Hanfu, Kimono, and Hidden Messages in Game of Thrones’ Costume Design 

European clothing has a similar rule, except it’s the other way round - ladies’ garments button to the left, so the right flap sits on top of the left one, whereas with a man’s garment, it’s the other way round. As the costume designer is western, and therefore habituated to the western conventions regarding clothing, that may well have influenced her designs, whether or not consciously.

That's so interesting! Even if it was a mistake, your clever interpretation makes it more intriguing :D

Hello, Ally, you've raised a very interesting topic to discuss. I've heard of clothes folding rules when was on Aikido seminar - one girl folded to the left and the sensei said that it fits only dead((( - since that moment I'm trying to notice each single folding order in clothes))) So in Game Of Thrones - that was really weird to watch them folded like dead... I was wondering about that just like you and had no answer. The only thing I can say that your theory is 100% reasonable and it's definitely possible that the folding side is chosen for the purpose to show who is gonna die... Some kind of spoiler for those who understands the roots of eastern clothing))) Can't provide any decent info at this point but definitely share your ideas - I'm so happy to be not alone in asking that sort of question)))

OMG!! Did not realise that little detail! Could have been an hint ! Thank you for this information ! So insightful and informative! 😮

A good way to remember how to wear kimono/yukata and hanfu correctly is to think of 'leftover rice' (left over right)

this is actually the european custom: men's clothes overlap left over right and women's clothes wrap right over left. In one of the first pictures you can see the different directions between men's and women's clothing

This has shown a fact that "Nothing is coincidence"...

It might well had a meaning, but in western costumes, the female coats, blazers, shirts, trousers etc typically wrap right over left, while men's wrap left over right. I think she might have just followed this rule.

interesting theory. Though I think the folding the dress to left is because the show is western and our dresses or shirts are mainly folded left(but not always). So, maybe, maybe, it was a fashion choise, who knows, but this is just my theory on the topic.

I thought I was the only one who glanced some Asian features upon game of thrones clothing!!! Thank you for teaching all of this

Wow, that's really eye opening!! I never knew why the right was over the left, just that it was important and proper. Thank you for explaining! This was really insightful!

Hi Ally, I am a re-enactor that portrays a Japanese-English character during the years 1521 - 1533. As such, I actually dress more samurai than traditional female Japanese. In my extensive studies, the wrapping of the kimono right over left is not just for the dead. The Chinese considered it a sign of barbarism because it was easier for right-handed people to wrap them this way. So in 718, during the Nara period, the Yoro Clothing Code was enacted instituting clothing restrictions wholly influenced by China and explicitly based on the Tang dynasty. Codes, The law enacted basically stipulated that commoners should wear a kimono with the left side (from the wearer) layered over the right so the wearers could be distinguished from barbarians, or basically all robes. Here is a decent timeline on the history of Japanese clothing, at least: Yayoi period (Neolithic to Iron Age) - slight evidence of straight front fastened clothing Kofun period (300-538 CE) - In the Kofun period, the right side was wrapped over the left (unlike in China), and the overlapped edge was secured with ties on the right side (as seen on clay figurines) Asuka period (538-710 CE) - both wore round-necked front-fastening hō with non-overlapping lapels, the front, collar, and cuffs edged with contrasting fabric, possibly an underlayer; the ran skirt, above knee-length, had a matching edge. Below the ran and extending below it to about knee length, a more heavily-pleated contrasting skirt called a hirami was worn. Below the hirami, men wore narrow hakama with a contrasting lower edge, and women wore a pleated mo long enough to trail. The Takamatsuzuka Tomb (c. 686 CE) is a major source of information for upper-class clothing of this period. By this time, the hō lapels overlapped (still right side over left), and the hō and mo were edged with pleated frills, replacing the hirami. Kanmuri (black gauze caps stiffened with lacquer) were being worn by male courtiers, and were regulated in the 11th regnal year of Emperor Tenmu (~684 CE); this fashion persists in formal use into the 21st century. Nara period (710-794) - Women's upper-class dress consisted of a left-over-right lap-fronted top (over a similar underrobe), and a wrapped, pleated skirt (mo). Women also sometimes wore a lap-fronted over vest and a narrow rectangular stole. Men's upper-class dress had narrow, unpleated (single-panel) hakama (trousers) under a loose, mandarin-collared coat (hō (袍)), with elaborate hats of stiffened open-weave black cloth (kanmuri). Clothing was belted with narrow sashes. Nara-period women's clothing was heavily influenced by Tang-dynasty China. Women adopted tarikubi (垂領, "drape-necked") collars, which overlapped like modern kimono collars, though men continued wearing round agekubi (上領, "high-necked") mandarin collars, which were associated with scholasticism, only later adopting tarikubi. Lower-body garments (mo and hakama) had been worn under the outermost upper-body garments, but now, following the newer Chinese fashion, they transitioned to being worn on top (again, by women, but not yet by men). In 718 CE, the Yoro Clothing Code was instituted, which stipulated that all robes had to be overlapped at the front with a left-to-right closure, following typical Chinese fashions.  China considered right-over-left wraps barbaric. This convention of wear is still followed today, with a right-to-left closure worn only by the deceased now. Hope this helps a little.

Looks like Westeros has adopted some things from Yi Ti.

It mind blown for me thx for making this video

I think the costumes designer just followed the western traditional system that you can see in shirts with frontal buttons... Men have the left side on top of the right side, women the right side on top of the left. We do it automatically, so might have done the show's costumes designer too.

Very interesting. I wish i could fine some traditional clothing for me to wear and not just party costumes.

I knew the detail about kimono but never watched GOT. That was a great video! It would be really interesting to find out if it was intentional :)

Wow, very shocking finding you made here. I never realized that detail while watching all the seasons of GoT. Your video in very insightful.

I don't think this was an intentional hint. Even though the designer drew her inspirations from all over the world and took the wrap-dress aesthetics of hanfu and kimonos, in most of the Western world, we tend to wrap our dresses and robes to the left. In fact, most of our nightrobes have a tie on the inside right to fasten the left flap before folding the right flap over it and tying it with the robe's sash/belt. I did a general search for "wrap dress" here I went to the bottom of the page and only found 4 dresses that tied on the right, and I can't be 100% sure those photos weren't just flipped accidentally. I'm not sure why we do that, always tying it on the left, except that maybe this is just how the designers tie it on the mannequin when looking at it if they are right-handed, and so it has become the standard thing to do. I feel like the costume designer for Game of Thrones probably approached it the same way, having the mock-up gown on the dress form and she just fastened everything to the left. It's an intriguing theory, though. :)

Very interesting...mind boggling even..i am a kdrama and cdrama fan so i can'thelp but notice the similarity between ancient korean and chinese costumes..so my question has been answered..i really love everything you've been discussing on your videos..i get to have a deeper understanding of the ancient chinese culture which i am very fond of..im a sucker for history by the way..looking forward to more topics in the future..thanks

This was deeply insightful! Thank you for your information 😊🙏

哇塞！很有意思的！ Your contents are so interesting and useful. You gave logical explanation and excellent analysis about it. Keep going 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💐💐💐

even if this isn't the intention, it's such a cool thing that winds up working anyway

Nice finding！很好的發現

Wow very interesting and informative! Thank you for making this video!

Thanks for this insightful video.

It wasn’t just the dresses in GoT, but the Lannister’s armour was Japanese samurai inspired. Very very cool

In the West, ladies' clothes wrap the right side across the left for reasons unknown since around the 19th century. The favourite, if unproven theory is that men would reach with their right hand under their coats for weapons. The other unproven theory is that men dressed themselves so they buttoned and fastened their clothes themselves while ladies were dressed by maids so the stuff was the other way to conform to the one who dressed the person, and it was a maid or someone else who sewed the dress. But those are just-so explanations as the distinction is sorta systematically made for about 150 years, maybe200.

Please make more videos, I beg you!

Hahahaha I couldn’t stop laughing when you went through the fact that everyone was dead.

.... this was the most subtle roast i'd ever seen Aly lmao

A very interesting view upon this detail. However I think it's more of a western thing, as for male dress it is indeed left over right, and for females clothing is generally right over left. Something they seemed to have adhered to, if you look at the shot of Oberyn Martell and Cersei Lannister side by side. The basis of this difference I've been told seemed to lie in the fact that everyone should've been right handed and men could clothe themselves, whereas women needed to be clothed... Tho I'm no historian and haven't properly researched this, so do take it with a pinch of salt...

Do a video about Gamoras home planet from Avengers Infinity war ( NOT the comic book ). The movie production adopted Chinese clothing for the their movie. Not people realize it.

This is interesting 😊

Interesting theory. However, I think it‘s a Western thing. If you look at Western clothing, it‘s always left over right for men: coats, shirts, trousers/jeans. (For trousers, think right-handed handling after opening zippers, if you know what I mean.) And for women it‘s right over left.

I think if it were intentional, Sansa would have been wrapped to the right, as an Easter egg. Because hers was also to the left, it's probably a mistake..

Thursday. All these actors' characters had a very important appointment at on thursday at 4.

I did know that right over left clothing means DEATH. Even though I have never seen Game of Thrones, I do understand what you are getting at. Western culture is different, though. Right over left is for girls, and left over right is for men. Just thought you would like to know this. ~Janet in Canada

I would assume the costume designer made a conscious choice to fold left to differentiate from the influence of the kimono.

Mind blown. 😂

I think it was a mistake but if sansas were folded on the right side it would have been super genius

I wouldn't say it was intentional, nor a mistake. Just more of a regional outfit kind of thing. The same thing can mean different things in another culture, so in the Lannister family that could just be how they dress. But who knows, it's still a solid observation!

I have a man's uniform shirt and a woman's uniform shirt. It feels very strange when I put on the men's shirt because it fastens from the wrong side to me. I suspect that in western clothing women fasten their clothes to the left and men to the right. I Heard of a western woman who put on a yukata, and had an elderly Japanese woman walk up to her and retie the yukata in the correct (non funeral way)

每个朝代的服饰都有差别，日本的吴服和春秋战国汉时期的服饰非常像。

I dont think so she had any hidden messages. I see all the wrapped blouses/ dresses sold in the U.S. right over left.

HAHA I"M DEAD! LOL

it just mean the actresses were dressed by someone else like the aristocrats of old

La historia de la peluqueria= desvelandolapeluqueria.blogspot.com/

Sorry Emma, there's no secret meaning - most Western clothes (e.g. coats) fold from right to left.

抄襲大師！

Very interesting...mind boggling even..i am a kdrama and cdrama fan so i can'thelp but notice the similarity between ancient korean and chinese costumes..so my question has been answered..i really love everything you've been discussing on your videos..i get to have a deeper understanding of the ancient chinese culture which i am very fond of..im a sucker for history by the way..looking forward to more topics in the future..thanks