The Slave Camisk

Gorean Slave Attire

The most common Gorean garment for a slave is a brief slave tunic.

The dressing of slaves, incidentally, is an interesting and intricate pastime. The slave is almost never totally nude. Her body is marked almost always with some token of her condition, which is bond. This is usually a collar, but it may also be an anklet, sometimes belled, or a bracelet. Her brand, of course, fixed in her very flesh, deep and lovely, is always worn. There is no mistaking it. The iron has seen to that.
"Sometimes, too, it is controversial as to what constitutes a garment and what a bond. For example, is a slave harness a garment or a bond; objectively, I suppose, it is both. So, too, I would suppose, are the tunic chains of Tyros. A girl may be "set off," of course, and beautifully, even if, technically, she is not clothed. She may be garbed, for example, in netting, as the "Hunter's Catch"; or she may be bedecked in jewels and leather, and shimmering chains, dancing under a whip in a tavern in Port Kar; or she may have flowers intertwined in her chains, as when she is awarded to a victor in public games in Ar. Interestingly, what counts as slave garments and what does not, is apparently a culturally influenced phenomenon." Guardsman of Gor page 108

Gorean slaves were usually dressed to fit their duties and according to the region in which they lived. In Tharna the girls often times wore the common camisk , whereas in Turia the girls wore what is referred to as the Turian Camisk. The kajira in the Tahari wore either the chalwar or haik , while the Torvaldslanders dressed their slaves in a kirtle . The Wagon Peoples had a four piece garment made up of the chatka, curla, kalmak, koora , worn by the kajirae, and simply the kes alone for the kajirus. In the Barrens, the Red Savages dressed their kajira uniquely in brief beaded garments which went unnamed. As you would imagine, in the Frozen North the girls were dressed according to the frigid climate in such things as fur stockings, boots and parkas.

In addition to these regional garments, the kajirae were also clad in tunics, ta-teeram silks and leathers. . These garments were not necessarily provided to the kajira to provide modesty, but more so to stress her bond and accentuate her beauty.

“Slave girls on Gor, on the other hand, when permitted clothing, are usually dressed briefly and lightly, that their charms be muchly revealed. Gorean men wish it this way. That, accordingly, is the way it is.”
Slave Girl of Gor, page 237

A common misconception is that kajira referred to as “white silk” or “red silk” are dressed in white or red silks. The following quote briefly explains that these terms are used as a description of the girls sexual experience or lack of.

“To be sure,' I said, `'white' in the context of 'white-silk girl' tends less to suggest purity and innocence to the Gorean than ignorance, naivete, and a lack of experience. One expects a red-silk girl, for example, to not only be able to find her way about the furs, but, subject to the whip, owned and dominated, perhaps chained, to prove herself a sensuous treasure within them.”
Savages of Gor, page 205

The most common Gorean garment for a slave is a brief slave tunic. This tunic is invariably sleeveless, and usually, has a deep, plunging neckline. It may be of a great variety of materials, from rich satins and silks to thin, form-revealing, clinging rep-cloth. Camisks are favored in some cities. The common camisk is a simple rectangle of cloth, containing, in its center, a circular opening. The garment is drawn on by the girl over her head and down upon her shoulders; it is worn, thus, like a poncho; it is commonly belted with biding fiber or a bit of light chain, something with which the girl may be secured, if the master wishes." Guardsmen of Gor, pages 107-109

Camisk

"The common camisk is a single piece of cloth, about eighteen inches wide, thrown over the girl's head and worn like a poncho. It usually falls a bit above the knees in the front and back and is belted with cord or chain." Nomads of Gor 90

“The common camisk is a simple rectangle of cloth, containing, in its center, a circular opening. The garment is drawn on by the girl over her head and down upon her shoulders; it is worn, thus, like a poncho; it is commonly belted with biding fiber or a bit of light chain, something with which the girl may be secured, if the master wishes. One city in which the common camisk is favored, generally, is Tharna. The Turian camisk is a bit like an inverted "T," the bar of which has beveled edges. It goes about the neck, down, low, and is drawn up, and snugly, usually quite snugly, between the legs, the beveled bar ends of the "T" then being folded closely forward about the girl's flanks and being tied, tightly, at her belly. In the common camisk the girl's flanks, and her brand, are bared. In the Turian camisk, because of its snugness and adjustment cords, it is easy, as you might well imagine, to leave little doubt as to the girl's beauty. Needless to say, the camisk most commonly found in great Turia, the Ar of the south, is that camisk which Goreans, generally, know as the "Turian camisk." Interestingly, in Turia itself, it is known simply as the "camisk," and what I have called the common camisk is, in Turia, referred to as the "northern camisk."
Outlaw of Gor, page 186

"The Turian camisk, if it were to be laid out on the floor, would appear somewhat like an inverted 'T' in which the bar of the 'T' would be beveled on each side. It is fastened with a single cord. The cord binds the garment on the girl at three points, behind the neck, behind the back, and in front at the waist. The garment itself, as might be supposed, fastens behind the girl's neck, and, folding the two sides of the T's bar about her hips, ties in front. The Turian camisk, unlike the common camisk, will cover the girl's brand; on the other hand, unlike the common camisk, it leaves the back uncovered and can be tied, and is, snugly, the better to disclose the girl's beauty."
Nomads of Gor, page 90

Chalwar

"From one side a slave girl, barefoot, bangled, in sashed, diaphanous, trousered chalwar, gathered at the ankle, its tight, red-silk vest, with bare midriff, fled to him, with the tall, graceful, silvered pot containing the black wine. She was veiled. She knelt, replenishing the drink. Beneath her veil, I saw the metal of her collar." Tribesman of Gor page 88

"She wore a high, red-silk vest, swelling, fastened with a single hook; diaphanous red-silk chalwar, low on her hips, gathered at the ankles; two golden bangles on her left ankle; collar." Tribesman of Gor page 156

Chatka, Curla, Kalmak, and Koora (capri wore these)

"Among the Wagon Peoples, to be clad Kajir means, for a girl, to wear four articles, two red two black; a red cord, the Curla, is tied about the waist; the Chatka, or long, narrow strip of black leather, fits over the cord in front, passes under, and then again, from the inside, passes over the cord in back; the Chatka is drawn tight; the Kalmak is then donned; it is a short, open, sleeveless vest of black leather; lastly the Koora, a strip of red cloth, matching the Curla, is wound about the head, to hold the hair back, for slave women, among the Wagon Peoples, are not permitted to braid, or otherwise dress their hair; it must be, save for the Koora, worn loose. For a male slave or Kajirus, of the Wagon Peoples, and there are few, save for the work chains, to be clad Kajir means to wear the Kes, a short, sleeveless work tunic of black leather."

The camisk is a rectangle of cloth, with a hole cut for the head, rather like a poncho. The edges are commonly folded and stitched to prevent raveling. The camisk, I am told, normally falls to the knees...The camisk, I am told, was at one time commonly belted with a chain. However, the camisks that I have personally seen, and those we were given, were belted with a long, thin strap of leather binding fiber. This passes once around the body, and then again, and then is tied, snugly, over the right hip....The belt of binding fiber not only makes it easier to adjust the camisk to a given girl, but of course, the binding fiber serves to remind her that she is in bondage. In a moment it may be removed, and she may be secured with it, leashed, or bound hand and foot....The camisk, in its way, is an incredibly attractive garment. It displays the girl, but provocatively. Moreover, it proclaims her slave, and begs to be torn away by the hand of the master. Men thrill to see a girl in a camisk." - Captive of Gor page 64.

There is also the Turian Camisk, which is described this way. The single garment of these women was the Turian Camisk. I do not know particularly why it is called a camisk, save that it is a simple garment for a female slave. The common camisk is a single piece of cloth, about eighteen inches wide, thrown over the girls head and worn like a poncho. It usually falls a bit above the knees in front and back and is belted with a cord our chain. The Turian camisk, on the other hand, if it were to be laid out on the floor, would appear somewhat like an inverted "T" in which the bar of the "T": would be beveled on each side. It is fastened with a single cord. The cord binds the girl at three points, behind the neck, behind the back, and in front at the waist. The garment itself, as might be supposed, fastens behind the girls neck passes before her, passes between her legs, and is then lifted and, folding the two side of the T`s bar about her hips, ties in front. The Turian camisk, unlike the common camisk, will cover the girls brand; on the other hand, unlike the common camisk, it leaves the back uncovered and can be tied, and is, snugly, the better to disclose the girls beauty.” - Nomads of Gor page 90