The costumes in Therese Raquin appear to be representative of the character’s personalities and social status. Initially, both Camille and Therese are wearing plain, pale clothes. Camille’s olive blazer blends in with the floor, while Therese’s tan, puffy-shouldered dress makes her indistinguishable from the wall. Their plain clothing represents Therese’s passiveness and Camille’s weakness of character, especially in comparison to Suzanne and Laurent. Unlike Therese, Suzanne layered herself in bright orange, frilly gowns and petty coats.  Likewise, Camille’s monotonous wardrobe clashed with Laurent’s; while Laurent sported a tan jacket, blue vest, and grey pants, Camille wears primarily grey, black, and white. Camille’s style is also more formal than Laurent’s, which demonstrates their different economic backgrounds.

The character’s costumes also represent their feelings about various events throughout the play. For example, at Camille’s funeral, Laurent is the only character who was not wearing black. Laurent’s lack of appropriate funeral attire may be because of his part in Camille’s murder, as well as a deficit of money to spend on black clothing. On the other hand, Madame Raquin never stopped wearing a black dress throughout the play, as if she was perpetually mourning her son’s death. During both of Therese’s weddings, she wears a pink waist ribbon and a white veil. The recycling of her costumes for both weddings implies that both of her marriages were not special for her. Therese’s marriage to Camille was forced by Madame Raquin, and her marriage to Laurent was forced by guilt. The use of certain costumes, or lack of, represents a character’s situation and emotions at each point in the play.