Sansa and Arya Stark: Episode 2

     Let's get back to Ginger and soon-to-be Scary Stark.

     Hello Tiny Adorable Arya, who has yet to become Tiny Adorable Terrifying Child Assassin Arya. Miss Arya is packing to leave for Kings Landing (she, like all the other Starks except Sansa, is ambivalent about the trip). She's wearing the same dress she wore at the beginning of episode 1, a dress which is very (very) similar to the dresses her mother and Sansa wore to the feast in the previous episode. Note the color and also the detailing at the collar. There is, however, much more wear and tear on this dress than there is on her sister's. 

A sword?!

     And, as we said before: lacing on the back and shoulders mimics the lacing on leather armor. Arya is a warrior (with adorable pigtail braids).   

     Jon Snow presents Arya with a sword of her own, and she jumps up to hug him and it's just really goddamn adorable.

     Lannister cousins, crazy-braiding each others' hair, and (presumably) making bitchy comments about Sansa.

Sweet Sansa dresses impeccably, even just for the purpose of walking around the muddy encampment. 

This dress is notable for a few reasons. For one thing, we think this dress is new. While Sansa, as the daughter of a noble house, would have a larger wardrobe than most women in the seven kingdoms (and therefore some dresses that we, the viewers, have not seen her wear yet) this dress looks new to our eyes. We tend to think that Sansa probably had it made especially for her trip south to King's Landing. Both the cut and color of the dress exist at almost the exact midpoint between northern and southern styles. It's in the sky blue that we are starting to thing of as Sansa's signature color, more Tully than Stark. And while the detailing at the neck harkens back to the dresses she, Cat and Arya wore at Winterfell, it is designed to look like a wreath of flowers. The bell sleeves and full skirt are right out of the Cersei Lannister Southern Fashion playbook. Sansa is already making an effort to dress and act like a proper southern lady, probably hoping to endear herself to Prince Joffrey.

 
She interacts with two unsettling men: Ilyn Payne (I initially typed that as "Ilyn Pain") the mute royal executioner, and The Hound, who serves as Joffrey's personal muscle. The Hound has burn scars and dresses starkly (pun only sort of intended) in a black cloak and armor. But not to worry, because here comes Sansa's handsome prince to send the hound on his way.

Oh Lady,  you're the sweetest direwolf of all time.

     
     Sansa is in light, airy blue and Joffrey in head-to-toe red leather. Joff's outfit is actually oddly similar to something you might expect to see a Targaryen wearing. (Or maybe it's not that odd, considering the similarities between Joffrey and Viserys.) These clashing outfits tell you pretty much everything you need to know about their personalities as well as the future of their relationship.

People give Sansa a lot of shit for liking Joffrey in the first season, but honestly, the kid can be charming when he wants to be.

The lacing on Arya's blue dress is functional as well as fashionable: she removes the sleeves for physical activity on a hot day.

     This is the first appearance of Sansa's butterfly ring (at least we think it's supposed to be a butterfly, though it looks more like a moth) and dragonfly necklace. Also Cersei calls her "little bird." Are we sensing a "delicate winged creatures" motif?

      Joffrey finds Arya and Mycah sparring with sticks and attacks adorable redheaded Mycah with his actual sword. Because he (Joffrey, not Mycah) is the actual worst.

     But Arya is not one to suffer fools: she, with help from her beloved direwolf Nymeria, administers the ass-kicking Joffrey so richly deserves and throws his sword in the river before running off with Nymeria.  

Seriously Arya, just do us all a favor and stab him in his smarmy face.

     Because everyone's being terrible today, Arya is pulled in for questioning all alone in front of the entire court. Ned is understandably upset about this, but not enough to turn around and go home.

 

     It's Sansa's turn next: caught between betraying her sister and mini-treason in the eyes of her future in-laws, Sansa does the only thing she can do, and claims that she doesn't recall.

     Arya does not agree with this tactic, and because she is a little spitfire, ATTACKS. Arya never really trusts Sansa after this - they are rarely dressed alike again, and their state of tension is reflected in their completely opposite types of clothing. But Arya still defends her against Sansa's next punishment, when Cersei decrees that some dog must die for the sins of another, and chooses Sansa's sweet-tempered innocent dog Lady for execution.

 

     So Ned Stark heads off to a remote part of camp to take the life of his daughter's innocent dog. And because poor Ned Stark is too dumb and politically unsavvy to fake Lady's death with one of the literally thousands of wolf pelts hanging everywhere, Sansa loses the last friend she'll have for a very long time.

Cersei Lannister: Episode 2

     Last time on Game of Clothes, Cersei Lannister had her brother/lover Jaime do a bad, bad thing. Let's look at how she's coping through the magic of costume.

   

     Bran is lying in a coma after witnessing Cersei and Jaime make incest-y love. Things aren't looking good for him, but there's still a chance he could wake up, and maybe start telling people the story of how the Best Climber Ever managed to fall off that tower. Though the embroidery of Cersei's wrap and gown is sumptuous and speaks to her wealth (she is a Lannister queen after all), Cersei's laying low after the incident in an attempt to prevent suspicion from coming her way. Her dress is blue, but it is overshadowed by her wrap, which is the deep forest green associated with the Baratheons. She melds into the decor of the hall and forest-like color scheme of winter browns, dark stones and massive amounts of animal skins. This is the only time she dresses anything like a Northerner, and is a shrewd attempt at camouflage on Cersei's part. Her Crazy Braids are also in hiding, disguising themselves as a normal hairstyle.

Hey look, it's one of Cersei's non-terrible children! Hi Myrcella!

Sweet, unknowing Myrcella is dressed warmly for the climate, but still in a southern red. She has no idea she's wearing a color and hairstyle that calls back to the ultra-literal scarlet woman looks Cersei favors for scenes with or involving Jaime.  Myrcella's clothes reinforce this scene's undertone of scheming about the twins ongoing affair. They also highlight the fact that Myrcella is not a Baratheon, but really, completely a Lannister. Nice girl though. Too bad a lot of her family is terrible.

And now it's time for another edition of...

The Many Faces of Cersei Lannister

Clockwise from top left: Active Listening; Concern; Deep Thought; RESOLVE.

Hey Cat, how you been? Oh, right. Sorry. Please don't take us to see your sister.

Cat's holding vigil over Bran, weaving a talisman to help keep him safe. She's exactly where she's supposed to be, and she looks it. No hint of southern anything in this garb - she's 100% Stark, melding into the shadows of the tower room.

     Cersei tells the story of losing her first child, a boy with black hair, the only child she ever bore Robert Baratheon. It's fitting that she's dressed in forest colors here, referring to her husband as well as drawing a connection between herself and Cat. 

 

Do you think lying on all those wolf pelts makes Summer a tad uncomfortable?

     In this scene, Cersei's vulnerability is on full display. It seems odd, given that she's standing in front of a comatose child who she and her brother chucked out the window, but nonetheless, Cersei has a moment of genuine emotional honesty with Cat in this scene. And when she says she's sorry for Cat's pain, as a mother, we genuinely believe her. (Cersei is very good at compartmentalizing.) The forest green Cersei wears in this scene is a Baratheon color. We don't see her in this color often, so it is usually significant when she does wear it. In this scene, it is about her vulnerablity, and the hopes she once had for her relationship with Robert (children, a happy marriage, etc.). This is one of the few scenes in which we see Cersei speak tenderly and emotionally and honestly about her relationship with Robert. In fact, in this scene we see glimpses of the person Cersei might have been if she and Robert had a more functional marriage, and perhaps a family of their own.

     But when it's time to head back to the capital, Cersei goes right back to her red and gold Lannister Lion power dress. Gone is the Cersei we saw at Winterfell, here is our regular Cersei, proud, cruel, and unwilling to hear a word against her son.

"A dog must die."  

Annnnnd we're back to hating her.

Daenerys Targaryan: Part 1

     And now it's time for our favorite true queen of Westeros: Daenerys Targaryan!

     She may be the dragon's daughter but she doesn't know it yet. Just look at that face! Would you believe we see this exact same expression when she realizes FIRE CANNOT KILL A DRAGON? Let's keep that in mind, shall we?

     In Dany's first appearance, she wears a simple, diaphanous lavender gown with her hair down. She wears no jewelry or adornments or, for that matter, shoes. This particular gown is almost an exact match for the gown that Mhaegen (young prostitute and mother of one of Robert Baratheon's numerous children) wears in her first appearance. Shae and Roz also wear versions of this dress. A notable difference are the bands over her shoulders, symbolic of restraints. Just as the dress Cersei wears at the end of this episode is representative of her sexual power, Dany's dress in this scene is largely about her lack of control over her own fate and even her own body. Both the dress and Dany herself are almost invisible. Lest we forget, this is the scene in which her older brother informs her that he is going to marry her to Khal Drogo, a man she has never met, and instructs her to put on an even more see-through dress while creepily pawing at her body.

Seriously, Viserys, have you never heard of lining?

Ohhh, we are gonna enjoy it when that smile gets burned off his face.

     In the next scene, Dany puts on the dress Viserys instructed her to wear. She is exposed, literally and figuratively to a group of strangers. Her creepy brother is using her body as a bargaining chip in his gambit to reclaim the Iron Throne. It is, however, worth noting that even though this lavender dress is even more invisible than the last one, Dany herself is brighter and more vivid in this scene. Also important: the two dragon pins on her shoulders (Viserys only has one) and the two small braids in her hair. We cannot stress this enough: braids are important.

     And now it's time for the big wedding! Doesn't Dany look excited and happy to be there?

     Dany's hair is still loose and flowing here, but this is the first hint of intricacy in the styling of her braids - note the metal clips that call to the armored aspects of her attire.

Hey look, Dragon Eggs! I wonder if those will be important later.

     The halter is a woven metallic, contrasting with her wedding dress, another pale and floaty dress that makes her recede into the background, even as she's the center of the celebrations. She is wearing her Targaryan pendent in her bodice, and her armbands finish the illusion of armament. She is in a princess fantasy version of armor, even as Daenerys (a true princess) sits through her less-than-fairytale wedding. She is wearing a ring in this scene that we don't see again. It could be a Targaryan relic, or even just a reference to a more western type of marriage. The halter and armbands continue the motif of restraints in her early clothing.

 

     She's so young and obviously terrified, but her bravery is evident even now as she walks toward her new husband's gift to her,  a white horse (continuing this theme of the wrong type of Disney wedding). Oh Dany, we can't wait until you realize your power and we can worry about you less than we do right now.

     Take a good look at this dress you guys. Not only is it a beautiful dress and interesting within its current scene, just you wait. There's more in store for this particular gown.

     

     This scene was a lot less problematic in the books. There was hair braiding. It was nice. (And then the writing staff of Game of Thrones decided to change it to a rape scene because... why?)

     And here Dany is a while later, depressed and back in her first dress, fading into the background:

    Dany may have married a Khal, but she's a Khaleesi in name only. She has not yet realized her power.

     This is Dany's first real scene as a member of the Khalasar. This is the most covered up we've seen her thus far. She doesn't fade into the background here; instead she melds with the trappings of her adopted culture, dressed in the earth tones of a Dothraki woman. The cut and style of the dress in halfway between the drapey gowns she's been wearing thus far and the more functional clothes of a Khaleesi. (We also think it is slightly reminiscent of Jedi robes.)

 

     It is in this dress that we see Dany initiate her first loving, consensual sexual encounter with Drogo. And even though it's a sex scene, this is still the most covered-up we've seen Dany thus far.

Well someone's started taking control of her life and is looking more at home.

 

     By episode three, Dany has truly started to come into her own as a Khaleesi. She wears a functional outfit; halter top, trousers, boots, split skirt and riding gloves in deep earth tones. She looks at home in the saddle and in the Khalasar. (Especially in comparison to her brother, who clings to his Westerosi clothes almost as hard as he clings to his delusions of grandeur.) Her braids are also more numerous, and thicker than they have ever been. The only remnant of her Westerosi clothing and heritage is the dragon pin she wears on the front of her shirt.

Not a Queen. A Khaleesi.

"Yeah, Viserys, turns out I'm in charge here. We're gonna get back on our horses, and you can walk."

     However, her transition to powerful Khaleesi is not totally complete. This outfit exposes some of her stomach, which makes her look somewhat younger than she might otherwise. And while we are completely in favor of awesome warrior women with bare midriffs (we grew up in the nineties, can you tell?) we do believe that the style reads as somewhat young/adolescent.

Boob what?

     Dany is wearing this outfit, and having her hair braided when Irri tells her that she is pregnant. This pregnancy secures her position within the Dothraki, the mother of the Stallion who will Mount the World. News of her pregnancy also makes her a threat in the eyes of Robert Baratheon's council. A plot to poison her is afoot, and while we're on Team Khaleesi, Ned Stark was wrong: they should've taken her out at this point: it was their only chance, and now she's a comin'.