Top 10 Costumes of Time

The Best Dressed Characters in Season 1 of the Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime

This article contains spoilers for Season 1 of the Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime as well as references to character descriptions and lore from the book series.

Three Sitters for the Blue Ajah are seated on white stone chairs. The first wears a long-sleeved flowing gown with a wide blue belt at the waist. The second, Maighin, wears a blue pants suit and jacket with high brown boots. The third wears a tunic and pants with high black boots, and a hijab-like blue head covering.

In a previous Maidens’ List cataloging the most book-inspired elements of the Wheel of Time TV Series, we revealed our obsession with Costume Designer Isis Mussenden’s Aes Sedai designs. Not only did she choose a gorgeous color palette, she created a completely unique set of looks for each nationality in the Westlands, including places we never visit in Season 1. Thanks to Mussenden’s thorough planning, each Sitter in the Hall of the Tower has her own uniquely identifiable style, from the Tairen of the Brown Ajah to the Shienaran of the Gray.

A concept board for the 7 Aes Sedai Ajahs, divided into columns with swatches of fabric and images for, from left to right, the red, brown, yellow, green, blue, gray, and white Ajahs.

Today, we're moving away from the Hall and looking at the best costumes worn by major characters on the Wheel of Time. This is a difficult task, because in truth, we could say something positive about every costume on the show. Regardless of personal opinion on what looks the best or is most faithful to the books, it's impossible to ignore the level of meticulous detail that went into these costumes. Every cut, every stitch, every choice of fabric color or texture, every leather accessory or line of embroidery all work together to tell a story with one cohesive aesthetic. But it wouldn't be Maidens' List if we didn't narrow it down to the Top 10, so here are our picks for the most outstanding costumes from Season 1.

10. Thom

Close up of Thom Merrilin looking over his shoulder suspiciously, with Mat in the foreground. Thom wears a thick brown corduroy overcoat with double lapels over a purple waistcoat with gold buttons, and blue high necked shirt.

If you’ve ever read this column before, you’ll know this isn’t the first time Thom Merrilin has made the cut. It's actually quite possible the Gleeman will show up on all of our Lists forevermore. Self-proclaimed #ThomBias aside, we can’t imagine we were the only ones to fully lose their minds when Thom approaches his seat at The Four Kings and sweeps back the tails of his overcoat, revealing colorful patches in the lining. Don’t lie, you made some kind of noise.

Glimpse of the colorful patched lining of Thom's coat, held out behind his legs for a moment as he sits down on a barrel, holding his guitar.

While some were disappointed Thom didn’t don the proper patchwork Gleeman’s Cloak™, we think his purple waistcoat and thick brown, double-lapeled corduroy coat mesh better with the overall aesthetic of the show, while still allowing Thom to stand out as a little more flamboyant than most, in both cut and color. Plus, the choice to hide the patches of color is more realistic for a dangerous man who might need to blend into a crowd, or conceal himself in the dark so he can throw knives at unsuspecting Darkfriends.

9. Egwene

Madeleine Madden as Egwene al'Vere, wearing a light blue-gray linen blouse and gray-brown pleated skirt with a brown belt. She stands outside the Winespring Inn, serving Tam breakfast.

From afar, Egwene’s costume might not stand out all that much in the Two Rivers. At first glance, you might think she is wearing a plain light blouse and dark skirt (book readers will know what this might call to mind), but when you look closer, the pieces are bursting with color and detail.

The blouse proves to be delicate linen in the palest of blues, with a unique, asymmetrical closure and lines of cream-colored embroidery—certainly finer and more elaborate than anyone else’s, indicating her status as the Mayor’s daughter. And the gray skirt isn’t a solid color after all, but has a subtle plaid pattern with golden trim. Her stout leather belt is finished with intricate metalwork.

Egwene and Rand sitting on a mountainside. Rand stares lovingly at Egwene as she stairs into the distance. Here, we can see maroon leggings and black boots sticking out from underneath Egwene's skirt, as she sits with her knees up.

Yet the Egwene we know and love is practical, ambitious, and hard-working, so she layers her fine linens over a pair of sensible-looking leggings and soft boots. With the Two Rivers’ Five wearing essentially the same clothes through all 8 Episodes, it was important to get their costumes right, and Egwene’s is spot-on.

Close up of Egwene wearing a rust-colored hooded jacket with fuzzy cream colored lining.

And although it doesn’t look all that different from a First Age hoodie on a knit trench jacket, we love that cozy hooded overcoat she wears on the road.

8. Mat

Barney Harris as Mat Cauthon walks through the village green in the Two Rivers, wearing a light brown linen tunic, long olive green sweater with overly long arms, and loose-fitting brown pants. Over his shoulder is the wide leather strap of a satchel bag.

You don’t have to be the prettiest to be the best, especially if you're charming enough. Not only does book-Mat know this on a cellular level, it’s also true of his costume on the show. Mat’s look is perfect because it immediately indicates his less fortunate background, especially in comparison to his friends’ clothing. And when you look a little closer, you can see layers of detail that make it so much more than a raggedy shirt and sweater.

Close up of Mat cuddled up in his thin sweater with arms crossed, facing the sunrise.

What really stands out about Mat’s costume is the textures. While his fraying, threadbare sweater left him “a little chilly,” its loose weave still looks soft and cuddly, almost like a woven blanket. Given his poorness on the show, it could very well have been made out of an old blanket to save a few coins on fabric.

We also love the decision to make his sleeves too long, as if he undid the cuffs to keep his hands a little warmer. And the sleeves seem to take on a life of their own, emoting along with Mat as he talks, or flailing as he runs.

Close up of Mat's hands with the tattered lining of his coat worn around his fingers as if fingerless gloves. He holds his coin purse in his hand.

Of course, Mat needs to carry around a dice cup and be prepared for a little rough-and-tumble action, so naturally his accessories game is on point—he rocks a hipster satchel, fingerless gloves fashioned out of the tattered lining of his coat, and some ill-fitting suspenders (glimpsed briefly during his chaotic run through the Winternight attack).