Khaleesi Is the Queen of Going-Out Tops
(Photo: Kelly Chiello and Photos by HBO, Getty Images)
GOT stands for Game of Thrones, yes, but it also stands for Going-Out Top. And behold Daenerys Targaryen’s wardrobe: Even as she’s storming across deserts, freeing slaves, and making a strong play for the throne, her clothing is 90 percent going-out tops or gowns whose top halves are basically prototypes for the GOT. (She lives in a fantasy realm where jeans aren’t an option, so this makes sense.)
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The tube top, the embellished halter top, the lingerie-inspired tank, the woven crop top — these are all prime examples of the going-out top, a bold, “fancy” top reserved for special occasions. A young woman might have an entire shirt wardrobe just for attending New Year’s Eve parties, bachelorette parties, normal parties, club nights, girls’ nights out, mixers, bar crawls, and the like. Traditionally, they are paired with jeans and a heel. Traditionally, social mores demand that you hang up your going-up top once you stop taking Jägerbombs and start contributing to a 401K.
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Khaleesi — though a queen — is still of the age when a young woman requires a special festive-shirt wardrobe. She might be the Mother of Dragons, but her robust collection of clothes for da club, featured below, could easily make her the Mother of Bottle Service.
You can find Khaleesi in da club.
If Khaleesi’s best friend called her at 11 p.m. on a Friday and said, “Juice got a table at Marquee and we’re invited,” she’d grab this Platonic ideal of the going-out top: a triangle-cut halter that whittles the waist and exposes a rarely seen slice of flesh. This sort of shirt is best worn with low-rise jeans, so you can give the dance floor a glimpse of your belly -button ring when you raise your arms and yell, “This is my song!”
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Khaleesi on a date.
If Khaleesi were going on a date, perhaps her first date with Drogo, she’d open her GOT trousseau and think, Ah yes, my silky, sexy lingerie-style top. You had to purchase this type of GOT from actual lingerie stores until Forever 21 and Wet Seal started selling them as shirts. Khaleesi’s simple and sheer version would pair well with a strappy sandal. She even understands the first tenet of the cami: Don’t wear a bra, it’s already lingerie.
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Khaleesi on New Year’s Eve.
This is her casual halter top for a New Year’s Eve house party. Its iridescence is holiday-appropriate. The braided strap and decorative cleavage-doodad scream, “special occasion,” but the floaty material says, “I’m just here to chill.”
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Khaleesi in the VIP room.
This is Khaleesi’s advanced club top. The full-belly cutout paired with cleavage paired with a bold shoulder? This is a Paris Hilton–level GOT.
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Khaleesi in the mood to stay home.
Khaleesi’s friend Beth just got dumped and “really needs to go” to some frat mixer, off campus. Khaleesi feels bloated and wants to binge-watch Gilmore Girls, but she’s a good friend and puts on her loose-fitting, romantic, Grecian-inspired GOT that obscures her body. She lets her hair do the work.
To see the rest of Khaleesi’s Going-Out Tops, head over to The Cut!
