I love the idea of rival factions at the Royal court with distinct styles of dress and I think one with untapped potential is the Great Council’s decision to choose the next heir aka Rhaenys vs Viserys.
One of Rhaenys’s greatest strengths is that she comes from three different houses so she would always represent House Targaryen, House Baratheon, and House Velaryon with her clothes. I think her primary colors would be red and gold in a Velaryon style of dress. Red for her dragon (Meleys the Red Queen) and for the Targaryens, and gold for the Baratheons and to show off her wealth. I think she would wear House Velaryon’s colors if she did not she need to assert herself as the Targaryen heir. Wearing a Velaryon styled gown she uses more subtle ways to align herself with the Velaryons. (See the hairstyle drawings for a better crown.)
Additionally, while she is feminine, she knows that Westeros is hesitant to elect a female ruler so she tone down her femininity. Therefore, no low cut dresses and nothing formfitting and nothing too colorful. I see Velaryon style dresses being based on Old Valyria (aka the Byzantine Empire) so a lot of shapeless dresses with a single stripe down the front and a v collar so this works in her favor. Sometimes she would layer these dresses with robes or long sleeves as well. This choice is also encouraged because she would not want to remind Jaehaerys and Alysanne about their relationship to their daughters. She emulates Jahaerys by wearing heavy fabrics, dark colors, dragon scale embroidery, and heavy jewelry like livery collars and crowns. Additionally, Rhaenys would definitely take hunting and dragon riding as an opportunity to network so she would have a whole wardrobe for outdoor activities. This wardrobe would be largely earthy tones to make herself seem more approachable to her hunting party. Again, nothing form fitting so she would wear bloomer style pants or have balloon sleeves. She takes out her copper armor during more serious or more formal occasions.
However, she wouldn’t want to be too masculine because Westeros is not ready for that either. She would wear take fashion cues from Alysanne and wear surcoats, braids, and flowing sleeves in the shape of dragon wings. Inspired by her mother, Rhaenys would wear flared dresses, gable hoods, bejeweled hair bands, and sarafan style sleeves. She would also have elaborate embroidery, statement necklines, a mantle- a long vest or cloak-, prints, and beading on her dresses as well since it’s Velyron fashion. Additionally, Rhaenys would wear elaborate and tall hairstyles with statement hair accessories. Most of these would have metals and gems collected from Corlys’s travels. Corlys would even commission a crown similar to the iron throne and Jae’s crown for her to wear on special occasions.
Rhaenys would always have an updo with a statement piece similar to a crown. Maybe she would wear her hair in braids with pins and rings adorning it for an added flare. Pearls would certainly be her main accessories but use gems from Corlys’s travels to adorn her headwear as well. I think hair nets like snoods and cauls would be popular on Driftmark since they resemble fishnets so she would wear them often as well. Also, since she’s under more scrutiny than others, she would make sure her hair is something that wouldn’t be easily disheveled. This is where her mother’s Stormland roots would come into play with tight braids and gable hoods.
Viserys’s strength is that he is a male heir with Targaryen features however I think he’s very clueless so he and Aemma would -play it safe and take their style inspiration from Jaehaerys and Alysanne. For Aemma, this would mean a similar color palettes, similar hairstyles, silver accents, and clothes designed form the same tailor. However, Aemma would put her own personal touch on that. For example, Aemma would wear Houppelande or Burgundian style gowns because a Vale fashion. I also imagine these would have lower necklines, and more lace details than Alysanne or Rhaenys as a way to appear more feminine. She would also wear soft colors and soft fabrics to appear more approachable to other members at court. Additionally, unlike Rhaenys, her jewelry would be sourced from across Westeros to give her a home land advantage. She would befriend ladies at the court by having favorite jewelers and tailors from each of their regions. After all, there is no better way to gain allies by showing you have personal interest in their homes.
For her hair, Aemma would almost always be wearing some sort of headpiece. A hennin and stickelchen for indoor occasions, designed by the same headdress designers as Alysanne, the Arryns, and the Hightowers. To support the Westeros economy of course. Also, if she’s feeling homesick, she has a hennin shaped like a crescent moon that represents the moon door in the Vale. She also has double or triple coned hennins to resemble dragon horns. If Viserys makes some sort of fauxpaus, she would wear a ridiculous headpiece so people would have something else to talk about. On other occasions, she would wear veils, hair nets, and metal headpieces similar to Old Valyrian styles. If her hair is ever visible, I think she would wear it either wear with ribbons, pins, or in bound braids like Alysanne.
Also building on her relationship with Viserys, she would wear things that would appeal to his interests. Since he is so interested in the histories, she wears a lot of Old Valyrian inspired clothing. Her sleeves are inspired by Valyrian architectures such as battlements. Her hennins sometimes resemble spires. Her bodice can resemble ceiling beams and neckline can resemble buttresses. If she’s wearing a dress with multiple colors, it would be inspired by stained glass. The stained glass could also resemble the Sept which appeals to followers of the Faith people as well. I imagine Viserys would’ve written her a poem or song about a long extinct flower from Valyria and how he would grow fields of them for her if he could. Which might showcase their relationship- he’s all about hypothetical gestures that appeal to his interests. But, it would work on her while she’s young so some of her dresses are the same color as that extinct flower.
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