Game of Clothes: Regionalism and Fictional Fashion

[HBO, 2019]

Exploring Renaissance fashion in media revealed the delicate balance necessary to make a historic series entertaining but accurate enough to suspend an audience’s disbelief. Historical figures in portraits, television, and video games have revealed the importance of fashion during the sixteenth century. Now, this blog will take the skills learned in England and Italy, portraits examined from across Europe, and will apply them to a fictional world.

How should period fashion be portrayed in a fictional show? HBO’s adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s novels might have medieval England as an influence, but this is a world of fiction.[1] Game of Thrones (2011-19) takes place on Westeros, seven kingdoms ruled by seven wardens under one king. D. B. Weiss and David Benioff’s phenomenal series, and Michele Clapton’s costume department, took inspiration from the Renaissance. In the above episode still, the northern alliance prepares for war. Most are dressed darkly, but audiences notice differences. The sleek armor of the southerners, the mangled fur of the wildlings, the leathery armor of the Dothraki, the robes of the diplomats, and Daenerys in white fur distinguish groups. Each speaks to a different office and region in this show. The most prevalent theme is regionalism and international style from Tudor England.

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Regionalism in England -

[Left: promotional photo of Henry VIII (Showtime, 2007); Center: promotional photo of Catherine of Aragon (Showtime, 2007); Right: promotional photo of Anne Boleyn (Showtime, 2007)]

A quick recap first. Henrician fashion in England had more rules than many of its contemporaries. Fashion was not expressive; it was political and declared one’s social status.[2] Fashion was not a fad; it was law. Henry's parliament passed four sumptuary laws in the early sixteenth century.[3] They addressed social status in a growing metropolitan environment. Men’s fashion emphasized masculinity through broad shoulders, codpieces, and short gowns.[4] While women were excluded from Henrician laws, their station of marriage dictated how they dressed.[5] Men’s fashion praised the body; women’s fashion concealed it.[6] The three case studies in this industry – Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn – revealed how deeply ingrained imagery was in fashion.

[Clockwise Top Left: promotional photo of Henry VIII (Showtime, 2008); episode still of Catherine of Aragon (Showtime, 2007); Anne's funeral dress (Showtime, 2008); Anne's modernized gown (Showtime, 2008)]

Large gowns, colorful doublets, and protruding codpieces swell Henry’s presence, enlarging his body. Henry dressed richly and in regal colors like gold, silver, and red, indicative of wealth and status. Jewels appear in all of his outfits. He is fashionable and trendy. This is lost in translation in Showtime’s The Tudors (2007-10). Henry looks more like the stream-lined soccer players from Bend It Like Beckham than the burly king.[7] His costumes were decorative and flamboyant, something not prominent in the sixteenth century. The costume department admitted to giving Henry a rockstar appearance using leather and metallic elements in many of his costumes.[8]

Regionalism and international style defined Catherine and Anne’s wardrobes. Like Henry can be compared to Francois of France and Charles V of Spain, Catherine and Anne can be compared to their continental contemporaries. Catherine and her niece, Eleanor of Austria, brought Spanish styles to the English and French courts respectively. They had to compete against French mistresses, Anne Boleyn in England and Anne de Pisseleu in France, and their French fashion. Both mistresses turned heads at court; notably, Anne Boleyn wore yellow to Catherine’s funeral.[9] This competition between regional styles impacted their reigns. Much of this is lost in The Tudors. Maria Hayward noted that Catherine’s costumes maintain a Spanish flare in the farthingale skirts and dark colors.[10] But Anne’s costumes look directly from a New York fashion runway, nothing like the French wardrobe she garnered.[11] Modern prints, cuts, and styles detracted from the Renaissance narrative.

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Regionalism in Westeros -

[Far Left: Hans Holbein the Younger. Whitehall Mural (1537), Queen’s Collection, Hampton Court Palace; Left: Jean Clouet. François I, King of France (1527-30). Louvre Museum, Paris; Right: promotional photo of Robert Baratheon (HBO, 2011); Far Right: episode still of Robert (HBO, 2011)]

Henry, Francis, and Charles dressed for their titles and dressed for each other. Catherine and Eleanor brought Spanish fashion to their courts. Anne Boleyn and Anne de Pisseleu commanded themselves through French fashion. Something similar occurs in Game of Thrones. Already a cadre of characters look like caricatures of these important rulers. Robert Baratheon, king of Westeros, is stocky like Henry, favors dark colors, sports a burly beard, and is fond of wanton behavior. While the series departs from the flashy outfits seen in the Renaissance portraits, elements can be seen: gold, girdles, facial hair, and a doublet-and-jerkin combination.

[Left: Titian. Emperor Charles V in Armor (c. 1550), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; Center: episode still of Tywin Lannister (HBO, 2012); Right: episode still of Tywin Lannister (HBO, 2013)]

Tywin Lannister looks more like the older Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V and Tywin both understood warfare, the importance of alliances, and that family superseded everything. As seen in Charles' portrait and in the still of Tywin in armor, the men dressed in ornamental attire. Their clothing is dark, their facial hair gives them a highly masculine appearance. Charles had a lasting impact on European politics; Tywin also had a lasting impact on Westerosi politics. Regionalism and international style gave distinctive looks to the various wards (and fashion) of Westeros.

[Top Left: Jan Gossaert. Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon (c. 1515), Wofurd Abbey, Woburn; Top Center: Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Henry VIII of England (c. 1537), Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid; Top Right: episode still of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen (HBO, 2019); Bottom Left: episode still of Wildlings (HBO, 2013); Bottom Right: episode still of Jon Snow (HBO, 2013)]

In the North, those lands ruled by the Starks, furs and thick clothing protect them from frigid winters. It serves a dual purpose though. The dark fabrics, quilted patterns, fur accents, and metallic elements seem to enlarge their presence. Many of the clothes have exaggerated shoulders and waists due to the density of the clothing. Henry VIII and the duke of Suffolk appeared like this as well. This larger-than-life appearance serves to increase masculinity and ferocity. The costumes and characters are burly and rugged. One of the finer examples is Jon Snow. Though slimmer and with less facial hair than the Tudor king and the duke, he still has the burly, masculine appearance of the historic nobles. Much of this is due to the fur, cloaks, and darkness of his clothing.

[Left: episode still from the Long Night (HBO, 2019); Right: episode still from the series premiere (HBO, 2011)]

Take a look at this episode still after the Long Night, when the forces of men defeated the undead in the final season.[12] They all wear dark, militant costumes and appear burly and worn. Their torsos are also covered in heavy quilted gambesons, provided protection from blows. Fur accents touch their cloaks, shielding them from the biting cold of winter. Similar garments – though less war-weary – are worn by the Stark family when they greet the king’s party in the series premiere.[13] All of these garments turn the Northmen into heavy characters, with a commanding presence and solidarity and strength about them.

[Left: episode still from king's tournament (HBO, 2011); Center: the Lannister family (HBO, 2014); Right: Cersei Lannister and Lord Baleish (HBO, 2013)]

In the Crownlands, specifically the capital of King’s Landing, regionalism is in full regalia. In this episode still from King Robert’s tournament, Sansa wears a cloth-of-gold damask gown with roses embroidered on the neckline.[14] Similar to how Holbein’s painting of the ambassadors detailed them conforming to Henrician sumptuary law, Sansa began to conform to southern fashion. It was all in an effort to blend in. At Sansa and Tyrion’s wedding, Joffrey wears a cloth-of-gold damask doublet with cape sleeves and a sash.[15] He wears many outfits in this style; the cape sleeves replace actual capes worn by kings. This is similar to how Henry wore ornate bonnets to replace a crown. The outfits are regal but also militaristic, like many other outfits in the series. This militarism is notably absent from many of the outfits in historic portraiture. There are some allusions to it in Cesare Borgia’s costumes in The Borgias and Henry’s costumes in The Tudors.

[Top Left: episode still of Tommen Baratheon (HBO, 2016); Top Center: Margaery Tyrell and her grandmother (HBO, 2013); Top Right: episode still of Margaery's entourage (HBO, 2015); Bottom Left: promotional photo of Margaery (HBO, 2012); Bottom Center: episode still of Anne Boleyn (Showtime, 2007); Bottom Right: Unknown. Anne Boleyn (c. 1533-6), National Portrait Gallery, London]

Contemporary audiences should note that Lannister gold and red is similar to Tudor gold and red worn by Catherine and Henry. Cersei, Joffrey, and Tommen all wear these royal colors in their outfits. While Cersei has more symbolic elements, Joffrey and Tommen wear clothes befitting a Lannister king. In this episode still from the sixth season’s finale, Tommen dons a cloth-of-gold doublet, chain of office, and crown for his wife’s trial.[16] Similar pieces can be seen in the Tudor wardrobe. The Tyrells – the competing family – wear different apparel, similar to how Anne Boleyn brought French fashions to court. In this episode still, Margaery Tyrell walks with her grandmother.[17] Both Anne in The Tudors and Margaery in Game of Thrones were played by Natalie Dormer. Both of her characters’ gowns often have low or gaping necklines, imprinting on audiences a vision of a seductress who has more wit than wanton ways. Margaery’s grandmother wears a graceful hood befitting her station as matriarch. Her covered hair contrasts with her granddaughter's uncovered hair, highlighting the sexual potential each character has, similar to depictions of early-modern nuns and lay maidens. The contrasting colors also reveal to audiences the underlying war that pit the Lannisters against the Tyrells.

[Top Left: Sandro Botticelli.The Birth of Venus (c. 1484-86), Uffizi Gallery, Florence; Top Right: episode still of Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand (HBO, 2014); Center Left: Ellaria at Tyrion's trial (HBO, 2014); Center: Bartolomeo Veneto. Idealized Portrait of a Courtesan as Flora (c. 1520), Städel Museum, Frankfurt; Center Right: Myrcella Baratheon and Trystan Martell (HBO, 2016); Bottom: episode still of Oberyn and Ellaria (HBO, 2014)]

Dorne, the southernmost ward, blends Spanish and Mediterranean culture into an exotic style. While the Renaissance refrained from flashing bare skin, the alleged portrait of Lucrezia by Veneto and Botticelli’s Venus alludes to Dornish style. Ellaria Sand and her daughters wear colorful silks with rich embroidery, but the outlines of their bodies are revealed in the sunlight. Ellaria herself wears a gorgeous tangerine dress with a plunging neckline, bronze brassiere, and scaled pauldrons during Tyrion’s trial.[18] The men dress exotically too. Oberyn Martell wears warm-colored robes with the sun crest of his family stitched into the fabric. His nephew, Trystan, wears a pink damask robe with no shirt underneath. Audiences understand that the Dornishmen and women do not belong in King’s Landing. Their clothing is meant for a desert environment, but it also reveals a lax view of virtue. Ellia is not Oberyn's wife but paramour; all of their children are legally illegitimate. This is frowned upon in the more conservative King's Landing (although their current king was born of incest, though no one knows that). The outfits are exotic, adding to the sexual appeal.

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Sansa Stark -

[Left: episode still of Sansa at King's Landing (HBO, 2013); Right: episode still of Sansa at her Lannister wedding (HBO, 2014)]

An excellent case study of the importance of regionalism in Westerosi fashion is Sansa Stark. Sansa’s wardrobe and hairstyles in King’s Landing mimic Margaery Tyrell’s taste. Sansa has always been a little bird, chirping along with the others at court. Here, arm-in-arm with Margaery’s brother, she wears a violet brocade gown with silk skirts and gold fasteners.[19] Her auburn hair tumbles around her like Margaery’s hair does in other scenes. She never wears Lannister colors or northern furs though. Instead, the colors are somber, sad, and girlish in many regards. She wears southern fashion, but not royal livery. Until her wedding to Tyrion Lannister.[20] The gold and brown brocade gown with metallic hip accents guards her virtue. She is afraid of the Imp, of marrying the dwarf whom she believes is a monster. Her hair is turned upward in a style Cersei would have worn. This is Sansa Stark becoming a Lannister, her former dream and now her worst nightmare.

[Left: promotional photo of Sansa in the Eyrie (HBO, 2015); Right: Titian. Portrait of a Man with Ermine Coat (c. 1560), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna]

Her time in King’s Landing is short-lived. After Joffrey’s murder, Sansa is whisked away to her aunt’s perch in the Eyrie, a mountaintop castle in the impregnable Vale. Here, with Petyr Baelish as her teacher, she learns politics, deception, and the game of thrones. When Petyr arrives to return her to Winterfell (and to a worse fate), Sansa wears a black dress gaping open at the bodice, something Margaery might wear.[21] She knows exactly what Baelish wants from her. A black needle and disc on a chain twirls down her front. Sansa made the dress, and audiences see a master craftswoman (of cloth and court) at work. The little bird flies as raven feathers adorn her partlet. She has left the south behind, and the choice of black color can be seen as a sign of mourning. She never had a chance to mourn her father's death, and now she is being whisked north. It can also be compared to the portrait above by Titian. The use of animal material was popular in the Renaissance, as was black clothing. As today, it was universally seen as diplomatic, refined, and proper.

[Top Left: Titian, Retrato de Francesco Maria della Rovere, por Tiziano (1536-1538), The Uffizi, Florence; Top Right: episode still of Sansa in the final season (HBO, 2019); Bottom: details of Sansa Stark's northern costume (HBO, 2017)]

In Season Seven, she wears a massive wool cloak over a woolen dress. Fur covers the bodice, with leather belts cinching it to her waste. The direwolves of Stark cap the fur collar. She is reembracing her roots and family. This is no longer weak Sansa from the south, or obedient Sansa from the Vale. This is the lady of Winterfell.[22] In the final season, Sansa wears more fur, but during the planning of the Battle of Winterfell (and then again at Bran’s coronation) she wears a leather doublet, the black pieces fastened together in a wicked pattern.[23] Her needle-and-disk twist around her, ending over the padded skirts commonly seen in a man-at-arms’ fatigues. It is a female version of Titian's portrait of the condottieri Francesco Maria Della Rovere. It is menacing, sleek, and demands respect. She is a warrior, her hair pulled back into a braid because she, like Daenerys, has been undefeated in her battles.

[Details of Sansa's Coronation Gown (HBO, 2019)]

In the series finale, Sansa attends her coronation in a gown with more symbolism than many in cinematic costume history.[24] It is a gorgeous gown audiences know she made herself because the needle-and-disk fit into the design. The gray velvet is a nod to Margaery Tyrell’s wedding dress, one of her only friends. The cape features the red leaves of the weirwood; her breastplate has branches cut into the metal. Her father spent a deal of time at the Winterfell weirwood, she was married to Ramsey Snow there, and Bran has magical connections to it.[25] Finally, a direwolf pelt tumbles down her other shoulder, a reference to the Stark's crest. It befits a northern queen who has embraced her true destiny.

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Conclusion -

Though Westerosi fashion might be vogue, there are certainly vintage elements to it. The bulky furs of the North lent to their personality and defense against winter. The Crownlands paralleled the Tudor court with sumptuous dress and conformity to the Crown. Many of the characters wore fantasy outfits similar to those of historic figures. Dorne departed from the Renaissance narrative, embracing a Mediterranean culture influenced by fantasized portraiture. And Sansa Stark became one of the chief examples of how regionalism effected fashion from her time in the capital and her return to the North. These styles and characters helped audiences distinguish between events and places, but it also served another purpose. It added some historical reference to a series based in fiction.

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Notes:

[1] Martin’s novels were published in the late twentieth century under the collective title A Song of Ice and Fire. HBO bought the rights to his books and renamed them after his first novel, A Game of Thrones (pub. 1997).

[1] Maria Hayward, Rich Apparel, (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011), 3

[2] Ibid., 17.

[3] Ibid., 45

[4] Ibid., 21

[5] It should be noted that men and women both loved hats in the Henrician period. Ibid., 46

[7] William R. Robinson, History, Fiction, and The Tudors (New York: Palgrave Macmillian, 2016), 28

[8] Mariana Fernandes, “The Tudors: 10 Hidden Details About the Costumes You Didn’t Notice,” last modified August 29, 2019. https://screenrant.com/tudors-costumes-details-hidden/

[9] It should be noted that Henry wore yellow as well, and that Anne had miscarried shortly before Catherine died. Overall, this outfit choice was tacky and out of place in a sea of black mourning clothes. Eleri Lynn, Tudor Fashion (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017), 79

[10] Maria Hayward, “Fashionable Fiction,” in in History, Fiction, and The Tudors, ed. William B. Robinson (New York: Palgrave Macmilan, 2016), 301

[11] Hayward, “Fashionable Fiction,” 301

[12]Game of Thrones. “The Long Night.” Directed by Miguel Sapochnik. Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss. HBO, April 28, 2019.

[13]Game of Thrones. “Winter Is Coming.” Directed by Tim Van Patten. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, April 17, 2011.

[14]Game of Thrones. “The Wolf and the Lion.” Directed by Brian Kirk. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 15, 2011.

[15]Game of Thrones. “Second Sons.” Directed by Michelle MacLaren. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 19, 2013.

[16]Game of Thrones. “The Winds of Winter.” Directed by Miguel Sapochnik. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, June 26, 2016.

[17]Game of Thrones. “The Climb.” Directed by Alik Sakharov. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 5, 2013.

[18] Tyrion was placed on trial for killing Joffrey Baratheon at his wedding. He demanded a trial by combat, choosing Oberyn Martell, prince of Dorne, as his champion. Ellaria was Oberyn’s paramour. Game of Thrones. “The Mountain and the Viper.” Directed by Alex Graves. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, June 1, 2014.

[19] Sansa becomes infatuated with Loras Tyrell. Sansa eventually marries Tyrion, and Loras is promised to none other than Cersei. Game of Thrones. “The Climb.” Directed by Alik Sakharov. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 5, 2013.

[20]Game of Thrones. “Second Sons.” Directed by David Nutter. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 19, 2013.

[21]Game of Thrones. “The Children.” Directed by Alex Graves. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, June 15, 2014.

[22] Michele Clapton,Game of Thrones: The Costumes. (San Rafael: Insight Editions, 2019), 36

[23]Game of Thrones. “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” Directed by David Nutter. Written by Bryan Cogman. HBO, April 21, 2019.

[24] Sansa warned Bran and Jon Snow that the North would never bow to a southern king, not even one from the North. King Bran grants the North its independence under Sansa. Game of Thrones. “The Iron Throne.” Directed and written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 19, 2020.

[25] Clapton, Game of Thrones: The Costumes, 42