Cersei Lannister is one of the most iconic characters on Game of Thrones. Since season one, the character has gripped us with her political scheming, angered us with her selfish and cunning plans, and even made us sympathize with her as she lost her dignity in conflict with the Faith Militant. One particularly interesting element of Cersei is her choice of outfit. While this may appear to be a superfluous element of the production, her outfit often gives away certain plot points or acts as a mirror to how Cersei is feeling at that moment.
This article will list Cersei Lannister’s 10 best costumes across the seasons of Game of Thrones.
10 Season One Cersei
When we’re first introduced to Cersei Lannister, she is seen as the adulterous wife of King Robert Baratheon. Yet, she is also seen as a character with legitimate grievances. Her father did not recognize Cersei for her actual potential. Instead, he saw her as a mere object of negotiations between houses. This meant that she was simply seen as a negotiating chip by her father.
Her above dress is one of her most iconic. It captures her personality perfectly in the show, yet also serves to conceal just how venomous she can be.
9 Blackwater Outfit
The Battle of Blackwater was one of the most intense and gripping episodes of Game of Thrones. The episode was centered around Stannis’ invasion of King’s Landing, with many expecting Stannis to sweep through the city and take the Iron Throne.
As a consequence of this fear, Cersei and Sansa hid within the Red Keep. The dress is easily one of her best ever and features the classic Lannister colors, it’s just a shame that she only wore it in such a terrifying situation.
8 Cersei Black Scales
The first is one of many outfits from Cersei’s ‘dark phase’ that will appear in this list. Towards the end of Game of Thrones, Cersei began to wear darker clothes. In the earlier seasons, Cersei would generally wear bright clothes that even sometimes reflected the colors of her family, House Lannister.
The change to black, however, also appeared to be an ode to her faster of Tywin Lannister, who was also prone to wearing black.
7 Night’s Watch Cersei
While not strictly speaking a Night’s Watch costume, it certainly looks like it mirrors the uniforms of the Watchers on the Wall. Cersei looks incredible in this outfit; it makes her look intimidating and continues with the trend of black that Cersei followed toward the end of the series.
This outfit, however, had another purpose in the show. Cersei was attempting to hide her pregnancy, which had to be taken into account in the design of this dress.
6 Cersei Black Dress
This dress is an example of one of the many grieving dresses that Cersei would wear. In this image, Cersei is wearing a funnel neck black dress for Tywin’s funeral in season 5. The death of Tywin signified a change in House Lannister. For years, the family had relied on the strength of their father in order to assert themselves politically and it was because of this that they had grown so powerful in Westeros.
This changed with Tywin’s death and kickstarted the transformation that Cersei would go through, resulting in her sitting on the Iron Throne.
5 Cersei’s Last Outfit
This is the final outfit that Cersei would wear in Game of Thrones and it is easily one of her best. The outfit features the shades of black that have become common with Cersei but also features a return to the Lannister crimson and gold. The final outfit is a combination of some of the colors she is most well known for.
This costume works as a kind of ‘greatest hits’ of Cersei’s outfits and is the perfect outfit the character to wear in her final appearance on the show.
4 Northern Cersei
The first time we see Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, she arrives wearing an outfit designed for winter temperatures. While this is the only time we see the character dressed like this, it is a very interesting look for the character. It shows Cersei embracing a kind of “Stark” look, and it looks great on her.
It is just a shame that we never got to see Cersei wear this outfit again, as it really was a fantastic look that could’ve been used later in the series, particularly when winter approaches King’s Landing.
3 Red Dress
The red dress is the closest thing to an iconic Cersei look we can get. The red dress and the long flowing, golden hair are the perfect representation of the Lannister colors. This is also, arguably, Cersei at her peak in the show. While she did not have the full power of Queen, she had her son on the throne and her family around her.
This costume occurs during the time of Margaery and Cersei’s fashion conflict and before the death of Joffrey would kickstart a cycle of grief for Cersei.
2 Armored Look
From season 7 onwards, Cersei begins to wear more militaristic outfits that resemble armor far more closely than dresses. The armored look symbolizes Cersei’s shift away from having to use her beauty or sexuality for power. Rather, her power is her power. She has risen to the most powerful position in Westeros, and she is going to defend this position with all she has.
The armored look of her outfit also hints at the wars to come in Westeros and shows that the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms is ready for Daenerys and her dragons.
1 Queen Cersei
Queen Cersei is by far Cersei’s best look on Game of Thrones. Her queen outfit is the reflection of where she has wanted to be all of her life, she is the most powerful woman in Westeros and no longer has to rule beside a king with the power to check her own decisions and opinions. She is the sole ruler of the seven kingdoms and she has reached her goal.
Additionally, she no longer has to pretend there is a Baratheon on the throne, the Lannister lion is proudly seen on her crown.