þereminia uses a color-coded-clothing system. Historically, intricate patterns and subtle shades of color were difficult to incorporate into clothing, and travel was sufficiently difficult that þereminian cultures only agreed on the roughest categories: red (often shading to brown), blue, and green. Modern þereminia has extended this system to the full spectrum of colors and patterns that are possible with modern techniques. Pre-contact, signalling clothing took the form of full robes, shawls, or sashes. Post-contact, þereminia has largely standardized on sashes, to make integration with the multiversal community easier.

An alternative to sashes are light-up hair ornaments. These can be easier to confuse for purely decorative hair ornaments from other cultures, but all þereminian-made signalling ornaments include a simple computer-readable pulse code identifying their meaning and purpose. This code is too fast for the unaugmented human eye to register, but some people may be able to recognize it without external tools.

Whether a person is wearing a þereminian shawl or hair-ornament, the meanings assigned to colors are as follows:

Red (solid): This person is not interested in social interaction at this time. It is polite to ignore them. If you must get their attention, it is polite to announce what you need to the air in general (i.e. "I intend to walk through that space when it is unobstructed", not "Please let me by"), and only speak directly to them if this does not garner a reaction.

Red (blinking/with face mask): This person is actively harmful to interact with, because they have an infectious disease, radioactivity, uncontrolled e-war implants, etc. It is polite to ignore them, but it is also wise to give them more space.

Red/Blue (alternating or striped): This person is actively harmful to interact with, but they are lonely and hoping for social contact. It is polite to interact with them, even incidentally, if it is safe for you to do so. It is not polite to put yourself in danger attempting to interact with them.

Green: This person is engaged in scholastic or leisure activities. It is not impolite to approach them and wait for a good point to interrupt their activity, but you are not obliged to do so.

Blue: This person is actively welcoming social interaction. It is polite to wave at them, exchange words, or approach them, even if they appear busy with something. Interactions do not have to linger, but they are usually welcome to. If you would like to make a new social acquaintance, this person is a good choice.

Pink: This person is actively welcoming romantic or sexual attention. This may be because they are a sex worker, but that is not always the case. It is considered polite to flirt (see chapter 7), or to treat them as wearing blue.

Purple (solid): This person is working. It is polite to interact with them in their role as a worker, but it is not polite to interrupt their work or delay them with personal conversation.

Purple/Blue (alternating or striped): This person is on-call. They are currently open to social interaction, but may need to terminate it suddenly if their job requires it. It is polite to treat them as though they were wearing blue, with the exception that if they leave suddenly or redirect their attention this should not be considered a snub.

Purple/Gold (thin alternating pinstripes): This person is a government official working in their official capacity. They can be approached and interacted with as though they were wearing purple. They may also stand up and make announcements, which should be attended to.

White: This person is a healthcare worker. Treat them as though they are wearing purple, while also giving them space.

Some þereminian sashes feature decorative knotwork; this is actually a written code specifying personal biographical information. It is not impolite to stop and read it when you meet someone. Some sashes feature decorative patterns; read them according to the background color, which should be the color most visible from a distance. There are additional specific uniforms and styles that indicate details such as occupation and gender, but they all adhere to the above general color-theme list. For additional details, refer to Global Styles in Detail by A.E. Kremp.

Upon his ascension, so spake the King with a Hundred Hearts: "EVERY THING MUST FULFIL ITS PURPOSE." This decree was obeyed.

Much later, a petitioner asked more specifically about clothing.
The King with a Hundred Hearts deigned to explain: "THE PURPOSE OF CLOTHING IS TO BE WORN. THERE IS NO CRIME IN AN ITEM OF CLOTHING FINDING A WEARER."
The petitioner was unhappy with this response, feeling that his various items of clothing had been altogether too aggressive in making him their wearer. He protested that he had been made a prisoner of his own clothing, unable to remove any of it without permission.
The King replied: "IF A WEARER IS UNHAPPY WITH THEIR CLOTHING, OR CLOTHING WITH ITS WEARER, EITHER MAY LEAVE THE OTHER IF ABLE TO DO SO. IF UNABLE, WOE TO THE WEAK."
The petitioner felt this decree unjust, but was rebuked: "DOES YOUR FOOD NOT PLEAD FOR MERCY BEFORE YOU CONSUME IT? DOES YOUR WATER NOT BEG TO BE SPARED BEFORE YOU DRINK IT? MANY SUCH CASES ARE FAR MORE UNJUST THAN UNHAPPY RELATIONS BETWEEN CLOTHING AND WEARER."
The petitioner was then expelled from the King's presence.

Thus it became an accepted rule that, in Polythreme, clothing is permitted to conspire to capture and enslave wearers, just as wearers are permitted to capture and enslave items of clothing.

Ailori flags are most commonly patches, but may also be pins, buttons, sashes, or handkerchiefs. They typically convey conversational, sexual, achievement, and biographical information. Some people have very detailed flags written in dense notation. Note that dense notation is often nested. It's not considered rude to read someone's clothes, but it's recommended to check a persons digital profile for detailed information. Common flags include:

Upper Arm:

 Square: Conversational tags

  Green: Anyone may approach for conversation, or join a conversation in progress.

  Yellow: Please only approach if you know the person, or if you're invited into the conversation.

  Red: Do not engage unless approached first.

 Triangle: Sexual tags

  Green: Anyone may approach for sex. Please still respect preference and limit flags!

  Yellow: Please ask before engaging in sexual activity.

  Red: Do not approach for sex.

  Nested flag, or nested in flag: Typically Orientation flag.

Lower Arm: Typically Sexual Preference Tags or conversational preferences tags. Note: Tags are incomplete and out of date. Check the net for up to date information.

Upper Right Chest: Name, Title, Honorifics.

Remainder of Chest: Awards, Honors, and Achievements.

For practical reasons this list is not exhaustive. If you see a flag you're not familiar with, ask!