As times get rougher, Cersei begins to incorporate armour into her costumes, made in the style of the armour worn by members of her house. It is made in this way to symbolise being shielded by her family and their power. It was also representative of her need to be seen as an equal of the males of her house who, while the armoured gown is being worn by Cersei, are defending their home the Red Keep from seige. Up until this point in the show, Cersei had been overshadowed by her husband, and previously dressed in very dull and pale colours. After his death, she began dressing in bolder colours, such as the regal red of this gown. Red is symbolic of power and danger, fitting for a character like Cersei, who is sick of being underestimated and willing to do whatever she must to both protect her and her children and quench her thirst for power. The gold of the armour is symbolic of her high social standing and position as queen regent, as well as the wealth of her family.
Detailed on the dress itself are birds in flight, seeming to be breaking free in the same way Cersei had after the death of her husband. The delicate look of the dress is contrasted heavily by the lions engraved on the golden armour, both a sigil of her original house (not her husband’s, which is a stag) as well as being a fierce and dangerous creature. This dress is very symbolic of Cersei’s storyline at this point in the show, as she rises out of her husband’s shadow and becomes her own person and gains power for herself.
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The Work of Michele Clapton 
