Another costume ranking! As always, these do not include spacesuits, Liberator anoraks or anything that Cally does not personally own.
#22. "Somewhere over the Rainbow Cally"
WORN IN: Mission to Destiny (1x07)
It looks like a hooligan spray-painted colours on a discount pirate shirt. And then somebody desperately pinned some embroidery on the shoulders to make it girlier. Amateur hour at the BBC.
#21. "Mothra Cally"
WORN IN: Duel (1x08) - Breakdown (1x10), Deliverance (1x12)
It's a formless mass of silk. Doesn't look visually appealing, doesn't suit the character. May have been comfortable to wear, I dunno. But it certainly doesn't compliment Jan Chappell.
#20. "Breaking into Jenna's wardrobe Cally"
WORN IN: The Web (1x05)
Another silk costume. This one's slimmed down and has a more pleasant green hue, however. The most noticeable attribute are those flowery petals on Cally's shoulders, a trademark of the early Jenna costumes, making Cally look as if she borrowed one of her shirts. I suppose it makes sense, given that she only just arrived, but couldn't she have chosen something better from the wardrobe?
WORN IN: Rumours of Death (3x08)
Finally something that resembles proper clothes. But the garish baby blue and white stripes are a terrible choice for Cally, and makes her look offputting. If the whole thing had been navy blue like the pants, it probably would be a few notches upwards.
#18. "My grandpa's curtains Cally"
WORN IN: Bounty (1x11)
The third and final silk outfit. I consider this a major improvement on the previous two in that it has a more pleasing color (the poison green and viridian were hopeless), and I like the stripes on the sleeves, neck and skirt. It helps to make the overall costume more striking. It feels more designed and less random.
#17. "1970s Schoolteacher Cally"
WORN IN: Orac (1x13)
Just give her a giant pair of spectacles and you're all set! I don't think the sweater is all that bad to be honest, but it feels dated in a way that not many Blake's 7 costumes are. And in addition, it's still doesn't strike me as something Cally might wear.
#16. "Yoga Cally"
WORN IN: Hostage (2x08), Voice from the Past (2x10), The Keeper (2x12)
This weird labcoat-looking thing is what Cally wore when she conducted the crew's health exercises in Voice from the Past, and consequently it's a costume that I've always identified with Cally's weird period as the Liberator's nurse in Series B. So if one likes that direction for the character, then this is fine. I'm personally not a huge fan, and I don't think it's particularly flattering, hence it's position on the list.
#15. "General Cally"
WORN IN: Ultraworld (3x10), Terminal (3x13)
Military outfits for Cally aren't bad in concept, but the execution of this one is a little iffy to me. The giant shiny shoulder-pads, the silver shirt... it's tacky and overdone. And it gives the impression of Cally as a leader rather than a soldier, which I don't agree with.
#14. "Rosy Cally"
WORN IN: Death-Watch (3x12)
This costume is another one that has the right idea, but is brought down by a tacky execution. I think red is a terrific color choice for Chappell (after all, it's how she was introduced), but the giant white stripes and the flimsy-looking plastic shoulder pads make it look like something no ordinary person (much less an experienced freedom fighter) would wear.
#13. "Velvet cake Cally"
WORN IN: The Harvest of Kairos (3x05)
Not much to really say about this one. Cally looks fine in it. This is right around the time when the costume designers started giving her these fancy, heroic jackets. Out of all of them, I have the least to complain or talk about with this one. It's decent for the outdoors activity in Kairos, and has some flair to it.
#12. "Aged like fine Cally"
WORN IN: Killer (2x07)
A spectacular piece of costume design, though I have no idea why it was given to Cally and not Servalan. What's even more surreal is that it appears so briefly. It's only in this one episode, and Cally doesn't even leave the ship. I wouldn't be surprised if the production team deliberately made it to give to Chappell as an apology for her lack of action in Series B, and made sure we saw it as little as possible so nobody would notice its absence.
Or maybe the girls were having a tea party on the Liberator. There's a whole missing story here about this magnificent dress. Get to work, Big Finish!
#11. "Modern art Cally"
WORN IN: Sarcophagus (3x09)
I said earlier that green wasn't a great color choice for this character, but this is the exception. It's hard for anyone to not look great in crushed velvet. It's not a suit that I perhaps immediately identify with Cally, but it's perfectly fine. There's just enough going on there with the arrowhead and the necklace to make it interesting. It's also a nice mixture of comfortable and functional.
#10. "Cally Blues"
WORN IN: Volcano (3x03)
It looks like she's wearing her pyjamas. I love pyjamas. Pyjamas in public should come back into fashion. The loose collar is also rather stylish, and the color of it is pleasant. This is the kind of outfit I could imagine Cally wearing on a picnic. Or indeed, near a volcano.
#9. "Supreme Commander Cally"
WORN IN: Gambit (2x11)
Something out of Servalan's wardrobe again. But nobody ever accused Servalan of lacking fashion sense (we don't talk about the crow thing). This is a minimalistic, beautiful dress and Chappell's rather fetching in it. I'm not gonna argue.
#8. "OG Cally"
WORN IN: Time Squad (1x04)
It's a great pity we never saw this one again. I love that it's all red, as it fits naturally with both Chappell and the depiction of the environment at Saurian Major. It makes sense, it's functional, it's cool and it looks epic.
#7. "Spacey Cally"
WORN IN: Redemption (2x01), Horizon (2x04)
Probably the weirdest Cally outfit, but also one of the most memorable for me. It's incredibly striking and really shows how thin and lithe the actress was (almost to the point of concern). The thick vest is a nice parallel with Blake's costuming. A charming attempt to capture a nonexistent future style.
#6. "Dr Who Title Sequence Cally"
WORN IN: Dawn of the Gods (3x04)
Not the most distinguished of clothing, but I put it this high up on the list because it genuinely looks like something someone might wear today (or indeed, back then). It's fashionable in a very real sense, which is rare for the series. I love how it looks kind of like a Rorschach test.
#5. "Catfight Cally"
WORN IN: Bounty (1x11)
This is technically cheating, as I left the anoraks and Avon's silver coat off of the previous lists. My reasoning being that these articles are meant to take a look at a character's specific fashion sense rather than clothes that any of them might wear.
But the leopard jacket is so specific to Cally that I couldn't help but break the rule. It's feminine, but also implies an aggressive attitude, which is just perfect for the character. Not to mention, it's another outfit that one can conceivably wear in real life without drawing too much attention.
This outfit is indeed so iconic to Cally that it even got its own canonical short story detailing its origins.
#4. "Cally at the double"
WORN IN: Trial (2x06), Countdown (2x10), Star One (2x13) - Powerplay (3x02)
These military fatigues are the closest Cally ever got to her roots since she was first introduced. They're unassuming (although the leather does add an element of joie da vivre), clearly comfortable and loose for long stretches of duty. They're exactly what I would imagine a space freedom fighter to be wearing.
#3. "The United Cally of Teal"
WORN IN: Children of Auron (3x07)
Some costumes work for the character. Some costumes make the actress pretty. This costume is just too good to even be in Blake's 7. The use of color and velvet is beyond terrific. I don't know what else to say. I'm completely enamored by this. I would wear it myself.
#2. "Princess Cally of Auron"
WORN IN: Shadow (2x02) - Weapon (2x03), Pressure Point (2x05)
Yes, these are obvious three distinct dresses, but given that the only real difference between them is color, I figured it'd be easier to rank them as one. I don't know what it is about this particular style, but whenever I see these episodes, I always think Jan Chappell looks drop-dead gorgeous in them. Very ethereal and kind, but also cheeky and cunning. It helps that these episodes are all great for the characterisation of Cally (in Shadow, she singlehandedly saves her compatriots by directly threatening Space City. In Weapon and Pressure Point, she goes behind the crew's back to plot their next attack against the Federation with Blake) and so I can associate them with the character at her best.
Aside from that, I like the weird symbols (I'm assuming they're intended to be the Auronar language, but I could be mistaken) and the lavish use of color. The red one is particularly delightful. If it was on its own, I might rank it as the best costume Cally ever got.
#1. "Cally the Adventurer"
WORN IN: City at the Edge of the World (3x06)
Sometimes, simplicity triumphs. Everyone can relate to a basic jacket and T-shirt, but amidst all the insane costumes the show introduced over the years, something as straightforward as this stands out. Great collar, the felt shoulderpads add a bit of style without being too noticeable. I hope those stripes on the chest are pockets lol.
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