After last week’s hiatus, Game of Threads is back with some beautiful new costumes to discuss. The battle for humanity is over and the battle for the Iron Throne has resumed, as has our favorite characters’ commitment to stylishly getting shit done.
We open with somber dressing for the mass funeral of the fallen men and women in Winterfell’s courtyard. Daenerys opts to wear her greyish sueded leather coat to mourn. A strange choice because we know how many black outfits she has based on last season. Still, she’s wearing the more subdued ensemble that she wore in episode 2, instead of making a statement.
Sansa has removed her leather armored bodice but has kept a few straps of black as a reminder that she is still armed to protect the North and her family. This is also the most queenly hair arrangement we’ve seen her wear in a while, perhaps to boost the morale of the survivors with an image of commanding Northern noble, committed to rebuilding and maintaining their lands against those that would further threaten them. Eerily though, the way the bun aspect is shaped is reminiscent of the way she wore her hair for her wedding to Ramsay…
Once the post-funeral feast takes place, it’s clear that every element of Sansa’s look is an homage to her entire tutelage thus far, whether consciously done on her part or not. A fitting instance of costuming given her conversation with the Hound. Her now mainstay necklace will always carry a bit of Littlefinger for her, as she first wore it during her turing point the the Eyrie in Season 4. Her hair has elements of Catelyn and Margaery- two feminine forces in her life, and, again, the hint of Ramsay (a strangely terrifying trifecta of a hairdo). Her cloak and leather harness are tied to her father and Jon. Most obviously though, her leather dress is almost the exact same cut and style as Cersei’s Season 7 pieced-leather dress that she wore when speaking with Tycho Nestoris, but the way the leather is treated and applied is all Sansa. The pieces take on a feather-like quality that has become a signature motif in a lot of her most meaningful dresses- taking control of her perceived “little bird”/”little dove” moniker. Unfortunately there aren’t any full shots of the dress in action, but the promo photo shows more of the gorgeous craftsmanship.
Dany, however, is taking a much less nuanced approach to her dressing for the feast. This is the first time we’ve seen her in a bolder, Targaryen red, instead of the more black-purple she’s been implementing in her recent dressing. The shape, embroidery, and fabric treatment is similar to the silhouettes she mainly wore in Season 7, but the design really lets the color be the biggest statement. Coupled with a black underskirt, she is a walking Targaryen sigil. It’s Dany’s way of letting everyone know that “yes, we are celebrating tonight, but come tomorrow, it’s time for everyone to change courses and repay me for coming to help your cause.” It’s also no coincidence that this declarative Targaryen outfit is the ensemble she wears when she implores Jon to keep quiet about his claim to the throne, and understandably starts to unravel.
Upon dressing to fly south she further implements her newfound red hue. Dany’s now signature battle coat is reworked for the more forgiving climate in the same sueded grey leather as her other coat, instead of all fur. The fur that does remain, the “veins” running through the seaming, is now the bright scarlet, as are the swaths of fabric in the sleeves and sash, which seems a fitting ensemble for an audience with her number one adversary (though for some reason her purple-red cravat remains?). I also like that the motif of the contrasting fur panel “dragon spine” is still present in the seaming on the back of the coat.
Speaking of Cersei, we are treated to her return to full-on Lannister red. The design itself is pretty similar to the black velvet piece that she wore back in episode 1 this season but there is, unsurprisingly, more hardware added and the shape of the neckline is a bit more severe. However, the color is most noteworthy, partly because it’s the first time she hasn’t worn black since a very brief glimmer of happiness back in Season 6 when she thought Myrcella was returning to her. It’s definitely reflective of Cersei’s happiness with her current standing and odds of winning, but it’s also worth noting that the color ties Cersei and Dany together in a, dare I say, “mad queen” way, and sets them both up for their ultimate face off.
Stray thoughts:
Brienne’s dressing robe is amazing and worthy of an actual appearance at court.
It was sure nice of Cersei to let Missandei remove her fur lined armor so she wasn’t too hot down in whatever temperature it is in King’s Landing right now.
I wish you had noticed that Sansa’ post-funeral dress has dragonfly wings patterns 🙂 thx for the analysis
Hodor,,,
so close
Ahhh Hogan, as always, its a tremendous pleasure to read your insightful articles.
I completely agree with everything that you have said, and I would also like to add my interpretation of Cersei´s (I guess final) outfit:
– As you pointed out, she goes back to the Lannister red colours as a sign of happiness and security, of course, this is Cersei so she feels like she is smarter than anyone else and that she is gonna crush Daenerys, but also I feel like she sees herself as the last Lannister standing, the worthy heir of Tywin himself.
– The “neckline” is reminiscent of the back of the dress she wore in last season´s finale, Michele Clapton admited that it was supposed to foreshadow Cersei´s future betrayal saying that looked very reptail-line, not trustworthy at all.
Now, she is wearing it on the front, with pride, saying “I am smarter than all of you, I played you like fiddles, I am the best player of the game”.
– The shoulder pads remindme of a cockroach, which is very interesting given that this animals survive everything that you throw at them.
– The Lannister necklace (pendant?) that Cersei is wearing is very interesting, we have seen that necklace before but it has always been around her neck, now, is hanging low, very low, exactly in the center of her pregnant belly, I guess this exemplifies that she is carrying the next generation of Lannisters who will rule the world (or thats what she thinks), and she is doing so with pride.
– Now, this is the most interesting part for me, the style of the dress: it´s very japanese like, Michele Clapton herself confessed that the Lannister wardrobe was inspired by japanese couture, she wanted to give them a sense of coming from a vastly different culture than the rest of Westeros.
The thing is, before, Cersei wore wrapped dresses that looked like the Kimonos worn by the Japanese empresses, but now, her dress is taking a more masculine approach and actualy looks like one of the gowns a japanese emperor would wear, again, the more powerful Cersei becomes, the more masculine her style is (shorter hair, no tightness, not showing her body). I thought it was a very nice touch.
I hope I didnt get too tinfoilish in this one, and I wholeheartedly hope to read your nexts posts, you truly are brilliant Hogan.
Wonderful post! So many beautiful details in these costumes. When I first saw the back of Dany’s coat as she stands outside KL I thought “folded wings ready to fly” (or attack). And Cersei’s red dress, all the little gold nobs (brads?) looks like a much lighter layer of protection as she transitions into an even more powerful, confident, and mad character. Love Dany’s feast dress and all the other photos above. Yes, the ladies are going to stylishly get shit done!
YAS it is time for a Game of Threads and there are ACTUAL COSTUMES this time and not everybody is in black thank the gods.
Cersei is back in the red where she should have always been. AlvWaynwood makes a super point about her hanging her old pendant over her belly, as a sign of pride in her *cough* pregnancy (there ain’t so much as a demonic shadow baby in there, nope, nope). Glad to see some velvet too, I think Clapton must be allergic to it or something. Full metal Lannister. Don’t like the creepy boyfriend accessory though, Cersei girl.
I like Dany’s last coat. It’s bordering on practical and something a sane person might actually wear in public. I have soft spot for suede, myself. It’s a shame the scene was too dark to appreciate her red, harken back to Meereen dress. I hope we get to see some more of it in better lighting, as I think I like this one.
I thought Varys got some nice costumes this episode, looking suitably smart. I guess that means he’s dead next week.
Sansa is softening up a little in her style, which is good, as I really haven’t enjoyed her outfits last season. The show feels extremely bereft of a woman actually dressing in a proudly womanly style. Dressing powerfully doesn’t mean dressing like a man.
…. A message that we get in the unexpected form of Brienne, who looks absolutely beautiful this evening. She looks great in her armour, don’t get me wrong, but I really love her in that simple elegant overgown. Brienne is finally in a place where she has the respect and confidence not to have to wander about constantly armoured to the teeth. Take note, Sansa.
Sad that Missandei goes out on a bit of a low point with those awful trousers. At least the useless shoulder accessories are gone. I just never felt that Dany’s styling suits Missandei at all. Actually I am in some doubt that it suits Daenerys, but that is the authentic Targ style, so okay.
Euron needs to up his game. I want to see him wearing some trophies, like Missandei’s badge repurposed, or random dragon bones. Something to taunt and terrify with. Not… whatever boy band look that is.
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this article, thanks for another great write up Hogan!
Despite the fact that we’re on Episode 4 out of 6, it feels weird to say that I didn’t think we’d see some of these costumes so early, because in the cases of Cersei and Sansa, their new costumes are quintessentially them that I don’t know where else you could go from here.
The Red Velvet dress, to me, is the epitome of Cersei. I love that she’s gone back to her House colors, but it’s a build on the base that we first saw in ‘Winds of Winter’. The reason I mention this is because seeing those dresses in S6 was a stark contrast from the flowing gowns we were used to, it seemed like a case of the outside representing what was inside, truly Cersei Lannister. Where the black gown and silver details was reminiscent of one of Tywin’s casual costumes (I’m thinking of the one from ‘The Mountain and the Viper’), this red velvet costume seems to be Cersei’s version of the Lannister Armor. Everything about her recent costumes has been intimidating: the increasing armor-feel to them (which makes sense, as she’s at war), last season’s spinal detail now front and center, the ‘X’ detail on her lower half sending a clear message of ‘No’, on what looks like chainmail-esque material? Red Velvet projects strong ‘Don’t Touch Me’ vibes, which makes sense given what she’s gone through and what she’s now currently going through, if her pregnancy is to be believed. Red Velvet is exquisite, probably one of my favorite looks Michele Clapton has created for the show.
Before the season began, one of the costumes I was most excited to see was Sansa’s new teal dress. I thought it was supposed to take on a fish scales-like quality, from her maternal family of House Tully, I never even thought that it could represent feathers instead and I think that makes the most sense in regards to Sansa and the monikers/motifs she’s been given since the beginning of the show, so thank you for opening my eyes on that one. I hope we see it again, preferably in the daytime so I can appreciate it better, outside of promotional shots (the same goes for Daenerys’ new red/black dress).
Since coming to Winterfell, I think Daenerys has tried to dress for the Northeners. House Stark is a grey direwolf on a white field and so we’ve seen Daenerys adopt these colors, while still maintaining the undertone of Targaryen red and of course her dragon pin/chain. During the celebrations, Daeny comes to realise that with Jorah dead (and the writers forcing distance between her and Missandei + Greyworm to exacerbate the point), Jon having his own group of friends, Tyrion circling in Jaime’s orbit again, she doesn’t really have anyone left, and I think the costume here signifies that. I know we’ve seen Daeny in the colors of her House before, but I was still excited to see that red was the prominent color this time, with black accents/pleats. I hope we see more of that in the last two episodes.
Seriously, Can they give Cersei a new dress already? That dress is awful and she’s worn it all season. Last season was bad too.
Same for Dany- all her costumes for the past two seasons have that same shape, and they look like a prison warden uniform.
It’s such a shame, as usually the costumes have consistently been on point until S7… seems as though they’re just calling it in now from a costume perspective.
I was also surprised there wasn’t any hype on the fact she’s finally embraced the Targaryen colours more vividly.
Brilliant post – always look forward to these, Hogan!
Also, is Dany’s cravat still there because it’s now apparently ‘winter’ in KL? I mean, the maester’s sent out white ravens, Jaime saw snowfall… maybe this is what winter in the South looks like, where one absolutely needs a cravat?
Great article, Hogan.
Also, great observations, AlvWaynwood, Emily, Halcyon.
I especially liked the observation that Cersei is wearing the Lannister pendant over her pregnant belly. Even Euron should twig onto what’s going on there… (Though I’m not sure if Cersei is pregnant.) Oh, and that “reptilian” bit boldly in the front, yes!
I very much like the “dragon ridge” on the back of Dany’s coat, and also loved her red dress.
I liked the dress Sansa wore to the feast, but the next day at the war council she’s back to wearing her leather “armour”. They might be going to war against Cersei, but it’s Dany who sees Sansa’s warlike outfit.
Arya is wearing the same clothes but I like the outfit. Mini-me Ned, very Stark, and then a unique cloak over it. A cloak that leaves her left arm free to wield a weapon.
I absolutely loved Brienne’s robe, and what it said about her. That she finally has enough confidence to let her feminity show. Too bad about the way it ended. 🙁
Varys also had nice new clothes. Otherwise the men’s fashions weren’t all that exciting. Tormund must be sooo hot under all those furs in the feast, lol! Oh, and Jaime was wearing a northern-style shirt with the gathered neck.
Looking at the photos for the next episode, the uniforms for the Golden Company soldiers are interesting. I like the color scheme but the high-waist pants get me. I keep thinking of “mom jeans!” However, I can see they may have a practical purpose – like freer movement. Maybe other soldiers have had this and I just have not noticed. Anyways, since the GC has a specific new uniform for the series, I look forward to seeing it in action and any comments.
onefromaway,
OK…looking at the all the GC photos, some of the pants sit more at the waist but there is one soldier where it does look high to me. Anyhow, we will see how they look in motion soon.
onefromaway,
I thought their “bloomers” looked a bit amusing.
Maybe it’s the way the waist and belt go over the armour? Usually britches are under armour. Indeed, often the men have padded (or even armoured) “skirts”. See any pic of Jon, Jorah, Jaime.
talvikorppi,
I think you are right, we typically don’t see the pant waist. The “high” effect is especially apparent in one promo shot where the cross design on the chest plate is cut off at the bottom by the belt. It is odd sometimes what details one’s eye picks up! (I do like your bloomer reference!)
Thanks!