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Inception: A Costume Design Study

I have reached a level of insanity previously thought to be impossible, and yet here I am. I did an in-depth rewatch of Inception while keeping track of every single (major) character’s outfits. Every. Single. One. I also pretentiously named them and wrote a bunch of shit that I am not qualified to write or say. You will probably roll your eyes at least once reading this, and a good quarter of the outfit names don’t make sense to anyone but me, but if you are as crazy about this movie as I am, maybe you’ll enjoy this. I’m gonna go character by character from least to most outfits.

Also, side note, some of these pictures are terrible. That’s my bad, I was screenshotting on my iPad while watching on a Very Legal website.

Side note part two: if I missed any outfits, please just take me out at that point cause how did I take like seven hours to watch this movie and still miss one LOL

The Mark: Robert Fischer

Outfit One - Specter’s Son: Robert enters mirroring Eames outfit two: a black suit and a collared shirt. His tie, though yellow, is unassuming. He blends into the room perfectly, almost disappearing.

Outfit Two - Check It Off: Robert now sets the tone of the scene and the plane for everyone else, wearing a professional black suit, white collared shit, and dark tie. He gives nothing away, as though emotion has never touched his life. His father’s death is just another thing on a list of endless tasks he’s got to endure. He will soon take off his jacket and reveal a pair of suspenders. His next outfit is the same, if not almost the same as his next one, so we’ll count them both here.

Outfit Three - 528-941: Cooler tones define Robert’s third outfit, as he wears a cool gray suit, white button-down, and light blue tie. He’s still all business, but the slight addition of a lighter color to his wardrobe shows a light unraveling. He also matches well with “Mr. Charles.”

Outfit Four - Last Stand: Robert is in the final level’s uniform: bright white snow gear, including a thick jacket, goggles, hat, hood, and snow pants.

Outfit Five - Still Alive: Though bound and gagged, Robert is still kicking in his deep purple suit, paired with a white button-down and purple tie.

My overall analysis of Robert’s wardrobe is that it’s sort of what you would expect. He spends most of the film buttoned up nice and neat, not really caring either way about his well-being. His own kidnapping doesn’t even appear to concern him until Browning is brought in. I don’t think, however, that’s all meant to convey that Robert truly does not care. I think he’s been trained to not care by his father, by his life, by the business he’s soon to inherit. What changes through Robert’s wardrobe is how suited he is to the clothes themselves. By the end, he’s tattered, disheveled, his entire world has been shaken up. It’s disorienting, sure, but it’ll likely be for the best in the end. In this unraveling, Robert finds reconciliation, no matter how fabricated.

My Favorite? They’re all pretty similar, but I think I like “528-941” the best. The colors suit him well, particularly his hair.

The Chemist: Yusuf

Outfit One - Possibilities: Yusuf enters a cool forty minutes in with a muted green jacket over a black and yellowed-white shirt. It’s hard to tell exactly how many layers he’s wearing. It appears to be two, but it could potentially be three (tying into their discussion about levels of dreamshare). He also has his glasses hanging down from his neck, always within reach.

Outfit Two - A Perfect Compound: Abandoning his more exciting colors, Yusuf fits into the cohesion of the group with a gray, light cardigan and a pale gray top. His glasses are on and his sleeves are rolled up. On closer inspection, I’m like 95% sure this is the same as outfit four, with outfit four’s only difference being the tie and glasses. Forgive me, I was tired at this point, and in my head these were two completely different outfits.

Outfit Three - Helping Hand: Taking a page from the professor mindset of earlier characters, it’s Yusuf this time acting as Ariadne’s elder. He’s in a gray overcoat along with a maroon and white patterned shirt designed similarly to his top in outfit one. Despite looking the part of teacher, it seems he is the one being taught. He removes his coat when going under with Ariadne.

Outfit Four - My Wheelhouse: Yusuf stands and grins in a cozy gray cardigan and now wrinkled gray button-down. He’s in his element here, discussing his craft, and his clothes match his comfort. As I mentioned, this is probably outfit two with minor changes.

Outfit Five - Faux Freud: Though it’s hard to see the full outfit, it appears Yusuf has taken on Cobb’s darker tones in his place, wearing a dark gray suit jacket and dark pants. He has his glasses on, a work requirement, it seems. He sits beside a lying down Cobb, playing therapist.

Outfit Six - Outside Said Wheelhouse: Anxiety rushes through Yusuf and his striped white button-down, a shirt slightly wrinkled and baggy. He complements it with a muted grayish-salmon tie tucked haphazardly under his seatbelt. He sips his drink like it’s his last, not afraid for that drink to become part of his attire.

Outfit Seven - Rain King: Yusuf now sports a black, maybe leather bomber jacket covering up a tan shirt, along with brown slacks. Discomfort will become his “non de plume” for the rest of the film, starting now.

I think it’s interesting that Yusuf’s outfits become more stifling the more uncomfortable he is in a situation. In his own “territory,” he’s in more relaxed clothing, which is a far cry from his mood on the plane. Yusuf mentions early on that he very rarely works in the field, so it makes sense that he isn’t exactly jumping for joy to do so. I’m getting sidetracked from the outfit analysis, but I do think it’s funny they gave the guy with the least experience the extremely stressful job of trying not to get shot while also driving a large van. But, I digress. I think Yusuf’s outfits suit him, but I also wish he had worn more light colors just because I think he looks nice in them. He really is severely uncomfortable in outfit seven, mentally and physically, and I think that ties into his “journey” nicely.

My Favorite? I’ll go with “My Wheelhouse” (which is also sort of “A Perfect Compound” but whatever) because he just looks so comfortable. I want that cardigan.

The Forger: Eames

Outfit One - Perfectly Possible (Just Bloody Difficult): Eames begins as he’ll remain: a walking contradiction. He covers a bright red, paisley polo with an olive green jacket and red-toned pocket square. The outfit is finished off with some loose-fitting gray slacks. It’s sharp, odd, but somehow fitting for him. He’s a chameleon, and yet he stands out the most in the room.

Outfit Two - Arthur’s Best: Eames’ first forgery is here, where he masks himself as a neater, more subdued man. He’s in a sharp black suit and striped shirt, but his personality shines through a golden patterned tie. He sticks out not in the room but to us, for he’s transformed already before our eyes.

Outfit Three - Impressed?: Now himself again, Eames wears a pale purple collared shirt and a patterned gray overcoat, along with brown slacks. He looks professional, yet personally tailored, always adding his own flair to the mix. He is in almost a battle with his individuality and his skill set. He will later be seen in this outfit again, this time without the overcoat.

Outfit Four - Better Than Might: In an outfit contrasting the man beside him, Eames has donned a patterned, golden polo and blue slacks, along with his characteristic silver watch which follows all of his outfits thus far. His jacket is on his chair, suggesting a more complete look, but Eames stands out and stuns in this regardless. Sure enough, Eames wears the patterned brown jacket on his chair during the team’s group dreaming meeting.

Outfit Five - Unsuspecting, As Always?: Eames’ outfit five isn’t given much focus, but he’s wearing a dark button-down and equally dark slacks. Looks like he’s taking a page out of Arthur’s book.

Outfit Six - Unafraid: Prepared to transform, Eames is in a gray suit jacket and striped button-down. His tie, though at first neat and tidy, will eventually become loose as the plan goes awry.

Outfit Seven - My Lovely Little Masks: Eames is cheerful in his outfit seven: a light gray suit jacket paired with a black button-down that, curiously, has a red floral pattern on the collar and cuffs. Even in this level, Eames cannot help but wear a questionable pattern.

Outfit Eight - Last Stand: Eames is in the final level’s uniform: bright white snow gear, including a thick jacket, goggles, hat, hood, and snow pants.

I absolutely adore the costume design for Eames. He is one of the characters whose outfits I believe are 100% intentional. Eames dresses with unabashed individuality even when faced with conformity, as though his wardrobe is his one chance at retaining identify while performing a job that requires him to lose himself. Even in his more toned down outfit seven, he still has bits of himself sticking out like he can’t help himself. Eames spends his life playing pretend, acting as someone else, and so his personality must get muddled up a lot of the time. One way he can find himself again is through what he wears. By developing a bright and bold colorful wardrobe, he finds something he can define himself by. It’s almost like it’s another sort of totem for him. I also believe that Eames probably has dressed like this since he had control over his clothing, so keeping this consistency keeps him intact with all versions of himself. For a man constantly having to reject himself, he is impressively resilient in his efforts to remain “Eames.” I believe that’s the only way he can do this job long term. Someone without a loud, bold personality may lose themselves entirely. This could be a negative to Eames as well, because no one can be that “on” all the time, no one can always be bright colors and loud sounds. He may be tasking himself with a loss of complexity just to hold onto himself at all.

My Favorite? I really adore all of Eames’ outfits, so much. I would have to say “Better Than Might” is my favorite because that color is just so good on him. Second place may go to “Arthur’s Best” even though it’s not his usual style, because that man wears a black suit well. Damn.

The Ghost: Mal Cobb

Outfit One - Woman in Black: Mal is in what some would call a mourner’s garb. She’s in a fancy, all black jacket with a protective collar (not pictured here). She quickly removes this jacket, as it is gone in the next scene. She remains in all black, her dress sparkly and tight. It looks like a wedding dress that has been tainted. Upon closer inspection, the dress appears embroidered with flowers.

Outfit Two - Huntress: Once again, Mal is single-toned. She is in all gray, a fancy, almost boxy coat covering what is certainly a gray outfit underneath. Mal is denied complexity, denied even another color. She is dressed to look dangerous, a one-note panel of the woman she was.

Outfit Three - Who Once Was: Mal is not fully denied color in Cobb’s memory, and so she sports a tan/peach dress covered by a cream-colored jacket. She is still dressed almost threateningly, forebodingly. She is the only person in the film not alive, and yet she is the least predicable.

Outfit Four - Waiting, Waiting, Waiting…: Mal, no longer herself, is in a striking maroon dress that denies her independence once again. She is caged within this monochrome cell. This outfit will return when we are shown the direct flashback of the event this recreated memory depicts.

Outfit Five - We Built Our World: It’s hard to see Mal’s full outfit, but in this memory, she is once again allowed color. She’s wearing what seems to be a light jacket over a maroon dress or shirt. She is distinctly not the woman Cobb’s mind has turned her into.

Outfit Six - As Old As I’ll Be: In stark contrast to her tight, low coverage dresses that she wears as Cobb’s ghost, Mal in life dressed more casually. She wears a gray blouse with black detailing and dark gray pants. The outfit makes her seem older, and as we’ll learn later, this is purposeful.

Outfit Seven - Fading, Fading, Fading…: It is in all honesty too difficult to see the outfits Mal and Cobb are wearing in the sequence after she and him wake up from their shared limbo. This outfit, however, has meaning and is worth mentioning. Mal is in all black, similar to what she’ll wear as Cobb’s ghost. This signifies the end barreling toward her as she loses her grip on reality.

Outfit Eight - Ghost’s Gambit: Mal is in the enemy’s wardrobe as she hunts down Robert, sporting a white camo winter suit with a thick brown belt and thick black gloves. She is undoubtedly meant to look like the antagonists in this layer.

Outfit Nine - What Do You Believe?: Mal ends her reign in a muted purple dress, one note, one color. She is a shell of the woman she was. Cobb did his best, but she’s just a shade.

Outfit Ten - It Doesn’t Matter: Mal wears a dark orange/brown jacket over a reddish-orange sweater as she waits for the train.

Like Eames, Mal is a character whose outfits are extremely deliberate. I would even go so far as to say out of every character, her costume design is the most deliberate. You could take the skimpy dresses she’s forced into as “this is how men dress women in movies,” and that’s probably part of it, but I think it goes deeper. Mal, as I’ve repeated, is denied complexity as a projection. That is what Cobb has to drill into his own head the entire movie. The woman we see stalking Cobb and the team isn’t her. It’s a manifested projection of her being fueled by guilt, anger, and regret. Who she is cannot be reflected by this ghost. She haunts the narrative in these simple, one note outfits because that’s all Cobb’s mind can manage. This is made clear when in his memories, she dresses comfortably. I also believe that Mal’s outfits represent her as a sort of antagonist, though she isn’t one in the traditional sense. She looks sharp, dark, and she is clearly established as something to fear. This makes her breakdown in her final moments that much more powerful, because you realize that though she’s been turned into a villain, she was just a person, once. Her tragedy often goes overlooked because that tragedy becomes Cobb’s motivation, but the life Mal had to endure in her final months must have been incredibly painful.

My Favorite? She doesn’t wear it for long, but “Woman in Black” is so striking and beautiful. I love that it’s designed like a wedding dress, like Cobb has tainted even the purest of his memories of her. I also love “Ghost’s Gambit” just for the cool design.

The Sponsor: Saito

Outfit One - False Fool: Saito is wearing what looks to be a nagajuban with a black jacket over it. He’s in his element here, and he looks confident. This isn’t his reality, and he knows it. It’s a far cry from the man he’ll be the next time he sits in this room.

Outfit Two - Still Asleep?: Saito is now in a gray suit with a white, striped shirt. He’s a little more disheveled here, but not by much.

Outfit Three - His Audition Best: Saito introduces our first male non-suit outfit in the film, though it’s a close thing. He dons a striped collared shirt, a blue vest, and a brownish-yellow tie. What brought him to this train, dressed like this? Later, on the helicopter, he’ll add a blue suit jacket to this array.

Outfit Four - Investor’s Journey: Despite the stakes, Saito is calm and collected in a gray suit, white polo, and patterned tie. His outfit contains flourishes of gold, perhaps symbols of confidence.

Outfit Five - All In: Saito continues the group’s theme of white button-downs/polos, topping this one with a dark vest and dark slacks. He remains professional, and though he may be a “tourist,” he easily presents as a team member.

Outfit Six - Seemed…: Saito retains a sense of ownership over the mission, despite Cobb’s leadership, through his all black suit and white collared shirt beneath it. He is determined to keep leverage despite being an outsider.

Outfit Seven - Neater: Expectedly, Saito wears a black striped vest over a slightly blue-tinted button-down along with a patterned, violet tie.

Outfit Eight - All Business: Seemingly unwilling to dress down, Saito sports a navy blue suit along with a pale blue button-down and dark tie. He now stands out even further from the blended-in group.

Outfit Nine - Color Me Amused: Yet again, Saito is in a striped black suit with a striped white collared shirt beneath it. He completes the look with a purple tie. This time, his outfit fits this level of the dream, though that doesn’t seem to be a consideration of his.

Outfit Ten - Last Stand: Saito is in the final level’s uniform: bright white snow gear, including a thick jacket, goggles, hat, hood, and snow pants.

Outfit Eleven - Young Men Together: Old and lost, Saito wears a dark brown suit, pale white button-down, and patterned tie. He is reminded that his world is not real and must take a leap of faith.

I toyed with naming Saito “The Tourist” or “The Outsider,” but those both felt like a disservice to him and who he becomes to the team. His wardrobe, however, doesn’t do him any favors in terms of fitting in. He is the only character who never dresses down. His stifling formality feels much more genuine than Arthur’s, as we’ll discuss later. I think this is genuinely how Saito just likes to dress. He really is on the outs in this group in some ways, being a powerful businessman on a team of thieves. Which is why I think it’s so impressive that despite the suits and ties, he ends up blending with the group regardless. His outfits seem to match theirs. He doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb, but maintains an aura that kind of implies he won’t exactly be hanging out with these folks in the near future.

My Favorite? I have to pick “False Fool” because it’s unique in comparison to the others. I like the Japanese garment, and I think it would’ve been interesting to have Saito to wear more traditional Japanese outfits.

The Architect: Ariadne

Outfit One - Student: Ariadne’s debut outfit is a gray blouse, red cardigan, black slacks, and a floral patterned bandana around her neck. She’s also got a large bag, likely for school supplies. She is painfully young, painfully eager, painfully naive.

Outfit Two - Student, Asleep: Ariadne’s second outfit is similar to her first, and purposefully so. It’s another gray shirt, a reddish cardigan, and a less detailed bandana. It’s her, with less brushstrokes. Less detailed. She’ll be in this outfit, minus the cardigan, when she wakes.

Outfit Three - Here I Am: Ariadne’s debut once again dons nearly the same outfit: a red cardigan and a pale striped blouse. What was previously more of a bandana now seems like more of a scarf, this one with dark black and yellow features. She’s also wearing tan pants, which is near the same as her previous outfit. There is a consistency to her, a stability. Cobb will need it later.

Outfit Four - Curiosity Feigned: Finally leaving behind her red cardigan, Ariadne follows Yusuf in his outfit two by conforming to the team’s uniform: a grayish-beige buttoned blouse and tan pants. She, however, keeps her individuality with yet another patterned scarf, this one muted with purple floral designs.

Outfit Five - Faith Earned, Repetitiously: Back at it again with the red cardigan, Ariadne this time uses it to cover a brownish-purple button-up and a pale grayish-blue scarf. She removes the cardigan while going under with Yusuf.

Outfit Six - Math’s My Strong Suit: Staying true to form, though switching it up a little, Ariadne wears a red sweater under a gray top. She returns to a more bandana-like neck piece, this one yellow and black like the one in her third outfit.

Outfit Seven - Once A Learner: Ariadne thankfully left her red cardigan at home, instead wearing a lined white jacket over a paisley blouse. Her black pants are half covered by near-knee high boots. It’s an almost humorous student’s attempt at looking rich and powerful.

Outfit Eight - Not My Train: She spends her time in this outfit soaked, but Ariadne still sports her student best: a black thin jacket, a salmon striped button-down, and a darker shirt beneath it. She, of course, keeps up her theme with a white bandana. The outfit is finished with dark skinny jeans.

Outfit Nine - Nine To Five: Ariadne completely changes her look with a gray pantsuit, her hair pinned up into a tight bun. She looks like a pristine business woman, and the outfit suits her. There’s a comfort to her in this outfit that feels emblematic of her ability to work so well in this field.

Outfit Ten - Last Stand: Ariadne is in the final level’s uniform: bright white snow gear, including a thick jacket, goggles, hat, hood, and snow pants.

Outfit Eleven - Always A Learner: Back to her roots, Ariadne covers a red shirt with a lilac cardigan and a black sweater. She is once again the student, the one yearning for something from this reality other than escape.

Ariadne is a breath of fresh air costume-wise compared to the rest of the group. On one level, she dresses so clearly like a student. She wears similar outfits over and over again, dresses comfortably, and keeps a theme going. It makes her look younger than everyone else in the group, and as she is (imo) the audience stand-in, she becomes more relatable. She has to work to find her way to fit in with this group of fancy men in fancy suits, and she does so by fighting for that right. I have always loved how Ariadne is written, even down to her outfits. Red being her primary color shows how fiery she is, how willing she is to pick her battles and stand up for herself. On a deeper level, Ariadne’s consistency works as a comfort to Cobb, who needs her as stability. She becomes a driving force for him, pushing him forward and helping him realize his hero’s journey. There’s a lot of complexity in a female character being used for this purpose, but Ariadne nonetheless keeps her strong characterization as a strong-willed student while also acting as a guiding force.

My Favorite? Her outfits all kind of blend together to me because of the dastardly red cardigan, but I really like “Once A Learner” despite how brief it is. I think the outfit suits her. And, yes, in case you’re wondering, I had a good laugh every time it cut to poor Ari in that damn cardigan. You really don’t notice it unless you’re looking, but wow she will not let that thing go.

The Point-Man: Arthur

Outfit One - Desperate Salesman: Arthur dons a typical black suit, his jacket buttoned. His bow tie is almost too perfect, his hair slicked back in his usual “Arthur” style.

Outfit Two - Camouflage: Arthur is now in a grey suit with a patterned tie. This outfit is very similar to Saito’s in this scene, as if he was trying to create cohesion between the two of them. Presenting as a united front, even subconsciously, could swag Saito onto his and Cobb’s side.

Outfit Three - Butterfly Effect: Another color change has Arthur in a dark tan/light brown suit with a blue and white patterned tie. This name is inspired by the one out of place hair on his otherwise perfectly combed head, which represents one little mistake (the material of the carpet) which changed everything.

Outfit Four - A Fruitless Effort, Lone Traveler: This is about as casual as we’ll see Arthur get. He’s in a striped white polo, a long brown jacket, and black slacks, his hair still slicked back. There’s a formality he holds himself to, perhaps trying to earn a respect he feels Cobb has never fully given him. He’ll take this jacket off later, on the plane.

Outfit Five - Seeker: Arthur’s in a white, striped polo, tan slacks, and a brown overcoat. He, like Cobb in his fifth outfit, is playing professor. Arthur once again is almost forcibly reduced to Cobb’s shadow, a man following orders. He’ll remove the overcoat early in this outfit’s introduction.

Outfit Six - Dreamer’s Paradox: Now, Arthur is in almost all tan, but stylishly so. He’s wearing an almost olive-colored polo and vest, which is plain on the front by striped in the back. That vest clashes a bit with his warmer-toned slacks. He’s also sporting a tie that matches his shirt well, though not so much the vest. And yet the outfit is cohesive, almost impossibly so.

Outfit Seven - Substitute: Arthur remains formal, but seems almost younger in his nearly black sweater, which hides his white striped collar shirt and red striped tie. There is a careful simplicity to this outfit, an intelligent but not unapproachable air. He’s not Ariadne’s original teacher, but he’ll have to do. He’ll add a gray suit jacket to this outfit within the dream.

Outfit Eight - Impressed.: Arthur is in almost similarly golden tie when compared to Eames’ outfit two, fittingly. It complements his striped white button-down and brown pants. He has gone back into the role of point-man, straying away from being Ariadne’s teacher. This outfit will come up again during the “team preparation” montage.

Outfit Nine - Specificity: Contrasting the man beside him, Arthur is in a tan suit with a deep purple shirt and a lighter purple, striped tie. He is stiflingly professional and yet again not very well matched color-wise. It gives him the air of a child playing pretend.

Outfit Ten - Back In Black: Arthur has returned to his outfit one formality, wearing a black suit, white button-down, and a red checkered tie. This kind of outfit seems to be an ideal for him, how he’d look in his mind as a perfect man.

Outfit Eleven - Darling: Another rare sighting of Arthur without a tie: he sports a brown jacket, dark plaid button-down, and perhaps even jeans.

Outfit Twelve - Not As He Does: Matching his scene partner, Arthur wears a classic of his: black suit, white striped shirt, and a dark red tie. He doesn’t always look fully at ease in these outfits, but in this one, he fits in just as well as Ariadne. He’ll remove his suit jacket later on.

Oh Arthur, my beloved. On the surface, his outfits contribute to the rigid, almost cold persona that seems to meet the eye when you first meet Arthur. But once you start to understand him, you realize that he isn’t actually cold at all, and his outfits are trying to show that. Yes, he is in fancy suits, but he is persistently trying to claw his way out of them. He removes the jacket, attempts to strip down, and when he can’t, he almost seems caged by his own clothing. It’s like he’s being held hostage to this ideal. I think he has put some of that pressure on himself, but I believe some of it is from Cobb, as well. He’s had to be perfect for him despite the cost, and it shows in his costume design. Still, he seems most comfortable in outfits like “Substitute” (the first version without the jacket) and “Seeker.” It’s easy to pin Arthur down as the no-nonsense, intelligent, “straight man” type character, and I think that is how he’s portrayed, but multiple rewatches has you wondering why he presents this way, and how much of it is an act. I’ve made the mistake of characterizing Arthur as unfeeling before, but that feels so far from the truth. He, in fact, has many emotional moments in the film. I’m going overboard here and losing focus, but hell, he’s my favorite, so forgive me.

My Favorite? I’d have to go with “Seeker,” specifically when he has the coat on. He wears this outfit for like two seconds, but it looks so good on him. I also really like “Substitute,” I wish Arthur allowed himself to wear more sweaters.

The Leader: Dominic Cobb

Outfit One - Dream Seller: Cobb is dressed similarly to Arthur, a black suit, but there are notable differences. He’s wearing black tie rather than a bow tie, a sign of some sort of dominance. He’s also showing off his wedding ring and silver watch, two symbols of the time he’s always trying to escape. He almost looks less natural in this outfit compared to Arthur.

Outfit Two - Still Asleep.: It’s hard to pinpoint an exact color with Cobb’s next outfit since he’s wet, but it appears to be a cross between tan and gray. He’s a mess now, disheveled but still maintaining composure in his suit. He looks almost like these clothes do not fit him, like he’s in over his head.

Outfit Three - A Train: Cobb is now in a matte gray suit with a dark patterned tie and white collar shirt. He looks almost uncomfortable.

Outfit Four - One Reality: Cobb, much like Mal in her first outfit, is in his own outfit of death. He’s in all black, sporting a plaid(?) polo and dark jeans. His gun blends into his clothing, but it all means the same thing: he’s always ready for his “way out.” He’ll later add a dark jacket to the mix.

Outfit Five - Teacher: Cobb is now wearing a more approachable gray button-up and dark gray jacket. Well, at least it’s not a suit. He blends into the campus, becomes a professor, and yet he still has the air of a funeral goer. He’ll be seen in this again without the jacket, and later, he’ll be seen in this outfit with the button-up opened. It reveals a pale purple undershirt.

Outfit Six - Teacher, Asleep: This outfit is very similar to his previous one, and purposefully so. His shirt is a bit more blue, his colors overall more muted. He’s a shade of the real him. Close, but not quite. He’ll be in this outfit when he wakes, as well.

Outfit Seven - In Plain Sight: There is an attempt at a disguise here, with those sunglasses, but Cobb is still painfully himself. He’s once again in a dark shirt and drab slacks. He’s hiding here, yes, but this outfit is no change of pace. He is always attempting to blend in, to fade away.

Outfit Eight - Suspicion Realized: Cobb once again refuses even a hair of the brightness everyone else occasionally dons. He is in a dark blue button-down and black slacks, and yet he doesn’t seem “all-business.” He is not dressed like a man at work, but maybe, this is never just work to him.

Outfit Nine - Catharsis: Dark green and black complement Cobb, as he sports a striped button down and slacks with those alloted colors. He once again will not dare exercise light in his wardrobe. He will don a blue jacket during the team’s group dream discussion.

Outfit Ten - Safety, However Brief: For the first time, Cobb is wearing a lighter color. It is no coincidence that this is while he is asleep, reliving his memories with Mal and his children. This is his place of respite, and so he wears a light purple button down and dark gray pants.

Outfit Eleven - A House On A Cliff: Now prepared for action, Cobb sports a white button-down and gray tie. He, along with every team member, blends into the formalwear that Robert is expecting. It’s also Cobb’s second bright color, and it once again only finds him when he is about to sleep. He will put his suit jacket back on when he returns home.

Outfit Twelve - Downwards (The Only Way Forwards): Curiously, Cobb is in an outfit very similar to Arthur’s outfit eleven. He’s wearing a brown jacket as well, though his is a darker shade, along with tan/gray slacks. Under his jacket is a black polo. It’s as though there is always a connection between him and Arthur, even under the strain their relationship currently holds. This dichotomy is interesting: the men are almost always an odds during this entire job, and yet they still dress like one unit.

Outfit Thirteen - Together: Cobb, in this memory, wears light colors again. This time it’s a gentle gray shirt that matches his wife’s.

Outfit Fourteen - Family Man: Bright red looks striking on Cobb, but matched his gray slacks. He is almost dizzyingly colorful when he is beside Mal. It’s as though her death drained any life from his wardrobe.

Outfit Fifteen - Desperation: This is one outfit I can catch during the sequence after Mal and Cobb wake up from their shared limbo. Cobb is in a light blue shirt covered by a light tan jacket. He is losing Mal, but he hasn’t lost her yet, and so his color persists.

Outfit Sixteen - Funeral: Cobb wears his Sunday best, a near black suit and white collared shirt, to his anniversary evening with Mal. Little does he know, it will be their last.

Outfit Seventeen - I Ran: In his first outfit (chronologically within Cobb’s life) without Mal, Cobb immediately switches to a black sweater covering a white shirt. This shirt is being almost extinguished by his sweater, as though he is losing all hope as he runs from his children.

Outfit Eighteen - Mr. Charles: “Mr. Charles” wears a dark gray suit, bright white button-down, and a dark yellow tie. It’s an outfit that Cobb seems out of place in, likely due to the color.

Outfit Nineteen - Last Stand: Cobb is in the final level’s uniform: bright white snow gear, including a thick jacket, goggles, hat, hood, and snow pants.

Outfit Twenty - Inception: At the end of his world, Cobb dons a heavy dark gray jacket over a dark shirt. His pairs this with dark blue slacks. He is once again going to meet death, and he is dressed for the occasion.

Outfit Twenty-One - The Train: Cobb wears a gray open button-down over a play gray shirt as he waits for the train.

Cobb, our final and most exhaustive member of the group, with a tiring twenty one outfits, is dressed deliberately. In almost every single outfit, he is devoid of color. He wears blacks, dark browns, and grays persistently, like a man in mourning. This is because he still is a man in mourning. Through the events of the movie, Cobb is mourning Mal. A part of him may always be. But he is stuck so deep in this process, and it shows through his outfits. As I pointed out, he will only wear color in memories, when Mal was alive. When she died, she quite literally sucked all of his color away with her. Cobb’s life has been left to shades of emptiness without her. His refusal to move on shows in his refusal to dress in anything outside of these “colors.” Maybe he feels like he’s honoring her, or maybe it’s not a subconscious choice. But, in the end, when he returns home, yes, he is still wearing a black suit. But he has a white shirt underneath the jacket, as though maybe, hope has returned for him yet. It is my deepest hope that after the events of this movie, Cobb has the strength to throw on a blue shirt or a green tie every so often.

My Favorite? I get decision paralysis here with so many options, but I think I’ll go with “Downwards (The Only Way Forwards) as my number one. I’ve always loved that style of jacket, and I think it suits Cobb well. Second place goes to “Teacher, Asleep,” though I’m not entirely sure why I like it so much. I just think the pale blue suits him. It’s also worth mentioning that this outfit, while definitely not colorful, isn’t as drab as the rest, and it’s one worn with Ariadne.

Okay, wow. Jesus. If you somehow got through this giant mess, thank you for reading. I don’t know if anyone working on this movie put as much thought into this as I did, but I’d like to think so. Every aspect of this movie matters to me, and so I had a lot of fun doing this (even with Ariadne’s cursed cardigan).

If you did make it this far, tell me what some of your favorite outfits of the film are! I hope you enjoyed my names and explanations. Some of the names tie into each other both within and across characters, so let me know if you picked up on any of that.

Oh, Inception. I’ve loved you for three years now, and many more to come. I’ll forever be writing love letters to this film.