Sumptuary laws among the dwarven-folk

"A people whose mode of dress instantly communicates rank, status, position and place may spend their efforts on the matter at hand rather than idly jockeying  with introductions and banter" - Melba Magustus magnate of Kêllčeir

The Valean sumptuary laws are too complex for an outsider to fully grasp, they themselves have a difficult time remembering them all. And when one cannot remember the precept it is best to take a cautionary approach, is the commonly held belief. This philosophy of social timidity has effectively created a secondary set of social mores expanding beyond the codified ones. 

Here are a set of very basic guidelines:

The taller the hat the younger the wife in relation to the wearer.

The wider the hat's brim the more husbands.

A sword is only carried by one who us literate.

The colour red is only worn by those in debt.

A veteran of war wears no gold or silver adornment.

A landowner does not go barefoot.

Elaborately styled facial hair is only for  administrators.

One who spends much time underground may display prominent tattoos.

Devotion to ancestors is often displayed on an ornamental breast plate, the breast plate should serve no other purpose.

NPC: Yoik Bluegranite, Valean archivist

Here's a GM character that will serve as a story hook carrier in an upcoming adventure:

Yoik has the unfortunate place in society of, what is ironically referred to as, a "first love". This is the role of a husband whose spouse has subsequently married more men (polyandry is the norm among the middle and higher class denizens) who outrank him considerably. It is a position of marked disgrace  and effectively caps off further social advancement. Not uncommon for a "first love" Yoik has become very devout in the ancestor veneration which makes up the biggest official civic religion in Vali. The ancestor which he has chosen as his patron is none other than the founder of the Delvers' Dominion, known to all the dwarves simply as Silverbeard. Silverbeard's era was the first generation of the third Aeon which is a time shrouded in much speculation and wonder among the Valeans.

Yoik's profession is archivist for the Academy of Dwarven Cosmology. If his career path hadn't been stunted by lessened esteem due to being a first love he would have eventually become an historian. As it stands he will likely spend the rest of his working days in clerical drudgery unless he can distinguish himself through some deed of significance. This is his highest aim: to set himself apart not only in the academy but in the community of Silverbeard venerators by reclaiming a lost relic of the third Aeon. 

The Map: Yoik has aquired a palimpsest of a Oamnic map pulled from an ancient vellum. The map depicts a city called  Onua and Yoik has deduced that it must be the capital city of the Oamnoi from before the fish eaters' war.  According to delver legend this would correspond with the forest city that Silverbeard's troops routed in an epic siege which was the coup de grace of the war. 

The Relic: in the battle, legend has it,  Silverbeard lost his brass helm (rumoured to be a blessed item forged by a devil) when it was knocked from his head as he lead the first charge. When the battle was over his attendants wanted to search the the field to find the precious item but Silverbeard forbade them saying that no dwarf should have any need to wear a helm of any sort from this point forward. Of course, this was only true for twenty odd years before a vicious religious war broke out among the delver clans. If Yoik could recover the brass helm of Silverbeard he feels that all his dreams would be realized.

modes of dress in the dwarven city

Smiths: long felt robes in muted colours. Few ornaments but highly crafted, often bangles. For headgear they wear tallish fez-like caps colour coded to their clan.

Stone workers: leather aprons with miscellaneous straps and chains often accompanied by a zinc breastplate emblazoned with a lucky rune. Staffs with measuring notches are carried at all times.

Beaurocrats: cotton turbans and fur-trimmed caftans, often bespectacled with braided whiskers.

Academics: black and white striped hoods, close cropped beards with long mustaches, starched bonnets and golden earrings.

Priests: tall fur hats and linen robes the arms and neck of which are embroidered with interlaced snakes of blue and gold.

Civic Guards: Patchy beards, geometric tattoos and oilskin breeches, brass helms and often seen smoking long stemmed ivory tobacco pipes.