Fantasy at its Finest: A Case Study on Crafting Historically Accurate Costumes for Game of Thrones

37 Replies



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References:
1. Van Cleve, Joos. Henry VIII. c. 1530-5. Oil on panel. London. Royal Collection Trust.
2. Cycling Suit. 1896-98. Wool, Leather, Silk, Linen, Cotton. New York, NY. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
3. Marikevanroon20. Cloth of Gold. January 3, 2014. Golden cloth, woven with golden strips and crinkle cordonnet. Wikipedia.
4. Meyer, John. The Imperial Mantle. 1821. Cloth of gold, Silk, Gold. London. Royal Collection Trust.
5. Court Dress. c. 1750. Silk, Metallic thread. New York, NY. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
6. Tabart & Co. A Lady in Court Dress, 1805. October 24, 2015. Online image. Jane Austen’s World.

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Soundtrack:
“Magician” by Anbr
“Governor of the North” by Jo Wandrini
“Across Land and Sea” by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
“Mask of Byron” by Deskant
“Where it Started” by Spectacles Wallet and Watch
“The Winding Path” by Deskant
“Sins of the Fathers” by Deskant
“Mural Legends” by Adriel Fair
“The Kings Ransom by Bonnie Grace
“May You Have” by Bonnie Grace
“Where the Thistle Grows” by Bonnie Grace

0:00 What is “Historical Accuracy”?
3:24 Material Accessibility
9:01 (Here is Your One (1) S8 Roast)
9:08 Garment Construction and Design
13:32 Culture
18:21 Physical Constraints
21:32 Class
27:16 Trends
32:59 Individual Preferences/Character Psychology
34:29 Conclusion
35:37 A Word From HelloFresh (Ad)

Recommended costumes : game of thrones costume

37 thoughts on “Fantasy at its Finest: A Case Study on Crafting Historically Accurate Costumes for Game of Thrones”

  3. Alicia Ulloa

    Hello Bernadette 🖤 A question, do you think this topics are visible as well, and the logic behind it, in House of the Dragon? For me, there is some fabrics decisions that make me go out of the fantasy and ask "the fuck is that fabric", BUT at the same time I like that it's different because transports us to a different period of the continent and the reigning houses. Would you like to do a video of the HOTD costumes?

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  7. deniseg812

    First off, I want to say I love your channel, so interesting. You are talking about the hand sewing, can there be a machine, that can look that way, make those kinds of stitches? Just for our modern timeline?

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  9. RyanArtward

    I liked the little detail in the final seasons (despite all its flaws) the Dothraki had pieces of Lannister Armor on their clothing, as a trophy of their victory against them in the Reach. It fits their style, like their holy city which houses idols of conquered gods.

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  11. Ace Lightning

    In some fantasy settings, characters can change the way their clothing looks with a simple magical techique that even small children learn. What criteria for the materials, etc, apply to magical clothing?

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  14. Berry Stein

    This video feels like when there is a thing you have no interest in, but you SO happens to be facinated by, initiates long one-sided conversations with you about it and… You just get such joy from listening to their verbal university-type presentations that they somehow conjured on the spot.

    You know what I mean?

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  16. Dulguun tsg

    I have some questions about Dothraki culture.
    You can'trun around naked in +40C desert. kopesh is double handed infantry weapon (similar to dane axe). can not be sheated thus very cumbersome to carry around. their boots are not designed for sand dunes and steppe. and much more. there are some more questions but they are more of a culture thing than clothes and weapons so

    edit: Jamie wears same clothes for full season.

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  19. peccantis

    I always assumed Winterfell favoured raising black sheep and goats, not just to provide their Guard with woolens to match their dark brown and black pelts and furs without the need to waste resources on dyes (few of which would thrive in their climate anyways), and for whatever cultural reasons, but also because getting black from dyeing is really tricky and quite expensive (assuming their world has dyes similar to our world), so good colour-fast black wool can be one of the few exports Winterfell can compete with in the other kingdoms and rely on for trade. I imagine Winterfell guards its flocks quite jealously and forbids their sale live (to maintain their monopoly), but also imposes a total ban on importing goats and sheep to protect the purity of those flocks and ensure they retain the precious quality of their fleece.

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  20. lenanana8

    Thanks to you I've now started to critically evaluate the costumes in every vaguely historical tv show and film I watch for historical accuracy, even the fantasy and sci-fi ones. And I'm not even into fashion nor can I sew to save my life. Thanks so much Bernadette!

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  26. Vilma P

    glad you mentioned qarth – kinda dissapointed they left out the book's idea of them always baring their left breast lol. 

    also sansa's costuming is just perfect – when she's in king's landing after her father's death it is no longer safe for her to wear the stark colors, but neither can she bring herself to wear lannister red so all her dresses are in shades of lavender and purple – a color in between blue (stark) and red (lannister)!! her littlefinger dress was a really nice piece of work and later when she becomes lady of winterfell she copies both of her past mentors – she always has some sort of armor (similar to cersei) and a silver chain similar to littlefinger's. they also did this really cool symbolism with her dragonfly necklace which she's seen wearing when she's most herself (ie not playing a role or putting on a mask) – this ties into the story of jenny of oldstones/the prince of dragonflies and is a good callback to her love for songs. the dragonfly pendant notably dissapears after littlefinger/ramsay symbolizing that she is no longer that innocent girl. (i'm pretty sure it's a show only invention too as in the books she's much more associated with birds and wolves). and of course her coronation dress was a work of art. 

    also wanted to add i love that cersei is always wearing some sort of fashion armor which could be considered sort of masculine since in the books she has serious gender envy of jaime, and wishes she could have been born a boy instead, disdaining most women and seeing herself as superior to them. arya in later seasons wears the same clothes as the stark boys and her hair is a callback to ned's own hairstyle. and in house of the dragon (the targaryen spinoff) there's a very important plot point that has to do with queen alicent wearing green dresses (the hightower's beacon fire is green and lit in times of war) which is used by alicent as a political statement against the targaryen black.

    say what you will about the writing but the costuming for this show is insanely detailed.

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  31. Catherine Cao

    Considering how Planetos is set in a period of Medieval-Renaissance transition and Braavos is the ASoIaF Italy, it makes sense that Bernadette likes their fashion so much. They would be the most “fashion forward”

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  32. Killerwale 1098

    I'd say that GoT has some maybe not historical innacuracies, but historically logical inacuracies. Battle tactics tend to get a bit nonsensical, like the battle of the bastards or the long night. But this can be attributed to the rule of cool and the fact that apprently most people don't think historically accurate tactics are more fun. Let's use the battle of the bastards. The tactics require a crap ton of coördination and luck to even be possible, but the battle still feels real. This is what I like about GoT, they capture the feeling very well. The tactics, desperation and dirtyness feel real. Saving private Ryan's beginning scene is very similar. It captures the feeling perfectly yet isn't completely accurate, the big difference with the battle of the bastards being that it actually happened, so the tactics make more sense. I still love both though.

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  34. skyistaken

    I've never seen this YouTube channel. I've never seen game of thrones, and I want to and have rigidly avoided all spoilers even the minor such ones as featured in this video. Yet I couldn't find myself to leave. Your writing and research are amazing and your presentation is so engaging!

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