Whatever you think of the way that Game of Thrones ended, there's no denying that at least one element of the show was stunning from start to finish: the costumes. Created by award-winning costume designer Michele Clapton, the costumes are incredibly beautiful, detailed, and packed with hidden details and elements that relate to the character's story and development.
For Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), his costumes reflect his divided loyalties to House Stark and House Greyjoy, as well as his journey from Ward to traitor, to Reek, to hero. From the book 'Game of Thrones: The Costumes', as well as from the series itself, we can see just how much thought went into the costumes that Theon wears throughout his journey.
It Combines Stark & Greyjoy Elements At The Start...
Theon is a Greyjoy, but has lived with the Starks for years as a ward; somewhere in between an honored guest and a child used to hold the Greyjoy family to ransom, preventing them from attacking. He is torn between these two families, and in the beginning, his costume looks very Stark in style, but is in the grey and stone colors of his birth family. This represents his torn loyalties.
... And Again In The Final Season
By the end of the show, Theon has reclaimed some of his heritage, but his costume shows that he has also come to terms with his connection to the Starks. Unlike the start of the show, he has switched from Greyjoy to Stark colors, but wears a style that combines elements of Greyjoy clothing with the leather straps that the Starks wear. It shows that he wants to recognize the Starks, but he is now his own person.
He Wears Three Kraken Symbols By The End
Each house in Game of Thrones has their own sigil: the Starks have the direwolf, the Lannisters have the lion, and the Greyjoys have the kraken. By the end of the series, as Theon reclaims his heritage as a Greyjoy, he has an increasing number of Krakens on his clothes. He has one large one on his chestpiece, but he also has a smaller, more ornate one on his belt, and a third on his scabbard.
His Kraken Was Slashed Into His Final Costume
Of these three, the biggest symbol is that of the kraken on his doublet, but there is something different about this one. While the other symbols of the Kraken he wears throughout the show are carefully embroidered or wrought, this symbol was designed to look as though it was slashed into the leather.
The reason is that Theon would have had to create much of this himself, and he would have been able to add this 'sigil' on his own, with his own blade.
He Always Had a Greyjoy Kraken On Him
While his final kraken symbols were the most prominent, they are far from the only symbols that Theon has on him throughout the show. His initial costume, although it appears Stark in style, actually includes a Kraken on his cloak. It's something that many fans may miss, on first watch, but from the start, Theon has work his house sigil with pride.
His Reek Costume Includes A Collar
Essentially the only time that Theon does not wear anything of the Starks or Greyjoys is when he is captured and tortured into becoming Reek. At this point, he wears a costume that is the same as the servants at Winterfell, with a few alterations. Unlike most of the servants, his outfit as Reek also includes a fabric 'collar' - something that is designed specifically to show his subservience and position as a slave.
In Real Life, His Clothes Would Smell Like Fish
Many of the clothes in Game of Thrones were designed to look like real metal/leather/etc, but were actually other materials - something created so that the actors wouldn't have to deal with the weight or difficulty of the real thing. For the Greyjoys, one major alteration was made to the smell of the clothes.
In 'real life', the Greyjoys would have coated their clothing with fish oil to protect it, but in the show, this was skipped for the sake of the actors. Instead, most of the costumes were beeswax-covered linen, so they smelled lightly of wax.
His Wedding Outfit Paid Homage To Catelyn Stark
Despite the fact that Catelyn Stark was killed off quite early in the show, her presence was felt for many seasons after in the costumes of her children... and of Theon Greyjoy. Catelyn is one of the only characters in the show to wear brocade (a nod to her wealthy house, and something that separates her from the born Northerners). Theon's wedding costume to escort Sansa to her marriage to Ramsey also included a brocade cloak, as a tribute to Catelyn.
He Never Wears Traditional Greyjoy Clothing
While some of Theon's costumes may include nods to his house and heritage, there are a few elements of Greyjoy clothing that he never wears. One is the lacings of the Greyjoy clothes. The Iron Islanders wear clothing with lacing to represent the fact that they probably slept in those clothes, staying laced in for days at a time - Yara and Euron wear this, as well as clothing of a rougher texture, but Theon never does. This shows that even though he reclaims his heritage by the end, he is never truly, totally, a Greyjoy.
His Initial Costume Reveals Both Pretentiousness And Poverty
In the first season of Game of Thrones, Theon's costume was designed to show that Theon had some very high ideas of his own importance... but not as much money as he wishes. His cloak, although similar in style to those of the Stark children, has only a cheap, rabbit-fur collar, and is much thinner than the Stark cloaks. However, his doublet is overly ornate, showing his desire for finer things. The combination was created to show his place in the Stark household, and the place that he wishes he held.