The Traitors fashion explained: Knitwear, jumpsuits and Cluedo

Crime writer Harriet wasn’t entirely convinced that Rachel was a traitor; until I saw her wearing a red dress the day after a key moment in the series.

“He looked so polished and professional… whereas before he was wearing kid-friendly saris and dungarees and looked like a Minion,” Harriet told BBC Local.

For the contestants on the reality TV show The Traitors, it’s not just what they say or how they act, but how they dress that shapes other cast members’ opinions of them.

“What we wear says a lot about us,” says Carolyn Mair, chartered psychologist and author of The Psychology of Fashion. He says some of the contestants handled their outfits “very carefully and very well.”

“Their clothes become their character.”

Mair says the latest series of The Traitors, which concludes on Friday, is “the trendiest series to date”. “Fashion has become part of the appeal of the show.”

Alongside Claudia Winkleman’s over-the-top goth look, some of the contestants’ outfits in this year’s series have exploded online, from Jade’s fun cardigans and Jessie’s yellow color palette to Stephen’s jumpsuit and Harriet’s scarves.

The clothing worn by Stephen the Traitor, including knitwear, overalls and shirts, was the focus of many of these articles and social media posts.

“He wanted to be seen,” says Mair. “He was choosing to be noticed.”

She says her “playful” clothes make her look “open and trustworthy” and make other people feel comfortable.

In the last part Traitors: UndisguisedStephen admitted that his clothing choices were a bold attempt to distract the Faithful from his impressive and red face.

He told the audience: “I thought if I wore some flashy, flashy clothes maybe they would say ‘oh Stephen you look really great today’.”

“Instead of looking here [at my face] and says ‘you are a traitor’. So it was all kinds of tactics.”

“She looked confident,” says stylist Sarah Thomson. “People would be pretty comfortable around him.”

Palomo describes her overalls, which came from Spain, as “a wonderful piece.”

Stars like Harry Styles and Beyonce have been known to wear Palomo Spain designs; Styles was wearing the £858 black and white jumpsuit to perform at Capital FM’s Summertime Ball in 2022.

Mair says Jade’s outfits, which include a £430 Hope Macaulay cardigan and a cherry print cardigan from House of Sunny, make her look “pretty young and innocent” and “someone you wouldn’t want to hurt”.

Although Jade seems to be one of the quietest personalities in the castle, Thomson considers that she uses some of her outfits as “a power play, non-verbal communication, using colors and playful textures to be taken seriously and noticed without self-doubt.”

Villainous Rachel also opted for brightly colored knitwear in the final episode of the series, wearing a £350 pink and red cardigan, also from Hope Macaulay.

Faithful Matthew told BBC Local he carefully planned his strategy before appearing on the show, right down to his fashion choices: “I wanted to be a traitor, so I consciously brought every jumper I owned because I thought: ‘How can I be a traitor if I’m wearing nice knitwear?'”

Hidden Traitor Fiona, on the other hand, wanted to present herself as someone with a “motherly, non-threatening and nurturing personality,” says Mair. That’s why she wore “soft, floral, not-so-fashion-forward” clothes.

“Mothers are often perceived as reliable, self-sacrificing and emotionally secure, which made the contestants trust her,” says Mair.

Experts say the way people dress can reflect their mood. Harriet was wearing a red cardigan and a red scarf when she tried to outmaneuver Rachel during a dramatic round table. Rachel was also dressed in red.

“Red is a really confident ‘I mean business’ color,” says Thomson. “I don’t know if this was done on purpose, but it was really smart.”

Matthew told BBC Local he didn’t pay much attention to what the other contestants were wearing at the time, but when he watched it again he noticed that Rachel was dressed “absolutely gorgeous” when Harriet accused her of being the Traitor. “That’s a pretty clear sign, isn’t it?”

“She thought she was going to be exiled, so she was dressing to look beautiful for what she thought might be her last moment,” he said.

According to Thomson, it is important for contestants to dress in a way that makes them feel comfortable.

“If you’re wearing something that you’re very comfortable in and feel really good in, whether it’s Traitor or Loyal, it’s going to give you that confidence and give you a little bit more confidence in how you’re going to play that game,” he says. “I think being extremely comfortable with what you wear also helps people build confidence.”

Series three winner Leanne was well aware of how clothes can shape people’s perception. He decided to hide the fact that he was a soldier and met his fellow contestants at the train station wearing a bright pink suit.

“One time people look at this pink suit, they’re going to say, ‘It’s so girly, it’s so silly,’ and they’re so wrong,” she said on the show.

The Traitors contestants bring their own clothes and style their outfits themselves.

Anna, from series three, said she bought most of her belongings from charity shops, including the crocheted top she wore in promotional images for the show.

Matthew, from series four, said he had to send pictures of the clothes he planned to bring to the Traitors team in advance.

Charlotte, who was hired as the Traitor in the third series, told BBC News she was given little guidance on what to wear, apart from avoiding logos, activewear for tasks and a smart outfit for the dinner party and overalls in case it was cold. He says he didn’t buy anything new for the show.

“I didn’t pack enough clothes,” Charlotte said Digital Spy last year. “I thought I was going to be out the second day… I had nothing to wear.”

“I’ve regretted wearing the dungarees so many times,” he added. “I really look like a children’s TV presenter.”

The stylists at the show can provide some help, though. Charlotte said in an interview: Cosmopolitan He said that he brought the black jumpsuit he wore in the final, but did not plan a suitable shoe for it. The show’s stylists outfitted her with a black belt and boots to complete her look.

Charlotte says she hasn’t changed the way she dresses to accommodate her new personality, although she adopts a Welsh accent that she thinks will make her more trustworthy. “I wish I were this smart,” he tells BBC News via email.

Frankie, another finalist from series three, said: Not Another Mummy Podcast When deciding what to wear each day, she chose a Cluedo character to theme her outfit, such as a blue denim dress for Miss Peacock, yellow shorts for Colonel Mustard, and a red sequined dress for Miss Scarlett.

“It was a way for me to have some control over the days you can’t control, to have some focus in the morning instead of worrying about the day,” she said.

In this year’s series, Jessie and Jade carefully matched their make-up to their outfits; This was something they had to do themselves. Charlotte told BBC News contestants were not given help with hair, make-up and nails.

“I had my nails done before coming to the goal,” he says, “but my nails disappeared quickly due to the nerves of playing.”

Additional reporting by BBC Local’s Alix Hattenstone

Photo: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry/Cody Burridge/Paul Chappells and David Fisher/Global/Shutterstock