#im sorry if this is incoheirent babbling

[orangechickenpillow]

Back on my bullshit again. The costume design in ofmd is just so AH, I will not be shutting about about it ever. This time, I’d like to take you all on a little journey involving a certain black scarf and the color purple. 

When we first meet Stede, he is wearing this little black neck scarf. Now I’d like to mention that I’m fairly sure this is the only black piece of clothing he ever wears (besides Blackbeard’s getup, which we’ll get to in a moment). Other than that, his wardrobe is generally very colorful. 

Fast forward to Stede and Ed meeting and doing the clothes swap. This is the first time Ed wears the black scarf, as it was a part of Stede’s everyday wardrobe. However, when they go back to wearing their normal clothes in the following episode, Ed decided to steal hang onto Stede’s black scarf, which he incorparates into his own wardrobe. 

It’s hard to see at times thanks to his fabulous beard and all black clothes, but Ed wears Stede’s scarf the entirety of the show -- except for one episode: episode five, ‘the best revenge is dressing well.’

In this episode, Ed trades the black necktie for a fancier getup -- which consists primarily of the color purple. But the black necktie still makes an appearance, only Stede is wearing it this time. And yet again, it’s the only piece of black clothing he’s wearing. 

Now I think it’s important that Stede is wearing the scarf during this particular episode because they are at a formal party surrounded by aristocrats. More specifically, they are around the people that Stede would consider “his people” (I think he even calls them that towards the end of the episode). 

Why does this matter? Because I think that the presence of the black scarf serves as Stede’s visual link to Ed (and also general piracy). He’s wearing something that Ed has worn for the past who knows how long at a party where he will be seen by the “high ends” of society. It’s almost like he wanted to say, “hello my name is Stede and this is Ed and we are together” (even though literally no one would know that’s what it means besides Stede and Ed).

Which brings me to the color purple. Other than the outfit switch, Ed does not wear colors. At all. Stede, on the other hand, does -- and is seen wearing purple on at least one occasion (the Kraken episode). So, in the same way that Stede wearing the black scarf was sort of telling everyone he belongs with Ed, I feel like Ed wearing purple sort of signified that he’s with Stede. 

Ok, so fast forward to after the party, and Ed’s got the scarf back, wearing it with his usual pirate leather. Now one interesting thing I noticed about this scene in episode six (where they're sword fighting) is that Stede is wearing a brown scarf very similar the black one that Ed wears (also he is wearing purple pants which i just now realized oh my god-)

Could this be an indicator that Stede is starting to merge from a high society, naive “gentleman pirate” to someone a little more experienced? Could this be a visual representation of the way that Ed is rubbing off on him, or even the way that they are falling for each other? I have no idea, but I thought it was an interesting little detail. 

Then fast forward to episode seven, where Stede, Lucius, and Ed go on the treasure hunt. You’ll notice that Ed is wearing a purple shirt underneath his leather jacket (with the neck scarf making another appearance, of course). Purple like the suit he wore the night of the party. 

Now this could be an indicator that Ed is starting to merge from a hardened, heartless, friendless pirate into someone a little more gentlemanly. It is yet another visual representation that Stede and Ed are greatly affecting one another (and also falling in love).

 I find it very interesting that Ed chose to integrate an aspect of Stede’s wardrobe (something colorful) into his own wardrobe seemingly out of nowhere. But this is also the episode where Ed seems to realize that Stede genuinely cares about what he thinks (thanks to Lucius, bless that man), and actually indulges him for the sake of making his friend happy. It shows a level of care and thoughtfulness that is sort of uncharacteristic for Blackbeard. Just like its uncharacteristic for him to wear the color purple. 

We can even see the progression through the episode: as Ed starts to get more relaxed, more purple is shown. In the beginning, it was nearly completely covered, and he was being moody and cold. But then by the time they sit down to eat the snake and Ed and Stede joke about Ed’s restaurant, he’s removed his jacket to reveal the purple shirt in its entirety. Hello emotional vulnerability. 

Which is further suggested when, as soon as they are shown back with some of the crew, Ed’s jacket is back on. He feels like he can be vulnerable around Stede (and Lucius, I would argue) but is still a little guarded around everyone else. 

I feel like episode seven does a lot for Ed and Stede’s relationship development (where they sort of realize their feelings a little better, at least on Ed’s part) and I think that is really beautifully represented by the purple shirt. 

Or it’s just midnight and I’m going crazy, but what can you do. Seriously, I could write a whole fucking essay about the wardrobe choices in this show, and how they relate to character development and such. If you’ve read all of this oh my god I’m so sorry. I swear I’m going to sleep now. 

Edit: I just took away the "keep reading" cause I kept seeing people say that sometimes those posts get lost :)