Game Of Thrones: Unwashed Northerners, royal conspiracies, and decapitations all round.

This post contains no plot spoilers.

I began watching Game Of Thrones recently -- mostly because I was promised cute baby dragons, and I love cute baby dragons -- and I think this poster more or less sums it up:

No one is safe. This show has the highest body-count I've ever encountered. Luckily I didn't get very attached to any of the characters until several episodes in, thus saving myself a lot of decapitation-based heartache. Because the folks of Westeros really like their decapitations. It's like head-severing is their national sport or something (their second-favourite activity being incest).

The costume design in Game Of Thrones doesn't blow my mind, but it definitely fulfills my criteria of costuming following characterisation. The source material itself is a real gift: a combination of historical and fantasy-based costumes, the two main costume design crowd-pleasers both in terms of awards and audience recognition. I haven't read the books so I can't speak to the authenticity of the show's visuals, but my guess is that the show differs significantly from George R. R. Martin's original vision. There isn't a great deal of overlap between costume/fashion experts and revered High Fantasy greybeards.

Jaime and Cersei Lannister.

This isn't going to be a review of Game of Thrones, or even a rundown of the costumes therein. That would probably require an entire new blog all to itself. Suffice it to say that there are several kingdoms, and each has its own style. Pictured above are Cersei and Jaime Lannister, aristocrats from King's Landing where people tend towards the fairytale-Medieval/Mediterrannean Europe end of the spectrum.

Daenerys Targaryen, the Khaleesi.

Khal Drogo and his wife the Khaleesi are their counterparts in the Dothraki kingdom, which culturally seems to be based on the Mongol Empire but costume-wise bears no resemblance to it whatsoever. A lot of their costumes share more with the mixing-pot of modern urban "tribal" (ugh) styles than anything else, and seem very impractical for people who spend their lives trekking across the steppes in the blazing sun. My discomfort with this cultural/racial confusion is exacerbated by the fact that for the first couple of episodes the Dothraki characters are portrayed in a way that comes across as rather racist considering the fact that they're the only society in Westeros that isn't closely inspired by Medieval (white) Europe.

The constantly-shirtless Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo.

There are no heroes in Game of Thrones, which is just as well since I'm fairly sure the final episode will end with the last surviving character beheading themselves, thus allowing the dragons to take their rightful place as apex predators of Westeros. However, the Stark family (headed by Eddard Stark, AKA Boromir, AKA Sean Bean) are as close are we're likely to get, although my loyalties may have been influenced by the fact that they're the underdogs, they have super adorable pet wolves, and they're from The North. As a Scottish person I'm practically obliged to side with impoverished people who live in an ice-bound hellhole and are constantly oppressed and belittled by their despicably clean-haired, well-spoken rulers. Oh, and the Starks are also my favourites in terms of costuming, although for a very specific -- some might say, idiotic -- reason.

Eddard Stark.

Eddard Stark looks almost indistinguishable from Boromir in Lord of the Rings. His role and character, too, are not dissimilar, although Sean Bean really only has one setting and that setting is "angry Northern man who can't wait to get into a fight about something". Like the rest of the Stark men and Northern lords, he wears a lot of armour and fur and leather in colours that won't show the decapitation stains, and generally gives off the aura of a person whom you wouldn't want to stand too close to because they haven't washed in six months. Actually, one of the pleasantly surprising details in Game of Thrones, for me, was the fact that people really are Medieval levels of dirty, at least in the North and among the peasantry. Except for a couple of the noblewomen, everyone from Winterfell (Stark's kingdom) has genuinely revolting hair, and although this doesn't pass my ultimate benchmark of historical filmmaking, Lots Of Rotten Teeth, I certainly appreciate it.

Catelyn Stark, wife of Eddard Stark.

But my love for the Winterfell aesthetic stems not from the realistically unwashed hair but from the bizarre drawstring collars sported by many of the Northern characters. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this in a historical TV show or movie, or indeed in real life, but it's incredibly practical for people who live in a very cold climate. Although most of the men wear too much leather and armour for us to tell what's underneath, I think this is a unisex item worn by most people in Winterfell. One baggy linen undershirt drawn tight around the neck, then either another similar shirt over the top, or a more formal/fitted jacket or dress over the top. My favourite example for this is Catelyn Stark, because like her husband her costumes are fairly uniform. Her children dress up for feasts and formal events, and her daughter Sansa's style changes quite drastically when she travels to the far more refined (and warm) King's Landing and is exposed to Southern fashions, but Catelyn is unchanging.

Catelyn Stark and Cersei Lannister.

Catelyn herself isn't from the North by birth -- she married into it -- and her slightly neater style reflects both that and well-organised personality. But even though she's high-born and is the matriarch of a great dynasty, she appears relentlessly practical compared to the glamourous Cersei and the courtiers of King's Landing. Her wardrobe is all subtle, worn greys, greens and blues in tough fabrics, and no matter where she travels she's always wearing the un-dyed Northern undershirt.

Sansa Stark, eldest daughter of Catelyn and Boromir Eddard.

The undershirt is evidently a traditional item as well as a practical one, because when Sansa, Catelyn's oldest daughter, goes to meet the Queen at a feast, her formal dress includes a silkier version of the high-collared undershirts peeking out from under the neckline. I'd be interested to see where this style comes from, although my best guess would be Inuit sealskin undershirts and parkas, which are usually tightened with drawstrings to keep out the elements.

Arya Stark, younger daughter of Catelyn and Eddard.

I couldn't finish this post without a mention of Arya Stark, one of my favourite characters from season 1. Although her older sister Sansa developes into be a fascinating character in later episodes, Arya is awesome from day one, albeit in a slightly cheesy fantasy-hero kind of way. She's a tomboy! She wants to learn how to use a sword and never wash her hair, just like her brothers! I'm a sucker for all that stuff. Plus, she's a major proponent of the Northern undershirt, wearing them almost all the time. People make her wear dresses on a couple of occasions, but it doesn't seem to be a high priority for the Starks to dress her "like a girl", thus proving them to be some of the least-awful parents in Westeros. And, in the end, some of the least politically sound. While Sansa quickly learns to fit in amongst the Southern gentry, Arya, Eddard and Catelyn are all far too straightforward and practical to bother about appearances, and are further disrespected as a result.