With the Pirates of the Caribbean movies more accessible than ever, and a summer season void of blockbusters, this month were diving deep into Disneys swashbuckling series. Grab your cutlass and hoist the colors: here be Polygons take on all things PotC.

While most of the characters sport one or two looks the entire series, Elizabeth Swann, however, sports a grand total of 16. Its not just because shes the leading lady, but because Elizabeth undergoes the most dramatic character journey of the whole cast, going from privileged aristocrat to fearsome Pirate King. Not only does she have just as an important journey as Will, but hers can also be told through the nuances of wardrobe.

Every one of Elizabeths outfits across the main trilogy, designed by costume designer Penny Rose, is a certifiable Look . But some are more iconic and speak more to her character than others.

Weve broken down every single of the 15 outfits that Elizabeth wore in the main trilogy (sorry, not touching Dead Men Tell No Tales here) and ranked them, according to general aesthetic and symbolic meaning.

Elizabeth is at first thrilled to receive such a lovely gift from her father, the latest look from London, but she quickly realizes the intention is to make her look nice for Norrington, who is going to propose that day. Not only does the dress stifle her ability to breathe, it also represents the stifling expectations thrust upon her: Elizabeth is expected to make a smart match, not for love but for station. This gets the bottom ranking because even though it kickstarts our grand adventure and Elizabeths arc over the series, its her at her most unrealized, still trapped in the role society has stuck her in.

After the adventures Elizabeth goes through in Curse of the Black Pearl, the peach ensemble she wears at the end of the movie is rather demure. It gets a leg up over the fainting dress because at least shes loosened the corset and also takes a stand in it! But overall, it feels like a very tame ending for Elizabeth and definitely not indicative of where she goes from here.

Elizabeth Swann is a capable protagonist and the moments where shes caught off-guard are few and far between, but the moment Barbossa forces her to walk the plank in narry but her underthings is one of them. Thankfully, she manages to outsmart Jack and find a way off the island, taking advantage of her privilege to save both their necks. Even stripped down, Elizabeth is a force to be reckoned with.

Elizabeth appears in this fancy Chinese dress when Captain Sao Feng has dolled her up, thinking that she is actually the goddess Calypso. Its similar to the underdress in that its representative of Elizabeth at one of her weakest moments, yet she still manages to play along with the situation and circumvent the expectations men have of her. He does, uh, forcibly kiss her though, so not cool. This gets a leg up over the nightgown, however, for being a generally prettier dress.

The creepy attendant at the bathhouse makes Elizabeth but none of the men! strip down into a bathrobe. Very rude, but that doesnt stop her from swinging a sword when the time comes. This is higher than the other Elizabeth was forced into this by someone else because she gets to wield not one, but TWO swords while wearing it.

While not particularly glamorous, the disguise is indicative of just how well Keira Knightley pulls off enemsebles that are pretty plain. Its not particularly memorable, but it does what it needs to do, Elizabeth looks much better than everyone else even when she is disheveled, and also it marks her fully growing into the pirate she becomes, especially with the prolonged scene where she unloads all the weapons shes managed to stick under it. She wears some variation of this black shirt and pants combo in the first part of Worlds End, sans the straw hat.

Young Elizabeth looks very cute in this grey-ish purple ensemble. It is eerie enough to set the tone of the movie, especially as she discovers young Will floating on the refuge. This is the first we see of Elizabeths more rebellious nature, as she refuses to believe that all pirates are scum and then blatantly lies to Norrington when she steals Wills pirate-y necklace off him.

In the post-credit scene, Elizabeth wears a smart-looking waistcoat over a flowy blouse and skirt. Its a happy medium between her sea-faring looks and the dresses of her youth and for that, I have the utmost respect for it. What has Elizabeth been doing in this 10 year span? We never really find out, but perhaps shes pioneering looks for women that are both stylish, yet freeing.

The one thing Elizabeth has wanted to do from the beginning of the first movie is bang Will Turner and, by God, she does it! Is this just a modification of what she was wearing earlier? Maybe, but it symbolizes Elizabeth getting that D after going across the world and to hell and back, and for that, we salute it. Only Keira Knightley can pull off wearing just a shirt like its a hot couture look.

Nothing says Gothic Romance quite like a billowing white nightgown. Even if the first Pirates of the Caribbean is ultimately an action-adventure, the ghost story tinges make it appropriate from some genre-y costuming. Elizabeth spends a good amount of time in this nightgown and what a lovely nightgown it is.

I lied: the one thing that says Gothic Romance more than a billowing white nightgown is a wedding gown ruined by the rain. Elizabeth doesnt get the fancy wedding her father probably wanted for her, which is a shame because she looks quite fetching in the ivory, but then again, a fancy wedding probably just wasnt true to her character. She takes advantage of this fancy dress and uses it to pretend to be a ghost in order to get some sailors to take her where she needs to go. So not only does it fit the horror roots of the trilogy, it also speaks to her quick-thinking and innovation.

Barbossa basically forces her to wear this dress, which puts it in the realm of the other outfits Elizabeth kinda wore only because she had to, but there are reasons for the high ranking. One is that its absolutely gorgeous. This blood red ensemble is probably the prettiest dress in the entire franchise, fancy fainting dress and wedding gown included. It looks a bit eerie and certainly thinking about how Barbossa got his hands on it might lend itself to a darker backstory, but that just tonally fits with the revelation that Elizabeth is aboard a ship full of undead pirates. Two is that its one of the few connections to the theme park attraction that inspired the franchise, this one being a callback to a problematic part of the ride, wherein pirates auction off women, particularly a woman in a red dress (its since been revamped). In a way, Elizabeths arc wearing that dress as a captive, but ultimately out-pirating all the pirates foreshadows the woman in the ride turning from a captive lady to a pirate herself.

Keira Knightley looks devastatingly beautiful in every period gown, but no matter how decorated the period gown, she will always look 1000% more gorgeous in period menswear. This is just the irrefutable truth. (If you have doubts, might I direct you to Colette.) Is it believable that Elizabeth tricked an entire ship into thinking she was a young lad without any suspicion? Maybe not, but she sure looks amazing.

Elizabeths best look of the first movie is when she refuses to sit still, disguises herself in a soldiers uniform, and heads out to save the boys. Its red like the Red Dress, but absolutely iconic. The jacket is undone, so it walks the fine line of super proper and disheveled, and boy, Keira Knightley is the ultimate queen of that fine line.

This is almost the same outfit as the sailor disguise, but Elizabeth lets her hair down, dons a tricorn hat, and generally seems more at ease. This is the most traditionally pirate-y outfit she wears, complete with the tricorn cap, a generally scruffy appearance, and all the cunning pirate attitude Elizabeth has been cultivating over the course of a movie and a half. The looks of Dead Mans Chest can generally be described as rougher, toucher, and scruffier. Elizabeths pivot is less drastic than Norringtons, but thats because theres always been a touch of pirate within her. She fits this look naturally, one wonders if this is where she truly belongs

Every moment of the series has led to Elizabeth taking charge as Pirate King and wow, she has the Look to end all Looks. Shes basically wearing a variation of Sao Fengs armor, but tailored to fit her. Hat on, she looks ready to fight. With the hat off, her hair billowing in the wind, shes wild and free,

Its in this armor she makes the choice to stick with her crew, even when offered more comfortable quarters by the East India Trading company, ultimately sealing her loyalty to the pirates instead of her aristocratic roots. From the beginning of Curse of the Black Pearl, Elizabeth was a sharp and quick-thinking heroine, even when she was stuck in tightly corseted dresses or billowing nightgowns. But in the Pirate King outfit, shes not just a cunning protagonist; shes a leader, negotiating with enemies and rallying the Pirate lords together for one final stand.

Its fitting, then, that this is the outfit she gets married in. Elizabeth may be a fearless Pirate King by the end of the trilogy, but shes also a woman in love. A wedding in white was never going to be fitting of her and Wills epic romance as much as vows exchanged in the midst of battle.

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Elizabeth Swanns 16 Pirates of the Caribbean costumes, ranked - Polygon