Beneath the cloak the dark symbolism of The Handmaid's Tale's red and white attire

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian TV series created by Bruce Miller and is based on Margaret Atwood's eponymous 1985 novel. The show premiered on Hulu in April 2017 and has been renewed for five more seasons. The sixth and final season of the show premiered on April 8, 2025, and is set to conclude on May 27, 2025.

The Handmaid's Tale chronicles the story of a theocratic and totalitarian society in Gilead where thousands of women are treated as fertility slaves who can bear children for the Commanders of the state after the Second American Civil War. These women are referred to as "Handmaids" and have little to no autonomy.

The Handmaids are used as a means to repopulate a devastated world. They are notably dressed in long, loose red dresses and white bonnets. The red cloaks signify their fertility, while the white bonnets, often referred to as 'wings,' restrict their peripheral vision, signifying their limited autonomy.

The iconic red outfits in The Handmaid's Tale draw inspiration from Puritan societies

In an interview with i-D dated April 17, 2017, Ane Crabtree, the costume designer for The Handmaid’s Tale season 1 confirmed that Amish and Puritan dresses inspired her designs for the Handmaids' outfits.

When the interviewer commented that the dresses made her think of Puritans and the first generation of American settlers besides the Amish dress that Crabtree had already mentioned, the Los Angeles-based designer said:

"Yes to all of that. I have a huge appetite for research; it’s my favorite part. I surround my space with imagery, which helps the whole team. On the walls were images from the 1900s through to the 1990s – the very beginning of those decades had the cleanest, purest lines."

The high necklines, long sleeves, and floor-length skirts of the red cloaks appear to enforce modesty. On the other hand, the white bonnets are similar to the Puritan women’s coifs and cap, which serve both practical and symbolic purposes.

Are all the Handmaids' outfits same in The Handmaid's Tale?

The Handmaid’s Tale uses a select number of colors to represent societal roles - red for the Handmaids, blue for the Commanders’ Wives, and black for the Commanders. Each color symbolizes a specific rank and function within Gilead’s rigid hierarchy.

Although all the Handmaids in The Handmaid's Tale wear red cloaks with white bonnets, there are subtle but significant ways in which they express their individuality. In an interview with Pushing Pixels dated, Natalie Bronfman revealed that the Handmaids' red outfits are not the same. She explained:

"If we’re talking about the handmaids, it only appears to be the same. Every single one of them, for example, has a sweater that is not like any other. Another example of how their personality comes out is how they wrap their scarves around their necks when they’re outside. All the different factions of women have subtleties like that."

Bronfman further stated that she tried to add variety to the outfits by changing the fabric because the color is already set. For the commanders, the designer also added variety to the designs of the ties the men wore.

Bronfman stated that sometimes these differences would be noted and other times, they would not as it depended on how attentive viewers were to the outfits.

The Handmaid's Tale is available to stream on Hulu.