19 thoughts on “Outlander Costume Recap: Season 2, Episode 6

  1. Episode was action packed. And packed with good fashions.

    I liked Claire’s robe volante.

    More later. Taking mother to doctor. Didn’t realise time.

  2. Heavens, I think I squealed when I saw Claire’s deep blue française! I’m so happy we got to have one authentic française, even if the disaster with the cutters prevented us from having more.

    Jamie is back in his kilts, which I think is a shift from earlier in the season when he was mostly in breeches. I’ve missed Jamie in kilts, and I was hoping we would see more “dressed-up” kilts at some point in France. If I had to guess, this is a subtle nod to Jamie’s feeling more like himself, following his confession to Claire that now he has a lean-to to cover his innermost self instead of being totally exposed.

    Murtagh in fancy clothes was a highlight of the episode for me. That part where he flutters the lace at his wrists… priceless. I didn’t find the part where he complained about not being able to move in his breeches strange. Sure, he was wearing trews earlier, but those are probably fitted much more loosely and he’s probably been wearing them for a decade. Think about changing out of your comfy jeans into a pair of slim-fit cigarette pants or skinny jeans.

    I think I saw on the Starz Outlander page that Louise’s gown is hand-painted calico. I don’t think a mid-eighteenth century French woman would have been caught dead wearing calico (especially prior to Marie Antoinette) and it would have been extremely impolitic considering the Lyonnais silk industry. However, I only know this because I just finished a chapter of my dissertation on political connotations of certain fabrics in the mid-eighteenth century, so I’m pretty sure the number of viewers that would object are like .001. The dress is gorgeous (SO gorgeous!), perhaps my favorite of the season, and I appreciate the experimentation with different fabrics and effects.

    I’m bracing myself for next week. I think it’s going to pull on the heart strings (perhaps an unfortunate metaphor after the executioner’s description…)

    1. Oh, I would love to read your paper! I do historical reenacting from the 16th to early 18th century and I would find that paper very, very useful.

      1. Thanks! I have to keep it under wraps at the moment, because once anything gets loose on the internet publishers don’t want it (why buy the cow…). But, I’m hoping to publish it in the future!

        1. Awesome! Keep me posted. I will totally line up to buy a book.

  3. Back …

    What was my overall impression of the episode? Terry and her team hit it out of the park.

    I am glad also that we see a robe a la francaise with the back pleating. And I accept the reason for the lack of them previously. I’m waiting for the teal brocade francaise to show up later. I also have thumbs up to the expanding front of the blue dress due to ‘Baby Fraser’. What I’ve seen of actual garments, they did expand for the pregnancy.

    I was convulsed with laughter at Murtagh and his fancy dress. He looked good, but not altogether pleased. He probably missed his comfy Scots trews.

    Fergus not listening to Jamie will land him in trouble – more than what happened with BJR. Btw loved where Jamie stabbed him with his sword.

    Back to fashion. Why do I seem to drool over everything the Princesse de Rohan (Louise) wears? Maybe it’s because of the clothes are simply works of art and that they fit the character to a proverbial ‘T’. I agree with Ashley on the calico issue, if that was the actual fabric. But despite this quibble, I really loved the dress. But my favourite of hers is the solid blue she wears when she tells Claire that she’s pregnant with BPC’s baby.

    Any plans on doing a baby blog on the child’s birth? We could chime in on prezzies. Both modern & period.

    Any plans for playing marry shag slap (stab?) for the characters?

    That’s all for now.

  4. How much time was supposed to have passed between the previous episode and this one, because Claire went from king of pregnant to PREGNANT.

    1. I have to say that these fashions were designed to hid a pregnancy easily until almost the 7th month. Terry Dresbach did say that Claire was wearing a pregnancy bump from the beginning of the season. It just took a while for it to become noticeable under the gowns.

  5. Hullo!
    -There was supposed to be a time passage of many weeks, which is why Claire is so much larger.
    Oh that maddening pregnancy. 18th century pregnancy engulfed in 15 yards of fabric, for an audience used to Kimmie K’s spandex belly. Akkkk.

    – Calico. Yes, we used calico. I wanted to see if we could pull it off. A dress that would normally be made of $150 per yard fabric (12-15 yards), made out of fabric that costs $3 per yard. INCREDIBLE!!!!
    Part of my job as a costume designer is to make a hefty budget work. If I can do things like that, it allows me much more latitude with other costumes, or with our poor “boxy” extras.

    – I need to do a blog on extras. So many costumes so little time.

    1. The calico gown was divine! And, yes, I can well understand wanting to experiment with a more cost effective fabric for budgetary reasons. Personally, I’ve noticed that it’s becoming impossible to find clothes made of real fabrics like cotton or silk if you aren’t willing to pay $300 or $400 a garment. Even J. Crew and Banana Republic, where pieces are usually $80-$150, are increasingly relying on polyester for everything.

      I shudder to think at the cost of buying quality fabric for a production like Outlander.

      1. Edit: I shudder to think of the cost of buying quality fabric for a production the size of Outlander.

        Words are hard.

  6. Hope Kendra gets time while she’s in Paris to see the clothes at Le Musee des Arts Décoratifs while in Paris. And Sarah gets chance to see stuff at V&A.

  7. All the costumes were so fabulous in this episode. And the acting too! If Caitriona Balfe doesn’t get a lot of awards for this episode, she’s been robbed. I *felt* her pain.

    I’m curious if there are any extant or art sources for pregnancy clothing during the time? I’m intrigued by the lacing.

  8. Nothing regarding episode, but Terry Dresbach on her blog shows what was involved in staging costumes from Outlander at Saks. Most excellent article

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