Clothing and hair design: Why is everything so...plain?

[Angmar]

I don't like the hairstyle women give themselves in the south. They look so frumpy.

[SNascimento]

GoT is one of the most elaborated series ever created. Only Rome comes to my mind with the same level of detail. I'd say most decisions are more about things looking good and believable than overbudget issues.

[Lady Arwen]

My only beef with the costume department is the fact that the Kingsguard armor is not white. Good on them for getting the white cloak in there, but come on. How hard would it have been to give them solid white armor?

[Faceless Face]

Which brings me to my last point/rant: haircuts.

Yunkish Whasshisname, Gendry, Joffrey, Petyr, they all have "modern" haircuts cut in a modern way. Makes me think of Spartacus the TV-series.

This is a trend we see everywhere now in movies and TV shows, everything is so stylish, dimmed, plain...and boring!

I love the HBO version of the books, I really do, but this bugs me a lot.

That is all.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news here...or Captain Obvious...but the trend of a specific decade's hairstyles inserted into every entertainment medium (even if it's sci-fi or fantasy) is as old as film/tv itself. It's always hilarious to me that I can always date a movie's decade by the hairstyles. Look at Star Wars...70s hairstyles for the win, the same 70's hairstyles that had dominated every movie/tv show in that decade. Same with the 80s...if a chick has big permed hair, congrats you're watching an 80s movie lol. The original Battle Star Galactica is another example...how do human tribes from across the universe all have Goldie Hawn's hair? It's true of pretty much all fantasy on film as well. Even "historic" ones...for those who've seen The Tudors...King Henry spends pretty much the whole series with an incredibly modern hairstyle, and he's not alone.

Now I agree with you that it's anachronistic and can be quite disruptive to the suspension of disbelief...but it's been happening for so long now that one probably shouldn't have high expectations for change within the medium :P.

Also this:

That sort of stuff sounds great and exotic in the books, but if people actually saw it on the screen they would be rolling on the floor with laughter.

There are descriptions in the books of hairstyles that make me roll on the floor with laughter...and that's just from the images Martin's description conjures in my mind...I mean the Mereneese literally have lawn sculptures on their heads...that's how I see it at least....dudes with afros carved into birds and flames and spikes and shit...and, though Daario always comes off douchey no matter what (as is intended I believe), I have a totally different image of him in my head while reading until the book reminds me the guy has a blue beard and golden teeth and dresses like if Louie XIV and Doctor Seuss had a baby....or basically just like the jester narrator guy from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame :P

So, while I'm all for more exotic, I gotta say there's a fair amount in the books I can't take seriously if imagined as the books described....mega-fop Daario and lawn-sculpture heads included. That said, the show could definitely do better/closer to the books, by all means.

[King Zee]

My only beef with the costume department is the fact that the Kingsguard armor is not white. Good on them for getting the white cloak in there, but come on. How hard would it have been to give them solid white armor?

they did. apparently white armour doesnt film well. -It has a washed out look. so they switched to golden armour.

[Howie Manderly]

Because a beard shaped and colored like a peacocks tail looks dumb

[sixgunbuddyguy]

some of the big factors have been covered: money, viewer reaction, how things look on camera. they other HUGE thing is time. every single thing they wear is custom made and tailored, not to mention everything has to be worn down to look like it is real and used and a lot of that is done by hand. and these prodcutions are already crazy and rushed.

[OrcusOfUndeath]

I also had this problem with the Wildlings. I mean they ALL look the same. There's exactly zero diversity. I expected to at least seen a Thenn or two in the background.

[Harnisfechten]

I think you guys need to open your eyes, These are some of the best costumes and armour I've ever seen on film.

no. not even close.

Have you looked at the costumes for almost everyone across the Narrow Sea? They look like extras from a cheaply-made dungeons&dragons or Conan movie. All the stupid boiled leather weird shaped armor, for example.

Then there's the wildlings. Why do they look to be dressed as cavemen? Patchwork furs and random pieces of material hanging every which way.

And then the shields in the show look absolutely atrocious. Whether it's the shields of the Unsullied, which look like flimsy plastic toys, to the shields of the Lannisters, those silly tiny sideways ovals.

Of course, some armor and weapons look amazing. Ice looked like a proper execution sword heirloom. The Lannister red armor looks good (minus the stupid uruk-hai helmets). The goldcloaks look good. Jorah's armor looks good.

[lakin1013]

Another factor is the historical time. Most folks seem to think this story happens near the Medieval time period. This is a time of dirt roads, horses, farm animals, fields, and so on. Clothes get dirty. Colors like browns and olives and grays hide dirt well. How about the history of dyes for clothing? At the time period of the middle ages, there was purple dye, red, blue, black, brown, and white. However, the extra work to go into coloring fabric was so expensive that only the very wealthy would have vibrantly colored clothing. Certainly washing machines were not invented so clothing had to be sturdy and wearable. I think much of the drab colors are reasonable.

I also think that Martin gave the readers a richer colored experience that would not translate well into a visual medium. Think Dario. He would look rather clown-like to us.

[HouseHarrison]

I always figured it added to the grittiness of the setting, and hits home that this is a grimmer take on fantasy.

[Blasted Femur]

Personally I'm really impressed by the costuming - the costume department manages to make the troops of the various armies (Lannister soldiers and the Unsullied in particular) look distinctive and memorable. The clothes worn by the main characters are also great - I love the little details like the flayed man on Roose's armour, the scaled Tully armour worn by Blackfish, and the roses on outfits worn by the Tyrells.

My only real gripes would be that Quaithe's dress was terrible (though her mask was pretty cool), and the Wildlings look a bit too uniform for my taste, which makes it hard to believe that Mance's armour is a union of dozens of tribes. Even so, the effort that goes into their costumes is incredible.

[liefde]

My biggest problem with the hair design (other than the colour of Cercei's wig) is the fact that characters like Osha, Jaime, Gendry, Arya, etc are covered in a ridiculous amount of dirt and filth, but their hair is always brushed and styled. I don't understand how Osha could pin back her hair and keep it brushed (this season) if she can't even wash her face.

[Tori Targaryen]

That sort of stuff sounds great and exotic in the books, but if people actually saw it on the screen they would be rolling on the floor with laughter.

This. You can get away with such things in the imagination, but in actuality it would be laughable, or look like a kid's fairytale.

[digiFemme]

A lot dull, drab and dirty clothing makes sense, given that Westeros is modeled after medieval society. Catelyn's travelling outfit needn't have been anything but practical while she was travelling and making camp with Robb. That said, as a lady of a noble house whose husband is Warden of the North- in the proper context like in some of the scenes at Winterfell where they were receiving Robert Baratheon's entourage, when she met with Walder Frey the first time to strike a deal, at the Eyrie visiting her sister during Tyrion's trial and even at Riverrun- I felt her attire (also Ned and co's attire) ought to have been less casual, less 'practical' and a bit dressier. Formal occasions and the nobility, you know.

Places like the wildling camp, etc. - no problem with costume/design there. But at King's Landing which is a seat of wealth in the entire Westeros- well overall, they did a good job but I have some crits-

Sansa's been wearing nothing but dark, drab gowns this season but I figured she was doing it on purpose to distance herself from the rest of the Southerners. So, ok there. I just hope the gown she was trying on for Joffrey's wedding isn't the one she eventually uses- it looked more like a sleeping robe. She looked radiant in her scenes with Loras. But in her wedding scene she looked too pale (understandably so, I suppose) while in the scene before that where Margaery was fangirling Tyrion, her eyes were made to look too red.

Cersei's another one who looked too pale during Tyrion's wedding. She looked perfect in most of season two, though. And like I said earlier, her red gown which ought to have looked striking at the reception looked black under the yellow lighting.

Dany's eyebrows ought to be lightened up a bit. I get that Emilia's proud of her eyebrows but with a white wig it looks odd. It wasn't that dark in seasons 1 and 2- only in this season.

The one thing that has been annoying me this season is the fact Margaery is always wearing the same dress.

She's not- it's just a different gown with the same color. Kind of like how Cersei is almost always in red whereas Sansa's in some dull grey outfit this season. Compared to Sansa and Cersei, Margaery's fared better in terms of costume and makeup. Her hair is never pulled back so severely you would think she'd get a migraine (I just really hate the southern hairstyle XD) and I don't think she's ever had a scene in season 3 where she looked pasty. Again, in Tyrion's wedding scene her make up was perfect and hardly overdone- but both Sansa and Cersei were made to look washed out, not to mention that horrible pile of hair.

[Harnisfechten]

the medieval period was not nearly as brown and grey and drab as commonly thought.

It wasn't all:

there was lots of:

and:

and:

and: