Costumes/Seven Kingdoms

The Seven Kingdoms, on the continent Westeros. The west coast of the continent Essos is also shown (click to expand).

The regions of Westeros: the North (white), Riverlands (blue), Vale (dark blue), Westerlands (crimson), Iron Islands (gold), Reach (green), Crownlands (brown), Stormlands (yellow) and Dorne (orange). The wildling territories are shown in black: the lands Beyond the Wall are part of "Westeros" (the continent) but are not part of the realm known as "the Seven Kingdoms".

The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros were united into a single political realm by Aegon's Conquest (except for Dorne, which joined later), three centuries before the events of Game of Thrones. The entire geographic region south of the Wall is still colloquially referred to as "the Seven Kingdoms", even though they are no longer seven independent states.

The Targaryen kings also established two new administrative regions in their realm: the Riverlands – which for thousands of years was a contested borderland that frequently changed hands between neighboring kingdoms – and the Crownlands, which was carved out of neighboring kingdoms and ruled directly from the new capital city of King's Landing. Therefore, the "Seven Kingdoms" actually contains nine administrative regions.

The lands beyond the Wall are the only region where particular distinction is made between "Westeros" the continent and "the Seven Kingdoms" as a political entity: Those lands are physically part of the former, but do not fall under the jurisdiction of the latter.

Regardless of their shifting borders and changing names, the Seven Kingdoms contain a wide array of environments, which is often reflected through their clothing. Ranging from the snows of the North to the sandy deserts of Dorne in the south, from the fertile lands of the Reach to the soaring peaks of the Vale, each region has its own unique costumes and fashion styles, as well as certain sub-groups within the larger regions.

The North

The North, ruled for centuries by House Stark from their seat at Winterfell.

The North has been ruled by House Stark for thousands of years, stretching back before written history and into legend. The North is the coldest of the Seven Kingdoms; the harsh years-long winters that plague Westeros are felt most keenly here, and snow can fall in the North even during the summer. It is also the only region of the Seven Kingdoms with a hostile land border, with wildling raids often coming south of the Wall. Combined with a lack of any significant material wealth, life in the North can often boil down to a basic struggle for survival. As a result, Northerners tend to be very dour in nature, and this is visible in their clothing.

Northmen mostly wear clothing in shades of blue, grey, and occasionally black; murky colors for a winter climate. They also wear heavy furs to keep out the cold, but few precious metals or jewelry, viewing elaborate decoration as ostentatious and unnecessary. Most soldiers cannot afford metal plate armor except for helmets, and rely more on chainmail and studded leather. Northern women are focused on practicality, and generally wear their hair long to retain heat (they wouldn't have an upswept hairstyle the way Margaery Tyrell of the Reach does; their ears would get cold). Northern noblewomen often cannot afford expensive jewelry, but still have dignity and make a concerted effort to wear attractive fashions. Therefore, they compensate for this lack of jewelry with elaborate embroidery.

Because Northerners are largely descended from the First Men and most still worship the Old Gods, the seven-pointed star symbol used by the Faith of the Seven is rarely seen on Northern clothing and equipment. Even Northern Heraldry is intentionally much simpler than most designs from southern Westeros (heraldic designs are specifically connected to chivalry, which belongs to the Faith of the Seven).​

House Stark

The clothing worn by House Stark follows the standard Northern aesthetic, but with a few twists. Since the Starks are a warm and close-knit family unit, they wear friendlier, softer shades of blue and grey. Their outfits also include some warm murky browns, to match the color of the animal furs they wear.

Individual members of House Stark also have unique touches to their clothing, which may reflect something about their personality and/or the larger narrative in which the garments appear. As the eldest son and heir of a Great House, Robb was able to incorporate more metal pieces into his armor than the average Northern soldier, though not nearly the full metal suits often seen in southern Westeros. Sansa is highly skilled at sewing and embroidery and makes a particular effort to wear stylish clothing. Her costumes and hairstyles also evolve extensively throughout her travels to (see link below). In Season 1, Arya mostly wears Northern-style women’s clothing (except during her water dance lessons with Syrio Forel). By the time she returns to Winterfell in Season 7, her outfits become a distinctive blend of masculine and feminine styles, with square-cut tunics and knee-length skirts worn over fitted trousers.

See main article "Costumes/Major characters - Sansa Stark".

House Bolton

In contrast with the honorable Starks, members of House Bolton are vicious, traitorous, and perhaps the closest group to being outright "evil" in an otherwise ambiguous narrative. These darker tendencies are reflected in their clothing, which incorporates harsher tones and more blacks overall (even the metalwork in Roose Bolton’s outfits is tarnished so that it appears black). Leather is prominent in both their armored and unarmored clothing, a hint that they enjoy flaying extensively. This is particularly evident in Lord Roose Bolton's Red Wedding outfit, composed of a padded leather tunic (long-sleeved to conceal the chainmail beneath) underneath a leather jerkin, leather breaches, and boots. Roose also frequently wears his cloak with the fur collar reversed, so that the animal's skin is displayed on the outside. While this is more practical for retaining heat, it is also another visual hint of the Boltons' flaying practices. This style is imitated by Bolton soldiers, such as Locke.

Roose’s bastard son Ramsay also keeps to this motif, but his jerkin is very dark purple, as opposed to his father's usual all-black ensembles.

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Ramsay is known for his ostentatious style of dress: He garbs himself in very rich fabrics – velvet, silk, and satin – usually in the Bolton colors of pink and red. In the TV series, Ramsay's attire is considerably more subdued, in order to fit in with the established drab color palate for Northern characters. That being said, the leather jerkin he wears in Season 4 is, in fact, a very dark shade of reddish purple; a subtle reference to his literary counterpart. Costume designer Michele Clapton explained in a Season 4 featurette that she wanted Ramsay's look to evolve over the course of the series, instead of remaining static: Until the very end Season 3, his identity was supposed to be a secret, so he dressed plainly. In Season 4 he began to openly wear Bolton-style clothing, but not of particularly high quality, since he is still a bastard (similar to the difference in quality between Jon Snow's clothing and that of the other Stark men). After being legitimized as "Ramsay Bolton" at the end of Season 4, he wears even better quality clothing, though similar to what his father wears instead of his more "loud" styles described in the books.

The Bolton sigil of a flayed man strapped to an x-shaped cross features prominently in Roose's wardrobe, and is seen on at least three pieces which he wears regularly; a black leather tunic, a steel gorget, and a clasp with which he fastens his fur cloak. The hilt of his sword is also wrought in the form of a flayed man, with the man's outstretched arms forming the cross guard. Roose’s wife Lady Walda Bolton (neé Frey) also begins wearing a flayed man broach following their marriage, although her's appears to be crude and hastily made, as it is just a metal silhouette, while Roose’s is finely engraved and highly detailed. Ramsay, as a bastard, was not initially permitted to wear the sigil of his father's House, but after being legitimized at the end of Season 4, he starts wearing the Bolton sigil in Season 5 .

Starting in Season 4, the Boltons were established as major players in the narrative following the Red Wedding, so the TV series started giving Bolton soldiers a more unique look to set them apart from other Northern Houses. Due to the trickle-down effect, regular Bolton soldiers imitate the style of their leaders, and thus wear a little more leather compared to the soldiers of House Stark. Especially in Seasons 4 and 5, Bolton soldiers are seen wearing a new style of metal helmet; rather than the simple rounded helmets that Stark infantrymen wear, the Bolton-style helmet is narrower and comes to a conical peak, perhaps to give a more menacing impression. While Stark helmets simply slope to their edges, Bolton helmets widen out a little at the edges to give it a slight brim. The Boltons are still Northerners, however, and not as rich as Houses from southern Westeros, so like the Starks their helmets aren't very high quality or complex, and lack cheek guards.

Crannogmen/House Reed

The crannogmen inhabit the swamps of the Neck- the southernmost part of the North, which borders the Riverlands. They are ruled by House Reed and serve as loyal vassals to the Starks. The crannogmen are so-called because they live atop artificial floating islands made out of logs, known as crannogs. Dwellings built of thatch and woven reeds sit atop the crannogs, and cluster into small villages deep within the swamps.

The crannogmen are something of a unique hybrid culture between typical Northerners and the kingdoms of southern Westeros. While they are largely descended from the First Men, as most Northerners are, they branched off from their cousins many centuries ago, and their homeland has forced them to adopt a very different lifestyle: The climate of the Neck is not cold and desolate like most of the North, but instead is very humid, swampy, and overgrown with plants, fish, and game. The crannogmen do not march troops into open battle, and if their land is invaded they simply relocate their crannogs deeper into the swamps. They will then use guerrilla tactics, weapons such as darts, arrows and spears (often coated in poison), and their superior knowledge of the difficult terrain to bleed the invaders through attrition.

Crannogmen such as Meera and Jojen Reed mostly wear simple animal skins taken from game they've hunted in the swamps. Because they rely on ambushing invaders, rather than attacking them head-on, their clothing features muted shades of green, grey, and brown to blend in with their environment.

In the novels, crannogmen wear all-green clothing (even their boots), the better to camouflage themselves in the swamps of the Neck. This aids in their favored tactics of sneaking up on enemies without being noticed, peppering them with poison-tipped arrows, then melting back into the swamp before their enemies can react. While it isn't clear if Meera Reed is typical of female crannogmen, she is described as dressing no different from a boy, so women may have no distinct clothing style (and clearly they join their men on guerrilla raids). The crannogmen do have access to iron weapons but, similar to the Dornishmen, they tend to forego heavy steel armor in favor of speed and mobility, so what little metal armor they might wear is made of lighter bronze. More often they wear leather armor or no armor at all, and carry leather shields- Meera wears lambskin breeches, and a sleeveless jerkin armored in bronze scales. She also possesses an iron warhelm, but it is old and rusty, implying that it was acquired some time ago, and the crannogmen do not regularly produce such armor. Apart from their bows and poisoned arrows, crannogmen fight with the same tools they use to hunt wild game; three-pronged spears used for hunting frogs, and even nets. Meera was able to overcome Bran's direwolf Summer in mock combat by entangling it in her net.

Quotes

Michele Clapton: "The Starks have less available to them and are in different circumstances as they live in cold, damp weather. Available to them is wool, leather, fur, and some dyes. They have to think about warmth and wear the high padded embroidered collars as status rather than jewelry. The village people wear a simpler form of this look. They are not ostentatious and are a loving family who are not trying to prove anything. Only Sansa disagrees with this and we see this as she is influenced in her clothing, mainly by Cersei and as the plot develops, she moves away from this.

Clapton: "The North became, actually, probably the most 'English, Medieval' look. It's much blacker and darker. Lots of hand dyeing, quite muted colors, very practical, leathery, wool, very 'of the place'."

Clapton: "I used medieval Northern Europe as a starting point, but the skirts in the men’s costumes have a Japanese look to them. We were never bound by the rules of any particular time period.

First, you have to think about what they need, the practicality of it, what materials they have readily available. We also decided we’d have no jewelry, so there’s a lot of embroidery and embellishment in the women’s clothing, as well as these lovely padded neck pieces. As for the men, most of the armor is leather with some metal inside, but rarely close to the skin due to the cold. The fur collars were meant to be wolf pelts for the adults, the children have rabbit, and the peasants have collars stuffed with sheep’s wool.

We have a lot of blues and grays, murkier colors that seemed right for the harsh northern climates. The Starks represent a warm family unit, so the blues of their costumes are rather warm. But within the family, the various personalities are reflected in what they wear. For example, Sansa is in a slightly cooler blue. And the design of the nobles’ clothes spirals outward; what they wear inspires the people around them, from the ladies-in-waiting to the household staff, on down to the peasants.

It's important that the costumes reflect each character's individual journey. I always like to tell a story through the clothes, and I think it helps the actors, too. Sansa is a perfect example of this. She leaves Winterfell for a life at court early in the first season and begins to take on more and more of Queen Cersei’s traits as season one goes on. By the end of the season, she’s really starting to look like her. But in season two, her dresses are destroyed in the first half of the season, and Sansa starts reverting back to her childhood. The colors start coming down, and she’s trying to alter things back to where she was. So at the end of it, she’s wearing something closer to her mother’s look. She’s come full circle.

By contrast, Ned was never seen adopting any of the clothing styles of King’s Landing. He had four different looks, a couple of which were slightly smarter, but Ned generally chose to keep things functional and practical. To that end, he’d often be seen in the padded linen skirts with the leather doublet, sometimes with a cape. Later in the season, as he began to sense trouble brewing, he started wearing his leather armor."

Clapton: "In Winterfell, the Starks are very blues and greys and browns, quite murky colors.

Clapton: "Ned Stark has an elegance to him, but he's incredibly practical, I don’t want him to look like he ever thinks about what he’s wearing."

Sean Bean (Ned Stark): "What he wears, you know, says something about who he is. So he's not prepared to be flouncing about like the others in gowns and silks and stuff like that."

Clapton continues: "Catelyn, again, similar sort of tones, and very underplayed, quite simple clothing. Catelyn doesn’t think particularly about what she wears, she wears what she’s always worn, it’s a traditional way, and that’s her look.

It was quite nice putting [Sansa and Arya] initially in very similar costumes. You have these sort of tied, knotted tops, and of course Sansa's are knotted quite nicely with little embroidery bits on the end, and all very nice, and Arya's are just all messy and unknotted and falling apart, and she takes the sleeves off. It's quite nice to have the two of them very similar, then to split apart so far away from each other."

Clapton: "Jon Snow's look initially came from Winterfell, but because he's the bastard, his clothes aren't quite of the same quality as his brothers and sisters. [Jon's clothing isn't shabby, it's just not quite as good quality as Catelyn's children. Given that the Northmen dress functionally and without much rich ornamentation anyway, this doesn't stand out very much.]

Clapton: "Ramsay's look does evolve, he tends to look more like a Bolton, because he's finally acknowledged by his father, and there's obviously a step in that direction. He's proud to be 'the son' (of Lord Roose Bolton)."

[Few quotes have been given about the design choices that went into crannogmen costumes]

Clapton, on the crannogmen: "Jojen and Meera, their costumes have always been on the verge of being quite organic."

Gallery

House Stark and their retainers receive King Robert at Winterfell in "Winter Is Coming".

Lord Eddard Stark

Eddard Stark, carrying his family's ancestral Valyrian steel sword, Ice.

Eddard and his wife, Catelyn Tully (more images and information about Catelyn are in the subsection below on "The Riverlands - House Tully").

Early concept art for Catelyn and Eddard's costumes.

Eddard Stark costume concept art.

Variant Eddard Stark concept art (the symbol on his chest is not stag horns; look closely and it is two direwolves jumping away from each other).

Eddard's sons Robb Stark, Bran Stark, Rickon Stark, and Jon Snow. Notice that Jon's Winterfell clothing is of slightly less good quality than Robb's, because he is a bastard and Robb is Eddard's heir.

Rodrik Cassel, a proud bannerman to the Starks, dresses in the same style as Lord Eddard. Regular Stark guards are also in the background.

Rodrik and Lady Catelyn

The North isn't as wealthy as other regions, so their footsoldiers wear leather armor and simple rounded helmets, without visors or much shape to them.

King Robb Stark dresses much like his father did.

Robb is at war, so he wears a bit more armor than his father did, including a steel gorget around his neck and steel vambraces on his arms.

Lord Roose Bolton and Lord Rickard Karstark

Roose Bolton, head of House Bolton, betrayer of the Starks and new Warden of the North

Roose Bolton wears more leather and less furs than the Starks, hinting at his family's flaying practices.

The custom hilt of Roose Bolton's sword is shaped like a flayed man.

Roose Bolton wears his fur cloak with the collar reversed.

Locke and other Bolton soldiers also wear cloaks with the fur collar reversed (skin showing) in imitation of their lord.

Ramsay Snow, Roose's sociopathic bastard son. Ramsay's style echoes that of his father's: leather under leather. He dresses in slightly better clothing after he gets legitimized.

House Bolton in Season 5 (click to expand): Roose, Ramsay, and Walda in the foreground. In the background, observe the good closeup shot of regular Bolton soldiers - who are slightly different from regular Stark soldiers, with more leather and peaked helmets.

Ramsay's bedwarmer/lackey Myranda, showing a female twist on the general Bolton style: like their other followers she wears a large amount of leather, and as with prostitutes, she wears the same basic design of other Bolton handmaids but left more loose and revealing.

Men of House Karstark displaying their House's white sunburst sigil.

Sansa's Northern-style dress, with heavy embroidery around the neck.

Sansa and her friend Jeyne Poole (after Arya threw food at Sansa). Northern noblewomen wear clothing with extensive embroidery to make up for their lack of jewels.

Palla, daughter of the kennelmaster at Winterfell, visibly imitates the fashions of Northern noblewomen by wearing a high-necked collar which is heavily embroidered.

Jojen Reed, one of the crannogmen who inhabit the swamps of the Neck, the southernmost part of the North. They have their own unique clothing style.

Meera Reed, Jojen's sister, also of the crannogmen. She is armed with bow and arrows.

The Westerlands

The Westerlands, ruled by House Lannister from their seat at Casterly Rock.

In contrast to the North, the Westerlands (ruled by House Lannister) is the richest of the Seven Kingdoms, due to its gold and silver mines. As a result, soldiers from the Westerlands can afford full plate armor, including helmets with complex movable visors and shoulder guards with articulated lames (overlapping layers) that allow for greater movement while still providing protection. Apparently to distinguish Westerlands armor from the "classic" European-style designs seen in the Reach or the Vale, the armor carries a strong Japanese influence.

The fact that all regular infantry troops of the Westerlands wear the same complex plate armor may serve two additional points - beyond simply showing that they can afford more armor than the other kingdoms: First, it gives them a much more uniform appearance, which simultaneously makes them look like a more disciplined army, and perhaps emphasizes the Lannisters’ near-tyrannical control over their vassals (in contrast, the Northmen and the Rivermen often have much more variation in their armor). A second point is that Westerlands infantry are almost always seen wearing their armor- even on guard duty or just sitting around in army camps. This may be a subtle reference to a note from the books, that Tywin frequently sends his army on forced marches, and wants them to be ready to march into battle at a moment's notice.

The Japanese influence is also present in Westerlands clothing: Cersei is highly paranoid, and tries to armor herself against the threats she feels are all around her. Therefore, her dresses are layered like armor, often including (symbolic) metal plating and expensive jewelry. To give the cloth a "layered" effect, Cersei's dresses wrap around her, like a Japanese kimono. Cersei's dresses also tend to have long billowing sleeves, which she can hold out in front of her like another layer separating her from other people. Other Westerlands noblewomen imitate Cersei's styles, as do the noblewomen and handmaidens at the royal court in King's Landing, where she has been queen for seventeen years at the beginning of the TV series.

Also, in Season 1, actress Lena Headey was pregnant, and apart from other camera tricks such as filming her sitting at tables or focusing on her head, large billowing sleeves held out in front of her helped hide her pregnancy in wide shots.

By the end of Season 6, Cersei’s style of clothing takes a notable shift: Her dresses now lack the elaborate sleeves of earlier seasons, and fit much closer to her body. While metal plating and jewelry are still present, both are somewhat less prominent than before. After eliminating all her rivals by destroying the Great Sept of Baelor and assuming the Iron Throne, Cersei has gained the control she always desired and has less need to symbolically “armor” herself against external threats.

See main article "Costumes/Major characters - Cersei Lannister".

To correspond to the asymmetric look of Cersei's kimono-like dresses, men from the Westerlands – such as Jaime, Lancel, and Tywin – wear tunics with asymmetrically-cut collars; the leaves of these collars typically have no button or clasp at the top, and the leaves themselves can overlap. All of these elements, in turn, played a role in the Japanese-inspired designs for Lannister soldiers' armor.

Tyrion is a dwarf, but because he was born into the wealthy Lannister family, he can afford to have richly decorated clothing which is custom-fitted to his proportions.

Before Robert's Rebellion

The prologue scene of the Season 5 premiere, "The Wars To Come", featured a flashback to about 25 years before the series began (i.e. before Robert's Rebellion). Centered on a teenaged Cersei Lannister and her companion Melara Hetherspoon, this scene offers an interesting window into the history of Westerosi fashion. Young Cersei's dress is in the same style she wears as an adult – asymmetrically cut with a v-shaped neckline and large billowing sleeves – but Melara doesn't dress in that style at all; her gown has form-fitting sleeves, no belt (much less the metal, armor-like belts Cersei prefers), and a symmetrical cut. It also has a separate front piece, shield-shaped and centered over the chest, which is laced up on both sides and results in a squared-off neckline. At first glance, this would seem to contradict the trickle-down principle that Michele Clapton established, that vassals of the Great Houses emulate the clothing styles of their overlords (in the present-day, Cersei's handmaidens all wear direct copies of her clothing style).

The "Westerlands-style" seen in the TV series has some similarities with the old Targaryen style, such as an overall Asian-inspired asymmetrical cut: Clapton pointed out that Viserys Targaryen's clothes are in the old Targaryen style, which was popular when his father was king. For the Targaryens, this style may have been meant to accentuate how foreign they were to Westeros. Cersei's father Tywin was Hand of the King at Aerys II Targaryen’s court for nearly twenty years, and as young Cersei herself says, it was assumed for a time that she would marry Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Therefore, a possible explanation for the discrepancy between young Cersei’s and Melara’s costumes is that Tywin and his daughter started copying elements from the Targaryen style, emulating the royal family due to their close relations at the time. After the Targaryens were deposed, the Lannisters were attached to the style and simply continued to use it. The way Melara dresses in the flashback could represent the "old Westerlands-style", popular 50-25 years ago, which was gradually pushed out by Targaryen-influenced styles, which Tywin and Cersei later popularized until they completely displaced the old ones.

Quotes

Clapton: "Cersei is all about fashion and styling. She tends to wear very soft wrapped silks which are embroidered. The robes, it's a sort of origami: things overlapping, and folding in different ways. It's like a kimono style, but with a slightly medieval cut. And she has a lot of metal belts, because I like the idea that she's armored in a sense.

Clapton: "The Lannisters are very wealthy, competitive, they live in the capital [King's Landing] and power is important. It's warm and on the coast which means there is trade and they don’t have to worry about keeping warm. They have a large staff with silks and jewels readily available to them. As Cersei influences the court and we notice her hatred for her husband, through Season 2 we start to see her style begin to shift as her role changes.

Simon Brindle, costume armor supervisor: "The Lannister armor is more militaristic, intimidating, sinister – with a Japanese influence that's quite disarming...I loved the opportunity to work on this series, as you're not tied down to any one period. This was so freeing. I was intrigued by Michele’s initial designs for the Kingsguard and the Lannister guard. She was looking at eastern influences, Asian, Indian – unusual references for this sort of thing – which she mixed with recognizable touchstones from western medieval European armor."

Clapton: "Tywin is a little more opulent – I really like his look this season [Season 3]...There are a lot of really tough leather looks which were really detailed–they look rich. Some of the cut leather pieces are my favorite."

Gallery

Cersei Lannister

Cersei, with wine glass

Cersei with Lannister guards

A Lannister guard holding his helmet

Two Lannister/Westermen guards, viewed in profile

Tywin in full armor, accompanied by Lannister guards

Based on the asymmetrical cut of Cersei's kimono-style dresses, Lannister men have an asymmetrical cut to their tunics as well.

A behind-the-scenes display of Jaime's riding coat

Concept art of Jaime's Westerlands-style asymmetrical tunic.

Tywin's formal wear at Tyrion's wedding. It also has an asymmetrical cut. It has some gold decoration but is not ostentatious: Tywin doesn't need to prove how wealthy he is.

Cousin Lancel Lannister dresses in the same asymmetrical cut tunic, but his is more decorated than Jaime's or Tywin's: he's trying to seem more important than he actually is.

Lancel's full outfit, at the royal court

Tyrion is a dwarf, so he wears clothing custom-made for his smaller size

Podrick Payne helps Tyrion put on his custom-fit armor

The freakishly large Ser Gregor Clegane, "The Mountain That Rides", wears his own style of armor, custom-made to fit his massive size.

Sandor Clegane, also a very large man, wears his own unique armor to fit his size.

Sandor's custom helmet, shaped like the head of a hunting dog, the sigil of House Clegane.

Clapton working on Joffrey's costume

Clapton working on Joffrey's custom armor

Young Cersei and Melara Hetherspoon, 25 years ago. Melara's style is entirely different from Cersei's: form-fitting sleeves, a symmetrical cut, no belt, and a separate front piece to the gown.

The Reach

The Reach, ruled by House Tyrell from Highgarden.

Second only to the Westerlands in wealth, the Reach -ruled for 300 years by House Tyrell (and later by Ser Bronn of the Blackwater) - contains the most fertile land in Westeros. This agricultural bounty supports the largest population in the Seven Kingdoms, allowing the Tyrells to field immense armies of well-equiped soldiers. For many centuries, the Reach was also the cultural heartland of the Andals, who first arrived in Westeros roughly 6,000 years ago. The Faith of the Seven – an Andal import – used to be based in the largest city of the Reach, Oldtown, before moving to King’s Landing 300 years ago following the Targaryen conquest. As such, chivalry and other knightly traditions are especially strong here. Knights in the Reach generally wear "classic" Western European-style armor, and are wealthy enough to full suits of steel plates. Depending on the wearer, this armor may be elaborately decorated with inlay and engraving.

House Tyrell

Margaery Tyrell's fashion style was designed to completely contrast with Cersei Lannister's, so viewers could readily distinguish when background courtiers switched from emulating Cersei to emulating Margaery. While Cersei wears layered, wrap-around, armor-like dresses, Margaery embraces her feminine sexuality as a political tool, so her dresses are backless with plunging necklines, frequently including cutouts exposing her sides. Cersei's fashions included large, billowing sleeves (to metaphorically to shield herself from perceived threats), while Margaery's dresses are completely sleeveless. This also reflects that the Reach has warmer climate than the Westerlands or King’s Landing (though not as hot as the deserts of Dorne). Following her marriage to Tommen Baratheon and official proclamation as Queen, Margaery’s style goes through some notable changes: Her dresses, while still often sleeveless, expose less skin overall, indicating that she is more secure in her positon. After putting on a public show of repentance and being released from the High Sparrow’s custody, Margaery adopts modest, full-body covering dresses as an outward sign of her sincerity (though in reality she has not repented anything and continues the charade almost until the very moment of her death).

See main article "Costumes/Major characters - Margaery Tyrell".

The other noblewomen and handmaidens from the Reach emulate Margaery's style directly, and the background courtiers in King’s Landing gradually switch from dressing like Cersei to dressing like Margaery, reflecting how Margaery's social and political influence is increasing while Cersei's is waning. Margaery's grandmother Olenna, as matriarch of the family, favors heavily embroidered jackets with embossed belts and subtly colored full skirts, giving her a no-nonsense, businesslike appearance. Olenna also wears a crespine headdress to cover her hair, maintaining a further appearance of dignified age.

Noblemen from the Reach, such as Loras and Mace Tyrell, seem to wear the opposite style of the Lannisters and their Westerlands vassals. The latter wear tunics with an asymmetric cut (to reflect Cersei's assymetric, wrapped-in-armor look), so Tyrell men have a symmetrical cut to their tunics. Westermen tunics have simple shoulders, and the sleeves are usually fitted and made of the same material as the main body of the garment. In contrast, Reachmen tunics have loose sleeves made of a lighter or different material. Instead of the sleeves integrating smoothly into the tunic, the shoulders end in a wide opening which the smaller sleeves exit from (loosely resembling how Margaery's dresses have peaked shoulders - when they do have shoulders).

Each House is normally dressed in the colors of their sigil, which in the Tyrells’ case is green and gold. In the earlier seasons, however, the Tyrells mostly wear teal instead of true green. The idea is that they are trying to appear gentle and not overtly threatening - even as they insinuate themselves into positions of power. The Tyrells do shift to straightforward bold green for military activities – such as Loras' sparring clothes in Season 3's "Kissed by Fire" – and starting in Season 5, with Tywin dead and the crown now dependent on their financial and military support, the Tyrells begin openly demanding greater concessions.​ This shift in power is reflected in their changing styles: Margaery exposes less skin, and her dresses are often made of heavier fabric with more elaborate embroidery (at one point she even wears a green dress mockingly fashioned after Cersei’s own aesthetic, showing that she is in control now); Mace starts wearing ostentatious sashes; and Olenna dons larger jackets with heavily puffed sleeves to expand her silhouette. Her crespine headdresses also include short, cylindrical headpieces beneath the fabric, with metallic floral imagery on the surface. This gives the Queen of Thorns the suggestion of her own crown.

Armor from the Reach tends to have a classic Western European look to it. The first example seen is Loras’ very ornate (and expensive) tournament armor from season 1; a full-body covering of steel plates decorated with elaborate engravings done in gold. Although ordinary Tyrell troops and other soldiers from the Reach were not featured prominently until Season 6, in principle they have "appeared" in crowd shots since Renly Baratheon’s army camp in Season 2 (though in practice they were only featured in a few shots, so a distinctive look for them was not established at that stage). The soldiers at Renly’s camp were mostly a mix of generic troops and Baratheon soldiers. When Loras enters the throne room in "Blackwater", and when Olenna returns to King's Landing in "The Gift", her carriage is flanked by several Tyrell guards, but they did not really have their own distinctive design, wearing a slightly modified version of pre-existing Stormlands' armor (Stormlander helmets and basic armor, with a velvet outer layer added to the normally metal breastplate, similar to Renly's armor).

The distinctive Tyrell/Reachmen infantry design first appears in the Season 6 episode “Blood of My Blood”. Tyrell helmets have a flower motif to their overall shape (recalling the house’s sigil of a golden rose), with large metal ridges shaped like rose petals ringing the "crown" of the head. The helmets also have cheek guards, which are an extension of the main body of the helmet (not a separate piece of metal like Lannister armor, which is more complex). The wealth of the Reach is second only to the Westerlands, so its noble houses are generally able to equip even their regular infantry with suits of plate armor. The military discipline of the Reach is also reflected in the fact that Tyrell soldiers, like the Lannister troops, all wear the same kind of armor. Mace Tyrell’s armor was similar in design to the infantry, but elaborately decorated with gold engraving, and his helmet was topped with a colored plume.

House Tarly

Season 6 also featured Horn Hill, the keep of House Tarly, and its inhabitants. Curiously, the Tarlys did not dress much like their overlords the Tyrells, in seeming defiance of Clapton's "trickle down" principle for Westerosi fashion. There are a few possible reasons for this, however: First of all, the Tyrells were only placed in charge of the Reach 300 years ago during Aegon’s Conquest. As a reward for surrendering Highgarden, Aegon Targaryen named the Tyrells lords of the Reach and Wardens of the South, thus catapulting them ahead of other houses with stronger connections to the previous rulers, House Gardener. As such, the loyalty of the Tyrell vassals isn't as widespread or deep seated as the vassal houses in other regions, a sentiment that could be casually expressed by ignoring Tyrell fashion. (The Tullys were in a similar position; regular lords who were never kings but were elevated by the Targaryens, and their vassals the Freys don't dress like them either- see "the Riverlands" below). Second, the Reach is very large, and historically there has been a major cultural divide between the northern and southern parts of the region (much like the difference between northern and southern France): the Tyrells are from the north of the Reach, but the Tarlys are from the south, so it’s no surprise that this this would be reflected in their clothing. Third, the sheer number of noble houses in the Reach (it is Westeros' most populous region, at all levels of society) means that experimentation and fashionable dissent could be more common, since the number of major players is potentially higher. Finally, Margaery has been developing her personal style since her arrival in King's Landing, so noblewomen in the Reach wouldn't be able to directly emulate her style when she is hundreds of miles away from Highgarden and Oldtown.

Quotes

Clapton: "Margaery Tyrell sweeps into King’s Landing and takes it by storm. As such, her wardrobe is very unique and very much at odds with everything else in King’s Landing [i.e. the Westerlands style, because Cersei used to be the trendsetter]. It’s a very structured look – the new style coming in after the war. For the first time in a long time, Cersei won’t be the trendsetter in the capital. It’s a fun way to reflect their future rivalry."

Gallery

Margaery Tyrell and her grandmother Olenna Tyrell

Margaery's Reach-style features plunging necklines and sleeveless gowns which bare the arms.

Reach-style costumes often feature gold rose patterns, from the Tyrell sigil.

Margaery's Reach-style is also frequently backless, sometimes with side cutouts.

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Margaery's grandmother Olenna's costumes look like a dignified older version of Margaery.

Olenna in the gardens with Varys.

The Tyrell servants dress in fashions which imitate their leaders. This Tyrell lady's dress is also sleeveless with a plunging neckline. She also has Margaery's upswept hairstyle.

Margaery and Olenna with an assembled group of Tyrell servants. They all imitate Margaery's fashion style: plunging necklines, sleeveless dresses, and in some cases (as seen here) backless, showing a large amount of skin. They also copy her upswept hairstyle, falling down the back instead of the front.

Margaery, her brother Loras, and their grandmother Olenna at Sansa's wedding feast.

Lord Mace Tyrell, father of Margaery and Loras, son of Olenna. He wears the same Reach-style of men's clothing that Loras does. Note that in Season 4, the Tyrell men still wear softer teal colors with light gold tracery, to make them seem less intimidating.

Loras Tyrell wearing the Reach-style of men's clothing. In specific contrast with the Lannisters' style, it has a symmetrical cut.

Also in contrast with the Lannister-style's form-fitting shoulders and sleeves, the men's Reach-style has cuffed shoulders and loose sleeves. The sleeves aren't attached but extend from an undercoat.

Loras in more formal wear at Sansa and Tyrion's wedding.

Loras's custom tournament armor in Season 1 - said to be very expensive and not typical. It is covered with ornate filigree and a repeated Tyrell flower motif.

Loras's sparring outfit in "Kissed by Fire": notice that it is bold green because it is used for fighting, instead of the softer teals the Tyrells normally wore through Season 4.

Better shot of Loras's dark green sparring outfit, from Season 5.

Mace Tyrell at the Small Council in Season 5: after Tywin dies, the Tyrells subtly shift to dressing in more imposing fashion. Mace now wears a bold green tunic instead of soft teals, with no gold tracery. The only part of his costume with gold tracery on teal is now an imposing sash - not the humble appearance he had when Tywin was alive.

Olenna also shifts to wearing bolder, intimidating colors in Season 5. She changes from a soft teal shawl to a more imposing gold one, which brings out the darker greens and golds of her gown.

The improvised Tyrell guard design briefly used in Season 5, basically just a reworking of Stormlander armor (with a few more velvet layers over the metal, much like Renly's armor used).

A distinctive design for Tyrell/Reachmen regular infantry first appears in Season 6: it is somewhat like a simplified version of Loras's armor from Season 1, with an overall flower shape to the helmet.

Olenna in Season 6, with Tyrell handmaidens and infantry. The Tyrells are from the north of the Reach. Short peaked shoulder cuffs, dresses lace up the front, and plunging necklines.

Talla Tarly - the Tarlys are from the south of the Reach, and don't dress like their Tyrell overlords: large puffy shoulder pieces, dresses lace up the back instead of the front, broad and shallow necklines.

Gilly wearing a Tarly-style dress that Samwell's sister Talla lent her.

Tarly servants at their castle, Horn Hill.

A Henry VIII-esque fake costume that John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) was fitted for in Season 6 - as a prank by the cast & crew.

In Season 7 Randyll Tarly's outfit uses the same silhouette as the other lords of the Reach, but is made of brown leather, and is plain and unadorned - reflecting his no-nonsense attitude. Like his former liege lords the Tyrells, he wears a half-cape, fastened at the shoulder with a Tarly huntsman broach.

The Riverlands

The Riverlands, ruled for centuries by House Tully from their seat at Riverrun.

The Riverlands did not exist as a unified region until Aegon's Conquest 300 years ago. For millennia, this land was a border region continuously fought over by the surrounding kingdoms. As a result, the noble Houses of the Riverlands are very diverse, and there is no set "Riverlands style" when it comes to clothing. After Aegon Targaryen drove out the Ironborn who ruled the region at the time of the Conquest, House Tully was appointed to rule the Riverlands under the Targaryen kings. During the War of the Five Kings, however, the Tullys were replaced by their vassals House Frey, who betrayed the Tullys and crossed over to the Lannister side in the war.

Due to their position as an unwitting battleground, houses in the Riverlands are more conscious of the need to continually protect their borders than some other regions. Although they are broadly part of the same “southern” culture as the other regions south of the Neck, they are slightly less focused on the “courtly” aspects of that culture, and this practicality is reflected in their clothing.

House Tully

House Tully of Riverrun is not as wealthy as the Lannisters or the Tyrells, but they are still a Great House, and its members dress accordingly. As a result, their clothing tends to be simpler, without many bright colors. Tully dress often incorporates a fish motif, recalling their sigil of a trout. Catelyn Stark is a Tully by birth, but married Eddard Stark and has been living at Winterfell in the North for years, so her clothing is something of a hybrid design. There are a few southern features to show her Tully connections: her raised collar actually features a repeated fish design.

The fish motif is also visible in the armor worn by male members of the house, such as Brynden and Edmure: They are armored with chainmail hauberks and suits completely made of leather scales.

Quotes

Clapton: "Each place we go, we try to create a different look that we identify with that family. So because of the fish sigil [of House Tully], we decided to do leather scales. We wanted some browns and greens and we textured them so it's mostly leather armor.

The Blackfish is one of these characters that lives, sleeps, does everything in the same costume. You really believe he doesn't take it off; he swaggers in and clumps down. You feel a real sense of security with him. Edmure is more fancy pants."

Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark): "This is a wonderful neck piece that Michele Clapton, who is the costume designer, has got made. And if you look closely you'll notice it is fish. Fish represents the Tully sigil.

Gallery

Lady Catelyn Stark, born Catelyn Tully, at her childhood home Riverrun in Season 3.

Closeup of the detailed embroidery on Catelyn's tall collar in Season 2, featuring Tully fish sigils.

Catelyn in Season 1. Note her simple traveling shawl.

Concept art of Catelyn Stark's Season 1 costume

Catelyn in Season 3.

Ser Brynden "Blackfish" Tully, Catelyn's uncle.

Lord Edmure Tully, Catelyn's brother.

Tully armor is made of leather scales, visually evoking fish scales. This evokes their sigil, a river trout.

House Frey

The Freys only became a noble House about six hundred years ago, when their ancestors began the construction of a fortified bridge across the Green Fork of the Trident River (this later grew into the double-ended castle known as the Twins). The family rapidly increased in wealth and power from exacting tolls on trade and travelers passing over the bridge. As a result, the older noble families in the Riverlands tend to look down on the Freys as uncouth upstarts.

By the time of the War of the Five Kings, House Frey has vastly increased in size, due to Lord Walder’s prodigious brood of offspring. While they are not a poor family, they do have a very grubby and worn-down look: The idea is that Lord Walder is too cheap to buy nice things, and that the Freys became the equivalent of nouveau-riche by being miserly, not by spending money on themselves. By contrast, the North isn't very wealthy, but Northerners still make an effort to look nice, or at least well-maintained. Walder Frey is completely shameless (and not in a good way), so he doesn't care about his appearance, even to attempt to project an image of wealth. People know he has wealth, so he has no problem with letting his family be seen wearing grubby, worn-out clothing.

The Freys primarily dress in dark, drab colors, such as blacks, browns, and greys. Their clothing also has very little ornamentation or embroidery, emphasizing their miserly nature. A common feature among the Freys – both men and women – is a skullcap with a crow's peak and long sides which hang down, though Walder himself doesn't wear one. Walder’s clothing is somewhat more elaborate than his offspring, and may incorporate brighter shades of the general Frey palate, but he still thinks very little of appearances

Quotes

Production designer Gemma Jackson discussed the visual look of the Freys' home castle, the Twins, though this aesthetic seems to extend over to their costuming: "In Season 1, we built a grubby little space. It was really old and painted and water was coming down - it was rather sinister. We wanted to get an aspect of that again. Because Lord Walder is mean, we did this beaten up, old leather [for the furniture]. We used his sigil on the arches - you can see very old bits of paint just coming through. The idea is the place is getting incredibly shabby, and he doesn't want to spend any money on it."

Gallery

Lord Walder Frey and his young eighth wife, Joyeuse Frey.

Lame Lothar Frey

"Black Walder" Rivers

Ryger Rivers

The Stormlands

The Stormlands, ruled by House Baratheon from their seat at Storm's End.

The Stormlands (ruled by House Baratheon) are the most heavily forested region of the Seven Kingdoms, and are continually battered by storms that blow across the Narrow Sea separating Westeros from the Free Cities (hence their name). They also lack significant material resources and, to some degree, natural defenses- they are better protected than the Riverlands, but less so than the Vale of Arryn. In order to survive, the Stormlands have become one of the most heavily militarized of the Seven Kingdoms, and some of the finest soldiers in Westeros have come from this region. As a result, Stormlander costumes are generally utilitarian. Helmets and armor of Baratheon soldiers are frequently decorated with small stag horns, representing the Baratheon sigil of a crowned black stag on a gold background.

The Stormlands are not quite as poor as the North, so their armor has a bit more shape to it, but usually lacks significant ornamentation. Stormlander knights are usually equipped with many plate armor parts and their helmets, while still a single-piece construction, include shaped brims and cheek guards, though they don't have the intricate movable visors of Lannister armor. Men from the Dornish Marches, however, seem to equip themselves differently than other Stormlanders; they wear long leather suits of ringmail, and occasionally some additional plate armor parts. Steel plate armor is more common among Stormlanders than Northerners, but by no means universal.

Not much information has been revealed about the overall design theme for Stormlands costumes. The Stormlands and the Iron Islands are also the only two regions of the Seven Kingdoms for which no particular female costume styles have been developed. Brienne of Tarth is a Stormlander, but her costuming is unique. Stannis's wife and daughter wear simple, functional clothing; Shireen is sickly and spends nearly all of her time hidden away in her chambers, and Selyse spends most of her time in secluded prayer, so apparently neither of them really need to dress ornately for social appearances.

A major reason that no particular “style" has been developed for the Stormlands is due to plot mechanics. The narrative has not been able to focus on "normal" Stormlanders, non-royal nobility, or even a unified House Baratheon. The only clue we have about actual Stormlander costumes is Gendry Baratheon’s outfit in Season 8, during the Great Council of 305 AC, after being legitimized by Daenerys Targaryen and being named Lord of Storm's End; his costume is dark-colored and seems as basic as the Northerner costumes, but with more expensive and higher quality materials. However, most characters from that house are often outfitted in unique styles that connect specifically to their story:

Robert Baratheon has his own unique clothing style after becoming king, and Clapton explained that since he is a soldier at heart who won his crown on the battlefield, he isn’t familiar with and doesn’t much care for the trappings of a royal court. As king. Robert can afford clothing of the best quality and make, but usually in subdued colors and styles, without significant ornamentation. He also doesn’t wear large amounts of gold or jewels. Cersei's three children (believed to be Robert's) are Baratheons in name, but dress in rich styles unique to the royal court, not from the Stormlands (see the "King's Landing" section for information on Joffrey, etc.). Following her marriage to Robert, Cersei continues to dress in Lannister styles (indeed, sets them) instead of shifting to however Baratheon women would normally dress.

The War of the Five Kings is essentially a civil war within House Baratheon, with multiple factions vying for the throne. After Robert dies, the Baratheons split between those who support the middle brother Stannis and those who support the youngest brother, Renly:

In both personality and appearance, Stannis and Renly are complete opposites: Stannis is a stern military commander who doesn't give much thought to empty pomp and ceremony. Therefore, his clothing tends to be dour, dark, and utilitarian. Robert dressed simply as well, and Stannis's clothing is somewhat similar, but has even less decoration. The exception is Baratheon heraldry designs, including Stannis's personal sigil on armor and shields; the crowned black stag of House Baratheon, enclosed by the fiery heart of the Lord of Light.

Stannis's colors are more subdued as well; primarily slate grey and black, compared to Robert's warm browns with gold trim. As Clapton explained, this is in contrast with how Joffrey dresses opulently as if to emphasize his royal status, and repeatedly shouting "I am the king!" (as Tywin pointed out, any man who has to insist "I am the king!" is no true king). Stannis doesn't feel a need to convince other people that he is the rightful king by dressing in fancy clothing; he knows he is the rightful king, and what other people think shouldn't make a difference to the law (barring those who say Robert usurped the throne from the Targaryens, Ned Stark was correct in saying Stannis was Robert's rightful heir, due to Joffrey’s illegitimacy).

Renly, meanwhile, was a child when Robert first became king and grew up in the royal court, so he is a very fashionably dressed man. Much more cheerful and outgoing than either of his brothers, Renly was noted for the masquerades and dance balls he held at court (as actor Gethin Anthony explained in a Season 2 featurette, the idea behind Renly is that he knows how to be a courtier, how to dress well and be charming, and has the diplomatic skills which Stannis lacks - though at the same time, Renly is not meant to be foppish or effete).

Renly even went so far as to assemble his own rival Kingsguard, with their own unique armor (basically a more expensive version of the regular Stormlander knightly armor design).

Therefore, Renly and Stannis take the (loosely defined) original Baratheon designs seen with Robert and push them into two opposite extremes. Renly's followers tend to use the brighter colors that Baratheon soldiers wore under Robert: warm browns to burnt orange. Stannis's followers, in contrast, dress in dour greys with more simple designs.

Quotes

[Few quotes have yet been provided from official sources explaining the design choices that went into design of costumes for the Stormlands as a whole.]

Clapton: "King Robert, although he's living in King's Landing, I wanted to make it that actually at least he and Ned weren't so far apart."
Mark Addy (Robert Baratheon): "He'd rather be in the boiled leather armor, getting his hands dirty with the guys, that's where he's the most comfortable."
Clapton: "So though he's slightly grander, and you know, the fabrics are slightly better, it's not going to be lots of pomp and ceremony about him, I don't think that's what he's about. He's a soldier that's become a king."

Clapton, on Stannis: "I don't think Stannis is a sort of "Joffrey": he's not trying to show that he's king, he just believes he is. This is his look, and what it always will be."

Clapton: "With Renly it was interesting because we wanted to do this sort of armor covered in velvet. I wanted to give him some more fullness and stature, but without being too obvious about it, and Renly's was tough because it was so painstaking, the building of it. A huge feat for Simon [Brindle] to achieve, because it was one of the most complicated pieces of armor, I think, he had to make."

Simon Brindle (Costume Armor Supervisor): "Renly was great fun, actually, but it was quite an involved piece. I think in his costume alone there are something like 800 individual strips of metal, just in one jacket, and a little over 4,000 rivets. And when you throw the arms and skirt into that it almost doubles. But the style of it, essentially, expresses the character. He's got a quite flamboyant, very tailored look to him, and that came through Michele's wonderful initial designs."

Gethin Anthony (Renly): "It really doesn't look like armor, but it really is. So this is my armor, and underneath this very svelt velvet number you do have metal sheets [Gethin knocks on it to show that there's hard metal underneath the velvet]. And you've got this metal gorget, I think its called, and a cape. So he's still doing it with style, he's still you know, attires himself in armor that has flair. But he is ready for war, and if anyone has a go at him, he's ready for it."

Gallery

King Robert is a soldier who won his crown on the battlefield; he still dresses in simple styles, albeit with high quality materials

Robert's standard attire at court has a few gold decorations, but overall is well made but fairly plain.

Robert Baratheon costume on display at Wondercon 2011.

Robert out hunting, accompanied by Renly

Baratheon guardsman at the Hand's Tourney. Note the golden stag crest on his helm, and the Baratheon sigil embroidered on his uniform.

Baratheon soldiers often wear heavy cloaks alongside their armor to keep themselves warm in cold climates.

Baratheon/Stormlander knight in Renly's camp

Renly wears more ornate armor after declaring himself king

Renly and his Kingsguard: Renly's followers wear more ornate versions of the standard Baratheon style, but retain the same basic helmet design

Renly and his Kingsguard (Brienne and Loras have unique armor)

Renly's Season 2 costume concept art.

In contrast to Renly, Stannis wears dour armor with little decoration.

Stannis wearing his riding cape over his armor, which has a front piece clasped on for keeping out the cold on an open ship deck

Stannis walking through camp, with his armor and cloak

Stannis's everyday attire is dark leather, plain and functional

Stannis's wife Queen Selyse Baratheon, wearing traveling clothes at Castle Black in Season 5. Note the Baratheon stag-head jewelry on her belt (high definition image, click to expand).

Lord Beric Dondarrion, originating from the Dornish Marches, armors himself with ringmail (his suit of armor is damaged due to the constant warfare), in comparison with other Stormlanders. The soldier beside him, presumably a Marcher, dons the same armor.

Ser Barristan Selmy, as a Marcher, used to wear ringmail armor (the rings are removed; note the circular marks on his leather uniform).  

Lord Gendry Baratheon's outfit during the Great Council, after this legitimization.

The Vale of Arryn

The Vale of Arryn, ruled by House Arryn from their seat at the Eyrie.

The Vale of Arryn (ruled by House Arryn) has a proud, arrogant aristocracy, who place a greater value on ancient Andal bloodines than any other region (though a few families, such as House Royce, are descended from the First Men). They are an impoverished aristocracy, however: the isolation of their mountains has allowed them to sit out major wars and maintain the purity of their bloodlines, but their mountains are not rich the way the mountains of the Westerlands are.

As a result their costumes look ornate, but faded and old. They tend to wear whites and blues (so faded that they appear practically green), from the colors of House Arryn's heraldry (a white falcon and moon on a blue background). Men tend to wear plain white surcoats over unadorned steel armor: they can’t afford the elaborate embellishments of Lannister or Tyrell knights. What Valemen infantry have been seen appear to wear a little more expensive plate armor than the Northern infantry (who only have chainmail and leather), but not as much as the Lannister or Tyrell infantry: basic Valemen infantry do have full metal breastplates, but don't also have metal armor covering their arms the way that Lannister and Tyrell infantry do. This is in keeping with the aesthetic that as a southern kingdom the Vale is generally a little wealthier than the North, but not as rich as the Westerlands or the Reach.

Valemen costumes tend to include long capes, visually evoking a falcon's wings, because House Arryn's sigil is a white falcon. Both aristocratic men and women in the Vale have long open sleeves, nearly capes, hanging from the shoulders (not the back of the neck) - again evoking a falcon's wings. These sleeves hang down below the arms, then loop back up to attach to brooches in the middle of the chest.

Quotes

[Few quotes have yet been provided from official sources explaining the design choices that went into the costumes of the Vale, even though they first appeared in Season 1.]

Gallery

Lysa Arryn, regent of the Vale.

Long shot of Lysa's dress: notice the long, wing-like open sleeves/capes which start at the shoulder, loop down under her arms, then connect back to a broach on her chest.

Lysa and her son, "Sweetrobin" Arryn. He also has the wing-like open sleeves of the Vale-style.

Lysa protectively wraps her sleeve around her son, like a falcon hiding a chick under its wing.

Noblemen and noblewomen of the Vale at court in the Eyrie.

Noblewomen from the Vale, with the same Vale-style dress that Lysa has: long open cape-like sleeves that loop around back up to the chest.

When Vale noblemen wear armor, it is often unadorned steel with a plain surcoat over it, in plain white or drab light greys and faded greens.

Vale noblemen in Season 1: notice that when men don't wear armor, their formal wear actually has the same primary feature as what noblewomen wear: cape-like open sleeves that loop under the arms and back around to the chest, visually evoking a falcon's wings.

The major lords of the Vale, including Yohn Royce, Anya Waynwood, and Vance Corbray.

Notice that Lord Corbray wears the same style of cape-like sleeves that Lady Waynwood wears.

Lord Royce has his own unique look, because in the novels he is described as always wearing the ceremonial armor passed down in his family since the time of the First Men.

Lord Royce (wearing his signature armor), and a front view of Lady Waynwood's dress.

Rear view of Lady Waynwood's Vale-style dress. Notice that it doesn't actually have a single "cape" - long open cape-like sleeves attach above each of the arms, but they do not extend and connect around the back.

A Vale guard in Season 5. If you look at his feet, it can be seen that his cape does not extend behind him, but is more like very long open sleeves - the signature Vale style, reminiscent of falcon wings. As with others, the chest part of the cape comes to a sharp peak.

Littlefinger, Sansa, Sweetrobin Arryn, Lord Yohn Royce, and other members of Royce's household at Runestone in Season 5. Note the assorted noblemen dressed in typical Vale-style (click to expand).

Iron Islands

The Iron Islands, ruled by House Greyjoy from their seat at Pyke.

The Iron Islands (ruled by House Greyjoy) are cold, wind-swept rocks, and the Ironborn spend much of their time on the windy decks of ships at sea. Thus their clothing focuses on protection from the wind, including not capes but full ponchos, coated in wax and fish oil to keep out the elements. The Iron Islands are also quite poor, so their common warriors cannot afford metal plate (though Ironborn nobles that can afford armor plate wear it on their ships, unafraid of drowning at sea). They do wear metal breastplates, covered in leather. The rest of their clothing has heavy rivets and metal studs, with heavy cloth padding underneath to absorb blows.

Yara Greyjoy dresses in the style of Ironborn men, though her armor has been customized slightly to fit a woman's physique. Yara is very unique in Ironborn culture, which usually frowns on female warriors, but she is the only Ironborn noblewoman to prominently appear in the TV series. Thus the TV series has not really established a fashion style for "civilian" Ironborn noblewomen, at their castles outside of military action.

Theon Greyjoy starts out wearing Northmen-style clothing in Season 1, because he has been living at Winterfell for years, but after traveling back to his family in the Iron Islands in Season 2 and switching allegiance to them, he also starts wearing Ironborn-style clothing to reflect this.

The Drowned Men, the priests of the Drowned God worshiped by the Ironborn, appear in the TV series as they are described in the novels: they wear tattered roughspun robes of mottled green, grey, and blue, the colors of the sea. Their robes are typically in a poor state of repair, damaged by their constant wandering along the shores and into saltwater waves. They decorate themselves only with whatever washes up out of the Drowned God's seas: seaweed, shells, driftwood, etc.

Michele Clapton has stated that the Ironborn costuming was officially one of her favorites to design in the entire TV series.

Quotes

Clapton: "After his baptism, he [Theon] takes on the style of the Greyjoys, which look like the rocks of the island they live on. Padded, studded jackets, oiled with grease, heavy coat pieces, which they can wrap in and protect themselves from the elements.

Clapton: "If they live on a windy, rocky island, like the Greyjoys do, then they dress accordingly: They have costumes made of heavy, densely woven cloth that are waxed and painted with fish oil to help keep out the wind. Everything has a reason for being there...I loved dressing the Greyjoys [in Season 2]. Those costumes were so organic and so crunchy. We wanted them to look like the rocks on the island — they have no ambition for anything, everything is completely practical.

Clapton: "I think the look for the Iron Islands is my favorite. As we do whenever we’re designing a new look for a specific region, we examined their surroundings. In the case of the Iron Islands, it’s damp and drafty, rocky, surrounded by sea. So the costumes are wind resistant as opposed to warm – thin, padded linen pieces. We have a lot of armor on this show, so it was important to make each look distinct, so you can identify it immediately when you see it. Rather than using metal armor, we used riveting and studding, which we would assume is padded behind and therefore pretty resistant to arrows or blades. Then there’s a metal breastplate, covered in leather, with the kraken sigil branded on it. Instead of a cape – we've done so many capes – it’s a piece that can be sculpted around the actor, so it becomes windproof; stiff but fluid, too. And Alfie [Allen], in particular, looks great in it – it makes him move in a different way. I didn’t want them to have too much ephemeral stuff. Very simple, not particularly cheerful. As for the color, it’s the color of the rocks – grey, with some yellowy patches. It works well – and feels very much of the world."

Gallery

Balon Greyjoy, self-proclaimed King of the Iron Islands

Ironborn costumes primarily feature a large poncho robe, sealed with wax and fish oil to keep out the wind.

Theon after switching to Ironborn clothing

Yara Greyjoy wears the clothing style of Ironborn men, customized slightly to fit a woman's physique.

Behind the scenes closeup image of Yara Greyjoy's costume

Theon Greyjoy is blessed by one of the Drowned Men, the clergy of the Drowned God religion.

The Drowned Man that blessed Theon: the Drowned Men wear tattered roughspun robes, decorating themselves only with whatever washes up from the sea.

Euron's costume in Season 7.

Euron's kingly armor displays a golden eye on the breastplate, and the gold kraken on the gorget is Euron's own three-eyed variant.

Dorne

Dorne, ruled by House Martell from their seat at Sunspear.

Dorne (ruled by House Martell) is very different from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, and this is reflected in their clothing. It has a hot desert environment, or at best in Sunspear on the east coast a very arid Mediterranean climate. Therefore, unlike the highly constructed fashions of King's Landing, Dornishmen wear clothing that is more loose-fitted and open, allowing them to cool more easily. Both men and women have low necklines on their clothing. Women also have exposed arms or slit sleeves, not the billowing cape-like sleeves of Cersei Lannister (somewhat like the Tyrells in this respect, but Dorne is even hotter). The Dornishmen also have much more relaxed views about sexuality than the rest of Westeros: in many respects their clothing is more revealing simply due to living in a warmer climate, but they also find revealing clothing less scandalous than, for example, the Westermen or Valemen.

Dorne also has closer ties with the Free Cities, just east across the Narrow Sea, plus unique local dyes: therefore their clothing is more brightly colored. They tend to favor orange, with yellow/gold and red highlights, reflecting the sigil of House Martell: a red sunburst pierced by a golden spear, on an orange field. In many ways the Dornishmen are the opposite opposite of the Northmen: in the North, the designs are meant to retain heat, in Dorne they are meant to shed heat; the North has dull blues to emphasize that they can't afford foreign dyes, while Dorne has easy access to bright color dyes.

The Dornish do have access to steel plate but if they wore full heavy armor they would die of thirst in Dorne's desert sun. They prefer light armor made out of only bronze or leather, as seen in Oberyn Martel's dueling armor, to allow for greater mobility in the harsh desert heat. When regular Dornish oldiers are introduced in Season 5, including Areo Hotah (captain of the guards for the Martells), they wear padded leather armor, embossed with an outer velvet coating (in contrast to the heavier metal plate worn by Lannister and Tyrell infantry). The velvet-covered armor of the Martell footsoldiers also has regularly spaced metal studs, each decorated like the sunburst sigil of House Martell.

Oberyn Martell's battle armor in the TV series is snakeskin, and the tassel of his spear is python-skin (within the story, that is: in real life they are made out of leather treated to look like snakeskin).

Dornishmen often wear turbans when traveling through the hot countryside. This is not a deep-seated cultural institution and they don't wear them all the time. Turbans and head-scarves are a universal adaptation that many different real-life desert-dwelling cultures have independently adopted to avoid getting heat stroke. Even Crusader knights who settled in the Levant had to start wearing head-scarves to adapt to the hot local environment. Just as heavy furs need to be worn in cold, snowy environments, head-scarves and loose robes are the sensible clothing to wear in a hot desert. Jaime Lannister and Ser Bronn travel to Dorne in Season 5, and while there they dress in Dornish fashion with head-scarves due to simple practicality.

Michele Clapton knew that the Dornish wouldn't start appearing until Season 4, but she decided in advance that their color palette would consist of ochre yellow, oranges, and tans (given that the Martell sigil is a golden spear piercing a red sun on an orange background). Clapton then consciously avoided using those colors for other regions throughout the first three TV seasons, knowing that they were reserved for the later introduction of the Dornish.

When the first Dornish characters appeared in Season 4, Oberyn and Ellaria, Clapton described their costumes as heavily influenced by Southeast-Asian India, particularly the fabrics. This continued into Season 5 when more Dornish characters are introduced - Clapton described Trystane Martell's costume as influenced by India's fabrics and color dyes (by extension this probably applies to Trystane's father Prince Doran Martell as well, whose clothing is similar to his son's style).

Another example of the trickle-down principle of fashion, the Martell household servants that appear in the background at Doran's court (particularly in "The Dance of Dragons") can be seen to basically wear less expensive imitation versions of the fashions set by the ruling Martell family itself. Oberyn Martell wears loose and long tunics, with deep V-cut necklines exposing much of his chest, to help radiate heat, and decorated with Martell sun sigils in gold. His brother the ruling Prince Doran wears an even more rich version of this style, resplendent in patterned silks and sashes, but with the same V-cut neckline. The male Martell household servants wear a simplified imitation of this style, with the same recognizably deep and open V-cut neckline, but made out of cheaper fabrics and without as much jewelry.

Three of Oberyn Martell's eight bastard daughters, the Sand Snakes, appear in Season 5. All of them have snake motifs worked into the designs on their weapons - they are called the "Sand Snakes" after the Dornish bastard surname they use, and their father's nickname as "the Red Viper of Dorne". Given that the genders are considered equal in Dorne, all three are warriors, though focusing on different weapons and techniques. Therefore they wear a mixture of functional leather armor and more casual fabrics when traveling - though the eldest, Obara Sand, just wears leather armor all the time (the only difference being that she takes off the larger shoulder pieces when not immediately expecting combat). This fits Obara's personality as the most direct and martial of the Sand Snakes. The other two, Nymeria Sand and Tyene Sand, also switch to this full leather armor when entering into active combat. Unlike Obara, Nymeria is the daughter of an eastern noblewoman, and has the most refined appearance - though still incorporating leather armor and riding pants. This fits Nymeria's personality as the most reserved and calculating of the Sand Snakes. Tyene enjoys toying with her opponents by flirting so she wears the most revealing clothing, a variant of Nymeria's dress but with side cutouts. This fits with Tyene's personality as the most impulsive of the Sand Snakes. Otherwise Tyene's mode of dress is somewhat between Obara and Nymeria: she wears slightly more leather armor pieces (elbow guards) than Nymeria, but not the full armor of Obara.

On more formal occasions, the three sisters can switch to finery more appropriate at court - as seen when Doran had them see off Myrcella and Trystane as they departed on a ship with Jaime. Once again the spectrum exhibited in their everyday costumes due to their different personalities can be observed: Nymeria is the most refined and reserved, so she wears the same kind of Dornish noblewoman's gown that Ellaria and Myrcella do. In contrast, Obara outright wears men's clothing, a Dornish man's overcoat - the same kind her father wore at court. A slight difference from Oberyn is that underneath that man's overcoat she does wear the same halter/bikini top that Ellaria and other Dornish women wear under their more revealing gowns (otherwise the low-cut of a Dornish man's overcoat would expose her breasts). Tyene is again somewhat between Obara and Nymeria: she basically wears the same Dornish woman's dress that Nymeria does, but with a more aggressive X-shaped leather piece in the front, symbolically more aggressive.

When Myrcella Baratheon reappears in Season 5 after being sent off to Dorne in Season 2, she has switched to wearing Dornish-style clothing at the Martell court - apart from being just an adaptation to the warmer climate, this is a prime example of how fashion styles are used to display faction allegiance: Myrcella feel closer to the Martells now than she does to the Lannisters. Her own mother Cersei Lannister didn't really focus on Myrcella (or her younger brother Tommen), but doted on her eldest son Joffrey - utterly ignoring that Joffrey was a vicious psychopath. Being removed from Cersei and Joffrey for so long let Myrcella see what a normal and loving family is like, and realize that Cersei was ignoring her well-being. Even Jaime remarks in dialogue on how Myrcella has switched to dressing in lighter Dornish fashions.

Quotes

Clapton, on costuming the Dornish starting in Season 4: "The costumes for Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand are some of my favorites this season. The introduction of Dorne is something I've been waiting for, and I've been deliberately holding back on using their colors - the ochre yellow and the wonderful tans. We wanted them to have very distinctive looks; it's incredibly important to have those immediate visual cues to help you as the viewer. It was great to have these two characters lead into the next season [Season 5], when we'll be going to Dorne and we'll have a chance to really push things creatively.

There are a lot of [Southeast-Asian] Indian influences, particularly with the fabrics. We sourced a lot of the fabric for the Dornish characters in India.. I like the sand-washed silks, the weight of it and the depth of color.

Ellaria was an immensely interesting character to me. I think she moves a bit like a sidewinder [snake] - I always picture her disappearing over a dune or something. I liked the strength of her outfit, being able to lift the cape away to this very simple, sensual elegance, cut to the navel without revealing too much. It's a very assertive piece, both in movement and in color. I love to think of what Cersei's reacting is when she sees it - after all, her daughter (Myrcella) is now in Dorne [i.e. she worries if her daughter wears revealing Dornish clothing now.]

Despite the substantial nature of some of the fabrics and the inclusion of metal sigils, Oberyn's costumes were in some ways quite feminine. There is something about the way that Pedro Pascal (Oberyn) wore it, his masculinity, his total lack of fear of the feminine element, that made it so strong and deeply masculine on him.

His armor was one of my favorites of all the armors - the contrast between the weight of the Mountain's armor versus the lithe soft leather covering during the duel is visually exciting. Giampaolo Grassi [the armor master] and his assistants stamped all the leather with the design and hand cut all elements. Being able to talk about it on the dummy, manipulate it around the shape of the body, the changes in the ratio of the symbols - it evolved in the workroom, and their input is immense. I think being part of that process leads to some of the most creative work. You can make replicas of Roman armor forever, and it can be beautiful, but it's not the same."

Clapton: "Ellaria Sand's style is very different from anything we've previously seen. And so it's quite revealing, and it's actually sand washed silk, so it has a lovely flow, it's almost like a weightiness to it."

Frank Doelger (Executive Producer): "It's a southern climate, it's a very luxurious kingdom, it's a world of pleasure-seekers. So we went for things that were very loose and very sensual, and were also inspired a little bit by Indian or Persian outfits. Just looking at some of the fabrics that Michele [Clapton] chose, they bespeak a world of luxury and sensual pleasure, and again, that's a new element for us."

Clapton: "For the wedding, [Ellaria] has a really lovely sort of chained headpiece, which I just thought, my God, it's such a great look. It's this thing of trying to find new areas of how people should look, because we've obviously done so much now."

Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell): "What Michele's done is so brilliant. There's something about Oberyn that's very 'Other' as far as King's Landing is concerned, and she really manifests that in his look."

Clapton: "It's quite an Indian feel, like the crossover-coat. Pedro just wore it brilliantly, because it's actually quite a feminine look, but he wears it in a really masculine way. Big sashes and belts. And the colors, it's also orange; like burnt oranges, and yellows, and golds...It's quite fun just to start a look and then next year [Season 5] we can sort of go into it, but I think it will have a big Indian influence."

Trystane's costume, introduced in Season 5:
"Trystane's outfit has a definite Indian inspiration. The fabrics actually came from India and the costume design team dyed them the vibrant colors seen here. The large leather belt and chain come from Clapton's personal collection."

[Apparently this applies to Trystane's father as well - Prince Doran Martell, the ruler of Dorne - given the similarity in how both of them dress.]

The light armor worn by regular Dornish soldiers, introduced in Season 5:
"Clapton saw some padded velvet armor in Florence years ago that she loved, and it provided the inspiration for this look. Clapton: 'Its built on leather and padding and velvet, and we decided each stud would be a sunburst on a leather piece, studded through. It was a nightmare. I just decided it would be a lovely, sensual way of wearing armor. They were very solid actually. They were very protective.' The team had to make more than 25 pieces."

Myrcella's new Dornish clothes in Season 5:
Clapton: "The dresses were beautifully embroidered by my embroiderer Michele [Carragher] as usual, but I wanted it to look like one little pull of a strap and it would just drop to the ground. There was nothing to them. Just clouds." Clapton also wanted to set the scene for Jaime to be slightly "horrified" when he encounters his daughter/niece in this state of almost-undress.

The Sand Snakes:
On the overall costume designs of the Sand Snakes:
Not all the critics have been kind about these outfits, according to Clapton. "They're sexy, it's hot weather, it's a very liberal society. [People have said] it looks too B-movie, but it's supposed to be this rather free place. It's hot and it's practical to wear light clothing. I just like the movement. Again, they wear suede trousers underneath and boots and I just liked that contrast of very light flowy dresses with really tough bits. When you need to fight you put the tough armor over."

The Sand Snakes' boots have extended soles, meant to be reminiscent of snake tongues.

There was some concern from fansites when the first spy photos of the Sand Snakes (Oberyn's daughters) began circulating, and their armor seemed to have very pointed breast-shapes sculpted into them. Form-fitting breast-shaped armor is actually an unrealistic trope seen in other fantasy media: in reality, having an indentation in armor between the two breasts would make it much easier for an opponent's weapon to land a hit. Much like a helmet, a chest plate is meant to be sloped, so strikes from enemy weapons glance off, deflecting the raw force of impact away from the wearer as much as possible. Some also said they thought that the Sand Snakes' armor not only had sculpted breast shapes, but actually had nipple designs etched into the tips of each. There is actually no proof of this whatsoever, but as rumor swirled the meme spread that the Sand Snakes in the TV series have armor with nipples on it. In an interview with New York Magazine some weeks later, however, Michele Clapton clarified the situation. First, there are no nipple designs on the Sand Snakes' armor (it's not as if there's a circle at the tips meant to look like nipples, the armor just comes to a point). Second, Clapton explained that the spy photos drastically exaggerated the problem: what happened was that the very pointed breast shape was really a mistake, because they should have appeared much more smoothed down. The problem is that armor is difficult to shape, and after using sculpted molds their chest plates were supposed to be sanded down.

As Clapton said, "They sand it off to an extent, but they didn't do it as much as I wanted them to." Moreover, because of the rush in production on the Dorne subplot, she didn't notice the sanding wasn't completed until it was too late and shooting had to start. However, Clapton stressed, even then the pointedness of their chest plates wasn't really that noticeable on set, and particularly not in the actual recorded footage: a trick of the intense lighting in the spy photos made their armor look much more pointed than it actually does in the TV episodes themselves. Clapton said, "I had the same thought as you. I was surprised when I saw the picture. But I didn't notice them when I was there. And sometimes you can’t go back and change things." So the Sand Snakes' costumes do not have nipples on them, they're a little more pointed and breast-shaped than they should be because the production team ran out of time to sand them down, and Clapton assures that the effect isn't really that noticeable in the actual episodes due to different lighting. Spy reports simply jumped onto this criticism and blew it out of proportion.

Clapton later said in a June 2015 that the original armor was even more pointed and actually did have nipple designs on them; she thought this was silly and had the armorer sand them down. The nipple designs were sanded off and aren't present in the final version, but the breast shapes weren't sanded down nearly as much as Clapton wanted them to be:

Clapton is still annoyed by the whole thing, though she was laughing while relating this story. The armor really did have nipples at first. "When I first saw it I said, 'I hate the nipples. Get rid of those fucking nipples!' My armorer went, 'Yeah, yeah, I'll get rid of it.' And he did. I have this absolute phobia about that armor. It's the worst thing on earth. It's sort of funny, because I was cross about it because it's such a faux pas, but I don't think it registers on film as much as it does in those pictures."

Jessica Henwick (Nymeria Sand) said she didn't even notice this pointed effect when she was fitted for the costume in interior lighting, and only first notice that it sort of looks like that when they were filming exterior location scenes in the bright sun of Spain: "I've got to be honest, in the lighting, my first costume fitting, I didn't notice it. I didn't notice it until we were in the bright, wonderful Spanish light."

Gallery

Prince Oberyn Martell's clothing is decorated with a repeated motif of the sunburst-pierced-by-a-spear sigil of House Martell

Oberyn's tunic is longer and looser than the local styles for men in King's Landing

Ellaria Sand, Oberyn's paramour

Oberyn and Ellaria. Clapton decided in advance that the Martell color palette would consist of ochre yellow, oranges, and tans.

The dress that Ellaria wears to Joffrey's royal wedding.

High-definition production still of Ellaria's costume at the wedding

Concept art of Oberyn and Ellaria's costumes in Season 4.

Oberyn wears light leather armor in his duel against Gregor Clegane, relying on speed and agility to outmaneuver his opponent.

Traditional Dornish fighting styles favor light armor and speed because a slow knight wearing heavy steel armor would bake in Dorne's desert sun.

Dornish bannermen arrive at King's Landing

A Dornish lord in Oberyn's embassy to Joffrey's wedding in King's Landing

Another Dornish envoy among the group that comes with Oberyn to King's Landing

Prince Doran Martell, Oberyn's older brother and ruler of Dorne.

Doran's feet are near-crippled with gout, so he is usually confined to a wheelchair.

Behind the scenes image of actor Alexander Siddig (Doran), showing what his resplendent costume would look like if his character was ever in a standing position (Doran's gout is so bad that he can't wear shoes, which is why in this pic Siddig has slipped into flip-flops between filming scenes).

Doran's son, Trystane Martell.

Closeup of Trystane's expertly detailed swordbelt.

Prince Doran meeting with Trystane, Myrcella, Ellaria, and Jaime, with Areo and his guards in the background. Also in the background are Martell household servants - notice that they wear much lighter and revealing clothing (bare midriffs for women, loose open tunics for men) than servants in King's Landing, due to the hot climate in Dorne. Also note that the male Dornish servant's outfit is a simplified imitation of the same style worn by Doran, Trystane, and Oberyn.

Areo Hotah, captain of the guards at Doran Martell's court. Areo carries a large custom glaive (a kind of axe), which is richly decorated but still deadly.

Areo, flanked by other Dornish guards. Dornish soldiers wear light leather armor instead of hot, heavy steel plate. Their uniforms are covered in rows of iron studs decorated with the sunburst sigil of House Martell.

A patrol of Dornish soldiers that Jaime and Bronn run into, riding sand steeds. Turbans help protect against the hot desert sun in Dorne.

Closeup of the lead Dornish guard from the patrol that Jaime and Bronn fight

Areo and his guards confront Jaime Lannister, who has switched to Dornish clothing to be less conspicuous as he sneaks into the Martell court.

Three of the Sand Snakes, Oberyn's daughters. From left to right: Obara Sand, Tyene Sand, and Nymeria Sand. The different Sand Snakes wear a mix of revealing soft dress pieces with pieces of leather armor, leather riding leggings and boots.

Obara, when all three Sand Snakes switch to full leather armor for their attack on Myrcella. Clapton wasn't satisfied with how this armor turned out.

The martial Obara wears leather armor as her typical everyday wear - the only difference from her "full" armor is that she took the larger shoulder pieces off. She wields one of her father's spears, which features a snake-shaped design.

Nymeria's mother was an eastern noblewoman, and she has the most refined appearance of the three Sand Snakes, with the most soft fabrics - though still armed with with pieces of leather armor. She wields a whip.

Tyene enjoys flirting with opponents to taunt them, so her costume is the most revealing - basically like Nymeria's costume, but with side cutouts exposing more skin. Tyene wears slightly more pieces of leather armor - not quite as much as Nymeria but not nearly as much as Obara. Tyene also coats her blades with poisons like her father did: note the vial of antidote she wears disguised as a necklace.

Side view of Nymeria and Tyene: their costumes have backless halter tops, leaving their backs uncovered in Dorne's heat. Note in this shot that the Sand Snakes all wear suede riding pants and leather boots, ready for a fight. Also clearly visible here are the Sand Snakes' curled boots.

The Sand Snakes' leather boots have curled tips, meant to be reminiscent of snakes' tongues.

Nymeria's whip. The handle is shaped like a snake, so that the rest of the whip appears to be the snake's tongue extending from its mouth.

Tyene's daggers, also with a snake motif. Tyene infamously coats her daggers with lethal poisons, like her father did, so that even a scratch may prove deadly.

Behind the scenes closeup of the highly detailed gold bracelet that Ellaria wears in Season 5, shaped like a hissing snake.

Prince Doran makes the Sand Snakes officially see off Myrcella and Jaime as they leave Dorne, and they have to switch to more formal dress for the occasion. Ellaria here wears another frequently seen dress style for Dornish women: light material unafraid to almost fall off the shoulders, and then and gauzy enough that her legs can be seen through it.

The differences in the Sand Snakes' personalities again seen in their formal wear: Nymeria is the most refined and calculating, so she wears the formal dress of a Dornish noblewoman (which is still relatively revealing); Tyene is more impulsive/aggressive but still flirtatious, so she wears the same Dornish dress, but with an X-shaped piece of leather armor straps on the front; Obara, the most martial of the sisters, outright wears typically male clothing.

High-resolution image of Obara Sand in her formal wear: Obara is the most martial of the Sand Snakes, and on this rare occasion that she can't wear leather armor (because it would be inappropriate), she nonetheless outright wears men's clothing, the same kind of Dornish overcoat her father wore. Note the snake decorations on her belt buckle.

After spending over two years as a ward of the Martells, Cersei's daughter Princess Myrcella has also switched to wearing lighter and more revealing Dornish-style clothing. Ironically, Myrcella doesn't even like Cersei anymore, and her allegiance has switched to the Martells.

In complete contrast to her mother Cersei's armor-like layers of fabric and billowing sleeves, the Dornish-style dress Myrcella wears doesn't even have sleeves, and is much more revealing. In this shot, notice the pink bikini top underneath the dress, usually hidden by her long hair.

Clapton stated that it is meant to suggest that if a strap gets pulled, the whole dress could fall off her shoulders and expose her - this impression is misleading, however, as Myrcella actually wears the same bikini-top underneath that Ellaria did with the same dress style; it is hidden by her hair in many shots, but note the halter strap around her neck in this side shot.

Myrcella's light Dornish-style dress is backless; it is also very gauzy with semi-transparent fabrics, evoking clouds - though she wears other clothes underneath so it actually isn't as revealing as it seems.

The elegant embroidery on the front of Myrcella's Dornish dress.

An alternate, even more revealing Dornish dress that Myrcella wears when Doran receives Jaime - it only has light shoulder straps, not even the wider cloud-like shawl parts of the other dress. Even Jaime remarks on how revealing the Dornish clothes are that Myrcella is wearing - it is possible that Myrcella switched to an even more revealing casual dress on purpose, to unnerve Jaime as well as loudly advertise her new allegiance to the Martells.

The Crownlands

There are actually nine major regions in the "Seven Kingdoms": everything south of the Wall was actually divided into seven independent kingdoms at the time of Aegon's Conquest (hence the name). The Riverlands used to be a border region fought over and control by the other kingdoms: the Targaryens separated it as a separate administrative unit on equal standing with the others, functionally making it the "eight" kingdom. Lastly, the Targaryens formed their own new administrative region, to support their new capital city, King's Landing, by carving territory out of the surrounding kingdoms. The Crownlands are therefore the youngest of the major regions in Westeros, only three centuries old, and as a result does not have much of a unique "cultural identity", so much as it is shaped by its distinction as the region containing the capital city. The Crownlands are directly ruled by the king on the Iron Throne, so for nearly three centuries they were ruled over by House Targaryen - until they were overthrown 17 years before the beginning of the TV series in Robert's Rebellion.

The lands which were later reorganized to form the Crownlands were loosely an extension of the Riverlands for millennia, though the entire region was conquered and held by the Stormlands for three hundred years. Three generations before the Targaryen Conquest, the Riverlands were in turn captured from the Storm Kings by the Ironborn - who then pushed into the eastern parts (the future Crownlands) a generation later. The lightly populated parts of the Crownlands south of Blackwater Bay were actually still part of the Stormlands at the time of the Targaryen invasion, but the local Houses (Bar Emmon and Massey) had developed closer ties with the Targaryens on Dragonstone and supported their invasion from the start.

The islands in Blackwater Bay were part of a small independent holding by the Targaryens on Dragonstone island, and their vassals on a few neighboring islands. After the invasion they were considered part of the Crownlands as well. During the timeframe of the TV series, the Targaryens have been deposed, so while Dragonstone is seen, it is under the control of Stannis Baratheon. Characters "from" Dragonstone in the TV series (Stannis, his family, and his soldiers) therefore dress in variants of the Baratheon costume style, and are addressed in the section of this article on "The Stormlands".

The first five seasons of the TV series barely developed any distinct costume style for the Crownlands - that is, the Crownlands outside of King's Landing itself, the capital city where fashion rivalries are played out between different factions at the royal court. More characters from Crownlands Houses outside of King's Landing appear in the novels, but they were omitted for time in the TV series. For costumes seen in King's Landing itself, see the full subpage on "Costumes/King's Landing".

House Targaryen itself did have its own unique clothing style, which has been slightly hinted at in the TV series. As Clapton explained, Daenerys Targaryen was taken into exile in the Free Cities when she was only a newborn baby, but her brother Viserys Targaryen was older, he was a child at the time of the rebellion, so he remembers what the old Targaryen fashion styles used to look like. Thus Viserys's clothing style seen in Season 1 is an echo of the old Targaryen style which used to be the norm in King's Landing.

The main features of Viserys's male Targaryen style are an asymmetric cut to the tunic; a high collar with heavy embroidery reminiscent of dragon-scales; and an armless outer coat with peaked shoulder cuffs, worn over a longer undercoat with close-fitting sleeves. A key point, however, is that this is what the old Targaryen style was like for men - no flashbacks have been shown of what female designs in the old Targaryen style looked like (similar to the difference in male and female clothing in the Reach style or Westerlands style). Daenerys doesn't remember the old fashions and develops her own unique look from her travels in the eastern continent which are not connected to them.

Perhaps to highlight that the Targaryens were "foreigners" from a different culture in the eastern continent before they invaded Westeros, the Targaryen clothing style seems vaguely inspired by East Asian fashions, with an asymmetric kimono-like cut to Viserys's tunic - in contrast with the more classic Medieval European styles used for other regions of southern Westeros such as the Reach. A notable exception to this, however, is that the Lannisters and their bannermen in the Westerlands also wear costumes very much inspired by East Asian designs, with kimono-like asymmetric cuts and armor vaguely reminiscent of a blend between Japanese samurai and more European armors. Season 5 introduced the implication that the Lannisters only developed their current costume style a generation ago, as an emulation of the old Targaryen fashion style:

The defining features of Cersei's Westerlands-style are, for women, large billowing sleeves, large armor-like metal belts, and an asymmetric, kimono-like cut to the front of the dress, so it wraps around like layers of armor (all of this was meant to give Cersei an armored and defensive appearance, distancing herself from other people). The Westerlands style worn by men is basically a male adaptation of what was originally developed for Cersei's style. Jaime's Westerlands-style men's clothing has several similarities to Viserys's Targaryen-style, particularly the prominent asymmetric cut. There are also several differences, however - which may be the result of the Lannisters loosely emulating the old Targaryen style, but when they adapted it to their own use they made some slight modifications. Instead of Viserys's high and embroidered collar, Westerlands men's clothing has low collars, with prominent open lapels. While Visery's Targaryen style has an overcoat with peaked cuffs, Westerlands men's tunics are a single piece with square-off, form-fitting shoulders.

Season 5 was the first TV season to introduce flashbacks to previous time periods, beginning with a flashback to Cersei as a teenager about 25 years ago. Interestingly, while young Cersei wears the same asymmetric fashion style she wears as an adult, her companion Melara Hetherspoon does not dress like her - even though as a member of a Lannister vassal House, also from the Westerlands, presumably she would try to emulate the way Cersei dresses (see the "Westerlands" section above, the subsection "Before Robert's Rebellion"). Unlike Cersei, Melara's old Westerlands style has a symmetrical cut, form-fitting sleeves instead of large billowing ones, no belt at all, and a large separate front piece to the gown. Also during this flashback, young Cersei mentions that she hopes to be engaged to marry Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (Daenerys's older brother, though he died weeks before she was born) - Cersei's father Tywin Lannister was Hand of the King for King Aerys II Targaryen for 20 years, and it does seem probable that during this time period, the Lannisters would try to emulate the styles of their Targaryen benefactors. Melara's unique clothing style was apparently the old Westerlands style, which was gradually replaced by the new Targaryen-inspired design the Lannisters popularized, back when the Lannisters were close and loyal supporters of the Targaryen (Tywin only reluctantly turned against the Targaryens after Rhaegar died in the rebellion during the climactic Battle of the Trident, and it became obvious that the rebels would win). Apparently the Lannisters were so used to their newer Targaryen-inspired fashion styles that they just kept using them. These implications from the flashback to Cersei's youth, and the influence the Targaryen style may have had on the current Lannister style, are intriguing, but they have not been confirmed with any quotes by the costuming staff.

See main subsection for "Costumes/King's Landing - King's Landing under the Targaryens".

Given that Northern Houses emulate the dress of House Stark of Winterfell, presumably Crownlands Houses outside of King's Landing itself would would also dress like their ruling House - which for generations was House Targaryen. They were overthrown in Robert's Rebellion, however, 17 years before the TV series begins, thus King Robert and his immediate followers dress in plain Stormlands styles - though really, due to the influence of Robert Baratheon's wife Queen Cersei and her family House Lannister, their Westerlands-style exerted greater influence on fashions in King's Landing (particularly among women, as explained in the main "Costumes/King's Landing" article).

The first and only character from a Crownlands House to appear in the first five years of the TV series was Lollys Stokeworth in Season 5. House Stokeworth is one of the dozen or so major ruling Houses from the Crownlands, its holdings located northeast of the capital city (Dontos Hollard was also introduced in Season 2, but he was only from a very minor Crownlands House, and only briefly appeared wearing the standard tournament armor of a poor knight before being forced to be Joffrey's court fool, so he never really wore a distinctive "Crownlands style" - he also never appeared outside of King's Landing).

Lollys Stokeworth, curiously, does not dress in Cersei's Lannister Westerlands-style popular in King's Landing itself. Lollys's dress doesn't seem to match the clothing styles of any of the other eight major regions in the Seven Kingdoms. Instead, it appears that Lollys dresses in a female variant of the old Targaryen style worn by Viserys. Lollys's dress does have an asymmetric cut to the front, like Cersei, but Viserys's Targaryen style also asymmetric cut (possibly because Cersei's current Lannister style was directly inspired by the old Targaryen style). Moreover, Viserys's Targaryen style incorporates two distinct layers of clothing: a main armless outer tunic, and an undercoat which forms the sleeves (which is a distinctly different color from the overcoat) - this is also the style of Lollys's costume, instead of the single-piece dress Cersei wears. A distinctive feature of Cersei's Westerlands-style are large metal belts, but Lollys has no belt at all, so she doesn't seem to be matching Cersei's style. Cersei's style also has large, billowing sleeves: while Lollys's sleeves are a little loose and not form fitting, they are still quite small compared to the massive sleeves which hang over a foot off of Cersei's arms. Moreover, Viserys wore his House sigil in the middle of his chest (indeed, it was meant to be comically too large, trying too hard to promote himself); while more subdued than Viserys, Lollys also has her House sigil displayed directly in the middle of the front of her costume. Due to all of these factors, it doesn't really seem that Lollys is dressing in Cersei's Westerlands-style, but the somewhat similar - though still distinct - Targaryen-style. Any minor differences between Lollys's costume and Viserys's can be accounted for by the difference between male and female dress within the same clothing style, given that the TV series has never shown a flashback to female Targaryen clothing styles before (i.e. comparable the difference between how Cersei and Jaime Lannister dress).

Lollys Stokeworth dressing in the old Targaryen style instead of the current Lannister style actually makes sense when her background is taken into context: the Stokeworths hate the Lannisters, and were Targaryen loyalists. House Stokeworth was particularly close to House Targaryen, not just because the Targaryens used to be the direct overlords over the Crownlands. It is strongly implied that the current head of House Stokeworth, Tanda Stokeworth, is the widow of Manly Stokeworth, the Lord Commander of the City Watch late in the reign of King Aerys II Targaryen: Manly was killed by Lannister forces during the Sack of King's Landing, when Tywin's army turned on the royalist defenders after being let through the gates. This hasn't been completely confirmed in the novels, but it is strongly implied, and it is stated that Tanda Stokeworth has no love for the Lannisters even though they control King's Landing now. Therefore, given that the Stokeworths fought on the Targaryen side in the rebellion, and Lollys's own father was probably killed fighting the Lannisters during the fall of King's Landing, it stands to reason that the Stokeworths probably wouldn't want to emulate the Lannister/Westerlands style of dress as a display of faction allegiance, but continue to still defiantly dress in the old Targaryen style. Given that many of the other Crownlands Houses also fought for the Targaryens, it is possible that they would also continue to wear the older style instead of imitating the Lannister style.

Quotes

Clapton: "Viserys, there's a sort of link to King's Landing, I mean he remembers, he's older, he remembers the styles that were worn then. The cut is actually quite similar, very sort of clean lined."

Gallery

Viserys dresses in a style that was in fashion at the Targaryen royal court before Robert's Rebellion. The entire cut of the tunic is asymmetric, like a kimono. The outer coat is armless (but with peaked shoulder cuffs - perhaps meant to be reminiscent of a cobra's hood), fitting over a longer undercoat with close-fitting sleeves.

The old Targaryen-style features a tall collar with textured embroidery reminiscent of dragon scales.

Jaime's Westerlands-style riding coat, for comparison: while it does have an asymmetric cut to the collar, the rest of the coat is straight; the collar is also worn open and down (the lapels sometimes have printed designs on them). The shoulders are squared off and form-fitting.

Young Cersei and Melara Hetherspoon, 25 years ago. Melara's style is entirely different from Cersei's: form-fitting sleeves, a symmetrical cut, no belt, and a separate front piece to the gown. This implies that young Cersei is wearing a new style, loosely inspired by the old Targaryen style (back when the Lannisters were emulating the Targaryens), which gradually displaced the older Westerlands style Melara was wearing.

In the present day, Cersei continues to wear her new Lannister-style. Apparently the Lannisters continued to enjoy and use their distinctive twist on the original Targaryen style, even years after they betrayed and defeated the Targaryens. This would help explain why the Westerlands style looks so "foreign" compared to the rest of central Westeros - it seems to be inspired by the Targaryen style, which was itself "foreign" because it was from the eastern continent.

In King's Landing itself, noble ladies imitate the styles worn by the current royal family: notice the noblewoman in the background dressed in Cersei's Westerlands-style (though by this point in Season 3, some of the other background noblewomen are shifting to dress like Margaery, the new major player at court).

Lollys Stokeworth, when she is introduced in Season 5, does not dress in Cersei's Lannister-style, which is imitated by all of the noblewomen in King's Landing itself. Both Lollys and Cersei do wear asymmetric-cut dresses, but Lollys's dress doesn't have large billowing sleeves, and in fact the sleeves are formed by a differently colored undercoat separate from the main dress.

...Lollys's dress actually seems to be a female version of the old Targaryen style Viserys is seen wearing, with the same asymmetric cut, two-piece outfit (the sleeves are an undercoat), and smaller sleeves than Cersei's style. It is actually appropriate that Crownlander Houses wouldn't switch to dressing like the Lannisters - many were Targaryen loyalists, who lost family members when the Lannisters sacked King's Landing (i.e. Lollys's own father).

Behind the scenes closeup of the detailed embroidery of the House Stokeworth sigil which appears on the front of Lollys's dress.

Faith of the Seven

The Faith of the Seven is the dominant religion in Westeros. It is the majority religion in all of the Seven Kingdoms except for the North (which follows the Old Gods) and the Iron Islands (which follow the Drowned God). The Old Gods simply have no priesthood, and the Drowned Men who serve as priests of the Drowned God dress simply enough that they are are covered in the costuming section on the Iron Islands. The Faith of the Seven, however, has a large and hierarchically organized clergy, meriting their own separate section.

The Faith of the Seven has both male and female priests, known as "septons" and "septas", respectively. The head of the Faith is known as the High Septon, who resides at the headquarters of the Faith of the Seven, the Great Sept of Baelor, which is located in the capital city King's Landing. The ruling council of the Faith is known as the Most Devout, who also reside in the Great Sept. The Most Devout rank just below the High Septon, but are responsible for electing a new High Septon when the current one dies.

Common septons and septas tend to dress relatively plainly, in standardized religious habits. Septas have been seen to wear a wimple that covers all of their hair. The leaders of the Faith, however, are often corrupt, using their high offices to amass great personal wealth. The Most Devout have been known to wear rich robes and expensive jewels. The High Septons in particular have been known to wear opulent clothing, flaunting extravagantly expensive jewelry even as the poor struggle not to starve in the slums of Flea Bottom on the other side of King's Landing from the Great Sept of Baelor.

There are several monastic or devotional orders that believers in the Faith of the Seven may belong to. One of the most prominent of these is the Silent Sisters, a separate all-female monastic order devoted to the Stranger, the aspect that represents death. The Silent Sisters are responsible for dressing and preparing dead bodies for funeral rites, and have taken vows of silence and chastity. Silent Sisters are separate from the regular clergy, and are not considered to be septas.

The novels describe the Silent Sisters as shrouded in grey, and keeping their entire faces covered except for their eyes (combined with their vows of silence, this has led to the old superstition that they have their tongues pulled out, which is untrue). The TV series went further to add the detail that they wear elaborate backbraces displaying the Seven-pointed Star, the symbol of the Faith of the Seven.

The rustic tunics worn by the Sparrows in King's Landing were designed so that they could be worn lifted up with the neck hole transforming into a cowl, or hood to use as a disguise. They’re never seen worn like this, but were designed that way to add interest and reflect the Sparrows’ monastic values. In contrast, the corrupt and lustful High Septon that the Sparrows attack (in "High Sparrow") wears very expensive clothing to reflect his excess and lack of holiness, with a voluminous amount of fabric in his sleeves alone.

Gallery

Septa Mordane, who followed Lady Catelyn north to serve her household at Winterfell.

The first High Septon in the TV series, resplendent in fine silks and gold. Later torn to pieces by a rioting mob: starving men take a dim view of priests too fat to walk easily.

The new High Septon who replaced the fat one.

Silent Sisters perform the funeral ceremony for Jon Arryn in "Winter Is Coming."

Ned Stark and Ser Barristan with Silent Sisters cleaning the body of a man killed at the tournament

A Silent Sister tends to the fallen after the Battle of Oxcross in "Garden of Bones."

Silent Sisters delivering a box containing Ned Stark's bones in "Garden of Bones."

Maesters

Maesters, formally known as the Order of Maesters, are an order of scholars, healers, and learned men in the Seven Kingdoms, dedicated to scientific and intellectual pursuits. The maesters are a secular organization, not a religious order, though they do swear sacred oaths to follow the duties and restrictions of their office. Unlike certain other organizations such as the Faith of the Seven, which has male and female priests, women are not allowed to join the maesters, and thus its membership is all-male. A maester is appointed to every major castle and town in the Seven Kingdoms, serving as a resident healer and counselor. The headquarters of the order is the Citadel, located Oldtown in the Reach, which is the second largest city in the continent. They are ruled by the Conclave, the council of Archmaesters.

Maesters must renounce all past allegiances when they join the order, similar to the Night's Watch and the Kingsguard. As a sign of this, they dress humbly in loose grey robes. Maesters serving in the Night's Watch dye their robes black (though there are currently only three maesters in the Watch, because it only has three active castles left).

Maesters wear a chain around their necks composed of various metals to signify their personal expertise. Each link indicates a different field of study. Maesters personally forge each link themselves. Maesters are expected to wear their chains at all times, even when sleeping. There are hundreds of recognized fields each with a different representative metal, including: silver (medicine and healing), gold (money and accounting), iron (warcraft), black iron (ravenry), Valyrian steel (the "higher mysteries" i.e. magic), and many more.

The Grand Maester is the maester appointed to the Red Keep in King's Landing, to serve the Iron Throne. The chain of office worn by a Grand Maester is a ceremonial symbol of their office, containing numerous links from many fields of study. Because the chain is ceremonial, it actually does not represent the specific areas of knowledge that the current Grand Maester has studied. For example, the Grand Maester's chain contains an iron link representing study of warcraft, even though the current Grand Maester might not have studied warcraft, because he is a peaceful man who rose to prominence as an archmaester of medicine, economics, etc. In practice, however, the candidate that the Conclave chooses to be the new Grand Maester is usually one of the most senior and leading members of the entire Order of Maesters, and is usually someone who happens to have attained most if not all of the links represented in the ceremonial chain of the Grand Maester.

According to Julian Glover (Pycelle), the ceremonial chains of office for the Grand Maester which he wears are made of real metal links, and thus the prop is very heavy. Therefore, straps are concealed under his costume which connect behind his back (which he compares to a bra), so the weight is distributed across his shoulders, instead of having to support a heavy metal chain with nothing but the back of his neck for long periods of time. Glover also said that his heavy roughspun maester's robes can be very uncomfortable at times, particularly considering that many of the exterior scenes in King's Landing are filmed in warm Mediterranean climates such as Malta or Croatia.

Gallery

Maester Luwin, assigned to Winterfell in the North

Grand Maester Pycelle wears the large ceremonial chain of all possible links passed down to each Grand Maester

Maester Aemon, maester of Castle Black at the Wall, dyed his grey robes black when he joined the Night's Watch, whose members must wear all-black clothing.

Maester costume on display at Wondercon 2011

Maester's chain, from The Maester's Path online game.

Grand Maester Pycelle's chain, each link signifying a different field of knowledge.