Audiences have come to expect three big things from Game of Thrones: wild plot twists, a
fair amount of bloodshed, and gorgeous costumes.
Spoiler alert: the series finale included the characteristic trio, and placed an unexpected
emphasis on the last of the three.
During the closing montage of the Game of Thrones finale, viewers watched as Sansa Stark
prepared herself for her coronation as Queen in the North, now a completely separate kingdom
with its own ruler.
It was a full-circle moment for Sansa, and the outfit she wore featured several tiny
details that paid tribute to her incredible journey.
Here are all the hidden meanings behind Sansa's final Game of Thrones look.
The first nod to Sansa's evolution from a meek girl wanting to marry Joffrey Baratheon
to an independent woman who would do anything to protect her family is found in her intricate
chest plate.
Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton explained that the bodice features "the growing
branches of the weirwood tree," the tree important to the Stark family, found in the godswood
of Winterfell.
Within the series, plenty of pivotal moments happen beneath the weirwood tree: Night's
Watch recruits making their vows, Jon Snow reuniting with Arya, and Arya killing the
Night King once and for all.
The weirwood tree,, is a place of worship for House Stark.
That Sansa's coronation dress features its branches is quite special.
The chest plate itself is also significant in that it shows a softer side of Sansa: she's
sported armor before, but this is more delicate, worn for peace and not war.
Speaking of the weirwood tree, one of the two belled sleeves of Sansa's dress is embroidered
with deep red, five-pointed leaves, the same ones found on the sacred tree.
In the novels written by George R.R. Martin, weirwood trees are said to live forever if
they are properly cared for and left undisturbed.
This is seemingly what Sansa intends to do with the North: preserve it so that it may
never fall.
Not only do the leaves on Sansa's costume honor House Stark, but they also provide a
drastic contrast to her younger self who desperately wanted to be a Southern queen and not a Northern
girl.
They also show that she is finally in the exact place she was meant to be.
Moreover, they link to her brother's recent inauguration as King of Westeros and to the
attitude of the North as a whole.
The sleeves themselves are symbolic as well, as they and Sansa's entire dress are made
from the same fabric as two other iconic Game of Thrones outfits.
Clapton revealed that she utilized the fabric from the "dark Sansa dress," seen on the eighth
episode of the fourth season when Sansa unveiled her mysterious new look to Littlefinger.
"Shall we go?"
That dress was made using the fabric of the costume Margaery Tyrell wore when she married
Joffrey.
When she lived in King's Landing, Sansa went to great lengths to blend in with the Southern
women around her, and took a particular interest in Margaery, who tried to help Sansa escape
the Lannisters' viciousness.
Sansa also wears a feathered, embroidered direwolf stole around her neck and across
her shoulder as a tribute to House Stark.
Clapton noted that Sansa's sleeves are textured with the same feathers and fur as the stole.
To top everything off is Sansa's crown, an intricate ring that meets in the middle to
show two direwolves howling.
The crown symbolizes Sansa's dedication to her family and to the North, and even looks
similar to the crown Cersei Lannister wore in her later years when she sat on the Iron
Throne.
Cersei taught the Stark girl many lessons, not the least of which regarded what not to
do when you rise to power.
"I'll be a good wife to him, you'll see.
I'll be a queen just like you, I promise.
I won't hatch anything."
The crown rests atop Sansa's fiery hair, worn down and without any braids or twists.
Her hair in this final look sends an impactful message about what she's been through and
where she intends to go.
All throughout her life, Sansa has worn her hair in styles of varying complexity, each
of which was meant to mimic the people whom she wanted to be like.
Sansa's humble braids during the first few episodes of Game of Thrones showed that she
was a Northern girl.
Her wild up-dos during her years at King's Landing emulated Cersei Lannister's styles.
Her pulled-back braids reflected the style her late mother used to wear, and the heavily
braided styles seen on the later episodes of the series evoked the 'dos Daenerys Targaryen
wore, with each braid indicating a battle won in the Dothraki tradition.
"Have you seen those Dothraki dudes?
They can get it.
Everybody on that show can get it."
Wearing her hair loose and unadorned shows that Sansa isn't trying to be anyone else
other than herself, and a few fans have even drawn parallels between Sansa's coronation
hair and that of real-life Queen Elizabeth I.
Both women faced abuse throughout their lives, and both opted for coronation hairstyles that
held deep significance.
Cultural critic and expert on Renaissance literature Anthony Oliveira said in an interview
with Vox that Sansa, quote, "learned the same lessons as Elizabeth" and the two women channeled
their changing power through their physical appearance.
He explained:
"When it's time for [Elizabeth's] coronation, she wears her hair down, which is a big, big
deal.
It signals her virginity: to be unadorned for her, is the ultimate adornment...[The
showrunners] have been building this throughout: Sansa is a seamstress, she loves embroidery,
she's learned how to be image-conscious.
That was Elizabeth's game."
Like costume designer Michele Clapton said, "nothing is created without meaning."
Every aspect of Sansa's finale look was significant, and they all came together to create a lasting
image of the person she was destined to become.
The aspiring Queen of Westeros is now the Queen in the North, and long may she reign.
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