5 Outlander Costumes That Are Historically Accurate (& 5 That Arent)

5 Outlander Costumes That Are Historically Accurate (& 5 That Aren’t)

It’s impossible not to fall in love with the costumes in Outlander, both from the 18th and 20th centuries. But are they all historically accurate?

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Costume designer Terry Dresbach is fabulous at what she does. Over the course of four seasons, she created hundreds of costumes for the historical romance Outlander. When Trisha Biggar took over for season 5, she continued a similar path as Dresbach regarding lighter fabrics and patterns, especially as the Frasers and Mackenzies are now in America as opposed to Scotland or France.

However, costumes can’t be accurate to the time period all the time. Sometimes the designer or actor just can’t help but add something in, even if it doesn’t entirely fit. Therefore, here are five Outlander costumes that are historically accurate, and five that aren’t.

10 Accurate: Scottish Ensembles for Women

The first season sees the characters spend the most time in Scotland. The costumes take influence from the landscape, as the colors are all very earthy and dark. Women’s ensembles are also fairly accurate to the 18th century period.

Tight corsets and extra padding for panniers, also known as bum rolls, were used in women’s clothing in the 1700s, and this is shown in Claire’s (Catriona Balfe) dresses. Another fun fact is that all the extras wear corsets in every scene shot because there weren’t any zippers or velcro during the 18th century.

9 Inaccurate: Drab Colors of Tartans

The accuracy of the Scottish clan tartans is something everyone loves to pick apart when discussing Outlander’s historical accuracy. Clan Fraser, historically, had two branches, the Lovat branch, to which Jamie (Sam Heughan) belongs, and another lower-ranked branch of the family.

Lovat tartans should be a bold red and green, but in the show are depicted as a dark gray and blue. Dresbach argued for her color choice by commenting that she didn’t think dyers would aim for perfection, especially with such bright colors, and when there were so many other things to worry about.

8 Accurate: Demonstration of a Kilt

In the middle of season 1, Jamie demonstrates the proper way to put on a kilt, which is really an extremely large blanket in a family’s tartan colors. Luckily, the proper way is also the historically accurate way, which involves laying the kilt down, laying on top of it, and rolling yourself up. Kilts are usually made of woolen cloth.

It’s especially important that the kilt was accurate for Outlander, as the show’s main premise rests on the promise of Scotland as a romantic place with romantic men like Jamie.

7 Inaccurate: Brianna’s Wedding Dress

In season 5, Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger (Richard Rankin) are married at Fraser’s Ridge. Brianna’s dress, as it’s a deliberate mix of styles, time periods, and cultures since she herself is a mix of cultures and time periods, is not technically accurate.

Though she did find the fabric at Aunt Jocasta’s (Maria Doyle Kennedy) in season 4, the orange blossoms (as a nod to the 1960s and 1970s) aren’t really typical. It’s also true that white and cream wedding dresses weren’t really worn until after Queen Victoria married Albert in 1840. Therefore, though Bree looked beautiful, her dress isn’t strictly of the 18th century.

6 Accurate: Jamie’s Ghost

In the first episode of season 1, Claire’s husband Frank (Tobias Menzies) sees someone outside her window when he’s returning late at night. He doesn’t know who it is at the time, but the audience is quick to figure out that it’s Jamie.

His long kilt and tam mark him clearly as a Scottish Highlander, and they are both accurate to the time period as well. The tam is a woolen hat of Scottish origin that was named after the eponymous hero in the 1790 Robert Burns poem: Tam o’Shanter.

5 Inaccurate: Geillis’ Lover’s Eye Jewelry

In season 1, Claire’s friend Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek) wears a particular piece of jewelry: the Lover’s Eye, as a brooch holding the sleeve of her dress up. Though it looks beautiful, this type of jewelry isn’t accurate to the time period, as it was mainly popular from the 1790s to the 1820s in the affluent families of England, Russia, France, and America.

Lover’s Eyes served the same purpose as lockets, as they hid portraits from prying eyes. It’s a good indication that Geillis has a few tricks and secrets up her sleeve.

4 Accurate: Army Wear

During the rebellion against the English to put Bonny Prince Charlie (Andrew Gower) on the throne in season 2, Jamie’s men don’t wear any sort of armor. These episodes are a good reminder that the Highlanders were poor. Their clothing is ragged and they carry few weapons, even to war.

Sadly, this trend was to continue after the failure of the rebellion at the battlefield of Culloden Moor. All the men wear their individual clothes, and it’s easy to see that they are not a specially trained fighting force. These are simply men fighting for a cause they believe in, which whatever they have to hand.

3 Inaccurate: Claire’s Chatelaine

In season 2, the first half of which is set in Paris, Claire wears a chatelaine. This is a set of short chains attached to the belt of a woman’s dress and is used for carrying keys and other such small items.

However, it’s actually Victorian in origin, and so isn’t accurate to the time period. The costume designer, Dresbach, fell in love with the idea of using one, despite it being from the Victorian era. However, she added, they did spruce it up a bit, making it somewhat dramatic.

2 Accurate: Dougal’s Trews

Early in season 1, Claire finds herself in the midst of a group of Scottish men, many of whom wear kilts regularly. However, Dougal (Graham McTavish), the brother of the laird of clan Mackenzie, wears trews, or trousers, proving that they are also an accurate choice for clothing during the 18th century.

Dougal’s trousers also serve to separate him from the rest of the men. Since he’s the muscle of clan Mackenzie, the outfit helps to define him as a fighter. Trousers are something you can absolutely around move in.

1 Inaccurate: Claire’s Dressage Dress

During season 2’s Paris sojourn, Claire wears a patterned ensemble that more accurately belongs in the 1940s, as a chintz fabric, according to the costume designer. The flower pattern fits other patterns of the same era, which makes it a bit too forward for the time period.

However, the dress does match the fashion-conscious side of Paris, as well as the outdoor scene where Claire wears the patterned dress. The fabric apparently came from a store in San Fransisco. Therefore, it’s a world traveler of a fabric, having made its way from California to France!

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/outlander-costumes-historically-accurate/

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