Clothing is a constant tool of characterization in Jane Eyre, from the plain dresses the girls wear at Lowood all the way to Jane’s insistence on a wedding veil that’s not too fancy. For example, when Jane insists on continuing to wear her plain gray and black gowns instead of starting to dress in the gaudy, expensive, brightly-colored dresses Rochester wants to purchase, it shows us that she’s refusing to turn into his mistress.