most of Shadowbringers I’ve favored black and gold glamours in particular, so I started out with Jet Black for the top. From there I had a few things in mind. I knew I wanted to use the Emperor’s New Fists (which both saved me the trouble of coordinating a weapon with the look and fit the overall idea of an outfit casual but ready for trouble), and I knew I was going to want a pair of thighboots and probably a skirt.

I went skirt hunting first. Since the bodice is largely designed to be paired with the Dirndl’s Long Skirt, it “cuts off” suddenly on the front, so I knew I wanted one that had a belt or sash included to create a more natural flow around the waist. While there are a few options that might have worked, my mind went to one of my favorite skirt models—the Foestriker’s Skirt. Since I was already looking for a black and gold glamour, though, that lead me to the Brand-new variant, which has a golden buckle and black trim to the silver and red of the other. The buckle’s even roughly the same tone as the gold trim on the bodice, making it an almost perfect fit.

From there I naturally went to the Ishgardian Thighboots, but those seemed a little too heavy, despite their bits of gold. Something slimmer seemed more appropriate, so my next thought were the Raptorskin Boots, but they didn’t have the right finish when dyed black, but thankfully Monk has access to another dyeable version in the Saurian Boots, which have the right texture. Their gold knee plates also better match the gold of the other pieces than the ones on the Raptorskin Boots do, which about finished off the look. For gloves, I could have used any number of handwraps or halfgloves, but I’ve always been partial to the Makai gloves, so I went with those.

Once everything was in place, I opted to move to Gunmetal Black on the bodice, since that made the black tones line up better with the skirt and boots, which finalized the look. Like my Neo-Ishgardian glamour for Monk, I expect that this one will be sticking around for awhile. While I might end up swapping it out for something more combat-ready in 5.4 (since there’s a possible Monk overhaul coming that might make me want to play it more regularly), I think I’ll be keeping a plate dedicated to this one just for idling and roleplaying—it’s just so perfect for those, and highly in-character.