To Boldly Sew is a recap of DS9 episodes, with a specific focus on the fashions of the many aliens and other characters that make up the series. Feel free to discuss matters of plot and general Star Trek things in the comments.
I’m getting all these screenshots from trekcore.com, which is the same place as the original TNG fashion blog (http://sttngfashion.tumblr.com/).
Well, we’ve made it through 19 episodes, and all of Season 1, so it’s time for a short break for a recap.
DS9 is an ensemble show, and season 1 did a…fairly good job of introducing the main players.
Commander Sisko
First up is Benjamin Sisko, the commander of the space station, a widower with one son.
Sisko is a pretty no-nonsense type of commander, who does his best to be reasonable and understanding, but also has no time for games. Although he’s reluctant to take the job in the beginning, he accepts his role after meeting the wormhole opens up and things get a little more interesting.
Best Outfits:
Sisko is rarely seen in anything but his uniform, sadly, but he does get two opportunities to dress up in Season 1. First is in the first episode, where he shows off his taste in bathing suits:
Second is in episode 6, where Q gives him a boxing outfit.
The rest of the Starfleet Crew consists of:
Jadzia Dax:
Science Officer. A member of a joined species, Dax is simultaneously a young woman and a hundreds year old slug. Sadly, she doesn’t get much to do in Season 1, even though she has an entire episode named after her.
Julian Bashir:
Doctor. A young man, Bashir longs for adventure and whatever comes his way, but he’s sadly rather naïve about what that entails. He puts his foot in his mouth more than once, and he’s intent on pursuing romance with Jadzia Dax, although she states many times that the feeling is not mutual.
Bashir doesn’t even get to wear his dress uniform this season, since he misplaced it. Although he does go to purchase a suit, he never actually even tries on the jacket.
Miles O’Brien
Chief of Engineering. Familiar to viewers of The Next Generation, O’Brien, his wife Keiko, and daughter Molly leave the Enterprise and come to DS9 in hopes of more interesting storylines. Perhaps for that reason, he gets a bit more attention than the rest of the Starfleet crew, and we have a pretty good sense of his personality.
O’Brien gets to wear a stylish set of robes when he tries out a new job as mystical storyteller on Bajor, but he ultimately decides he’s happier on the station, and gives the clothes back.
Bajoran Crew
DS9 is a Bajoran space station, so the crew is stocked with Bajoran representatives as well as Starfleet officers.
Kira Nerys
The Bajorans, like the Japanese, prefer to list their family name first, so Kira is Nerys’s family name. A former resistance fighter during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, Major Kira is assigned to DS9 as the liason between the Bajoran Provisional Government and Starfleet.
Kira might possibly get the most character development of the season aside from Sisko; she spends much of the series coming to terms with the idea of being the authority instead of the one resisting authority. She usually sticks to an ordinary Bajoran uniform, which in the first episode was paired with a slightly longer hairstyle.
By episode 2, however, she’d cut her hair short, and removes her jacket a few times to reveal that a rather fancy sleeveless shirt is apparently part of the Bajoran standard issue.
Odo
Odo, a shapeshifter, is the only one of his kind. The security officer when the Cardassians ruled the station, Odo keeps his job because he’s trustworthy and incorruptible.
Sadly, despite an obviously infinite possibility for clothing, Odo never wears anything but his uniform.
Civilians
There are a lot of civilians living, working, and passing through DS9, and the best part? They don’t have to wear uniforms!
Keiko O’Brien
The wife of Miles O’Brien, chief of Engineering, Keiko is a well-trained botanist. Since DS9 doesn’t have much for her to do (and I guess she doesn’t want to study plants on Bajor), Keiko becomes a schoolteacher.
Sometimes this means boring outfits.
Sometimes this means frumpy outfits.
But somehow she manages to look pretty good, and like she wouldn’t be totally out of place in our modern world.
Quark
An opportunistic Ferengi (are there any other kinds?) Quark runs the main bar/restaurant/gambling establishment/hang out joint on DS9. He’s known for his lack of morals, and also his fashion sense.
Ferengi style is almost uniform, with a similar style of short jacket over brighter shirts, and high-waisted pants.
He does commit the faux-pas of having his pants tucked into his socks, but I forgive him for that because the camera rarely bothers with full-body shots like this one.
Nog
The son of Quark’s brother, Rom (who is not often seen in this season), Nog is unique among Ferengis in that he wants to learn. Nog persuades his father and uncle to send him to human school, but is later ordered against it.
Interestingly, Ferengi children are apparently not yet required to wear jackets, and Nog usually opts for layers, usually of a looser-fitting shirt over a tighter one.
Sometimes his color choices are okay, and sometimes less so.
However, this is all forgivable, because at least he doesn’t wear jumpsuits. Unlike….
Jake Sisko
As the only child of the commander, you’d think that Jake would be held to a high standard of fashion; someone to look up to. Instead, Jake wears jumpsuits.
The dark green on green is not terrible.
The beige and purple is a little worse.
The blue and purple might be worse?
But the award for WORST JUMPSUIT OF SEASON 1 goes to…
This horrible three-colored monstrosity!
Guest Stars
To be honest, most of the interesting fashion of Season 1 comes not from the regular players, but from the guest stars. So here, briefly, is a review of the most interesting fashion from the one-episode wonders.
Lursa & Betor of the House of Duras
As seen in Episode 2 (or 3 if you’re watching Netflix), Past Prologue.
Notable mostly for…their hairstyle. Yeah, that’s it. Oh, and also the practicality of their outfits, which were surely made with safety and protection in mind.
Unnamed Alien
As seen in Episode 4, Babel.
I think this guy (or another of his species) shows up in a few subsequent episodes, but in this one he plays a guy who is first unhappy with, but then pleased with Quark’s offering of stew. Notable mostly because I can’t quite tell what’s going on here, but I like it.
Q
As seen in Episode 6, Q-Less
Technically, Q should get the credit for Sisko’s boxing outfit as well. Just fascinating.
Madame Arbiter
As seen in Episode 7, Dax
Notable mostly for her awesome attitude. I could have watched this arbiter just arbitrate all day and night. She had no time for any of your crap.
Also, her outfit is pretty cool. Layered dress. Shawl. Shades of blue. I like it.
Vantika’s Henchmen
As seen in Episode 8, The Passenger
I dig the guy with the pirate look. He doesn’t get much to say, but I like the look.
The Wadi
As seen in Episode 9, Move Along Home
I can’t really single out any individual here, as they’re all dressed similar. So much shine!
Rumplestiltskin
As seen in Episode 15, If Wishes Were Horses
Kind of bright colors, but otherwise decent costume design.
Lwaxana Troi
As seen in Episode 16, The Foresaken
Lwaxana wears three different outfits in this episode, and while this is the simplest, it is my favorite. It was a tough choice to pick her over her fellow ambassadors in this episode, however, as they all had very creative outfits.
Vedek Winn
As seen in Episode 19, In the Hands of the Prophets
I just did this episode last week, so I won’t talk much about it now, but everything about this outfit is awesome, especially the hat.
What are your favorite episodes or outfits from Season 1?
The rest of the season 1 episodes can be found here.
Tune in next week as we resume regular recaps with Season Two! Will there be new outfits? Find out!
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