We’ll be recapping every episode of Outlander this season, both in blog post AND podcast. Kendra and Sarah will be focusing mostly on the costumes — designed by Terry Dresbach — in our blog posts, but probably tackling both the costumes and the story itself in our podcasts. You can find the podcast at the bottom of this post, or on iTunes!
For those who aren’t regular Frock Flicks readers: this blog and podcast is all about costumes in historical movies and TV shows, and we approach things from the angle of history. So, expect us to be talking about the costumes primarily from the point of view of comparison with the real history of the 1740s. We’ll also talk about costume in terms of story, and the deviations that come with this one having the fantasy element of time travel. But, know that when we talk about that dreaded phrase “historical accuracy,” we’re not doing it to be mean or judgy. It’s just one lens through which to watch this fabulous show.
Claire finds a dead Scot, which makes her reflective…
MOAR WOOL — Sarah
The Scottish military leaders can’t decide on which course of action to take.
Churlie with his fabulous gold embroidered Stuart plaid frock coat. Verrah nice. — Sarah
Love the embroidery detail on the back and the pockets! — Sarah
The military leaders get some great frock coats with gorgeous gold braid… — Kendra
Uh oh. Tragic Jamie Hair! — Sarah
Jamie is Team Leather Jacket. It’s interesting from a character perspective, since Jamie is so noble and I associate leather jackets with bad boys. — Kendra
Here is the one example of an 18th century leather frock coat. — Sarah
Name that plaid! — Sarah
I really just love Churlie’s entire look. The plaid, the embroidered waistcoat, the gold embroidery, the great kilt… All of it is fabulous.– Sarah
Jamie is super modern-relatable in his leather jacket, while Bonnie Prince Charlie is jarringly overcompensatingly Scottish in his all-plaid, all-the-time ensemble. — Kendra
Bonnie Prince Charlie’s outfit is a direct recreation of this portrait of the real guy:
Prince Charles Edward Stuart, 1720-1788. Eldest son of Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, ca. 1750
Wiliam Mosman
Oil on canvas
© Scottish National Galleries
Kudos to the Outlander costume design team for this spot-on recreation! — Kendra
While the Scots are all manly, BPC gets flouncy cuffs. One of these things is not like the other. — Kendra
Angus and Rupert harass some of the Scottish recruits, while Dougal decides to check out the bog in between the Scottish and English troops.
Let sleeping Dougals lie. — Sarah
I thought the trimming on the guy’s vest on the right was interesting. — Sarah
Murtagh is also rocking the leather. — Kendra
All the Scots are in very similar color palettes, but there continues to be a wide variety of subtle differences amongst them. — Kendra
Jamie’s hair actually is pretty hot throughout most of this episode. Love that smirk! — Kendra
I like the wide range of class styles you can see in this image. — Sarah
Dougal’s silhouette is great with those wide coat cuffs. — Kendra
Wasn’t this how Dances With Wolves began? — Sarah
I love how this English soldier’s uniform looks too big for him. You only see him for .02 seconds, but it fleshes out his character — I imagine he’s just joined up and they threw whatever they had on hand at him. — Kendra
So poncy! Love him! Kendra can have Dougal… I want to cuddle with Charles Stuart. — Sarah
More English. — Kendra
Dougal gets grazed by an English bullet, putting a hole in his bonnet. — Kendra
Guess who the focal point of this group is… – Kendra
BPC is poncily overcompensatingly “Scottish” in his outfit. Notice his hat is right out of the portrait. — Kendra
Claire is busy prepping the field hospital for the inevitable wounded.
Claire is ready for blood and guts. — Kendra
Claire’s cross-front jumps reminds me of this early 19th century “bra” in the Kyoto costume collection. — Sarah
A wide variety of styles are shown on the women helping Claire in the field hospital. — Kendra
The pinned-on apron (right) is reminiscent of what Claire wore in the Parisian hospital. — Kendra
Super practical Claire. — Kendra
Her “jumps” (an unboned corset worn for comfort at home) or “waistcoat” (a sleeveless bodice worn over stays and under a jacket or gown) look quilted. — Kendra
You definitely see this kind of asymmetrical, cross-over bodice front in the period… but it’s usually on a style that’s Turkish-inspired, so I find it surprising on such a practical garment. — Kendra
A local Scot turns up with a secret route through the bog, which will allow the Scots to surprise the English.
The Scots sneak through the bog and attack the English…
General Gold Braid has his tam on, and his wig in a bag. — Kendra
Jamie and Dougal are dressed for butt-kicking. — Kendra
Jamie’s shield seems very appropriate, but I know nothing of weapons. — Kendra
The Scots win the battle with very few losses. Claire takes care of the wounded, including Rupert (who we worry about) and Angus (who seems fine) — and finally Jamie shows up.
Jamie, now with more blood and dirt! — Kendra
This is the only action we get this episode. :( — Sarah
Needs more shagging. — Kendra
Fergus needs to give me his eyelashes. They are wasted on him. — Sarah
Apparently we met this soldier before, but I don’t remember him. Dougal finishes him off. — Kendra
Angus dies, and it is tragic. Dougal gets in trouble with Bonnie Prince Charlie for his bloodthirstiness.
Finally we can see the back of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s outfit… — Kendra
Thanks to Outlander Online for the screencaps!
Outlander Season Two, Episodes Nine and Ten, Podcast Recap
Listen to our podcast recap of episodes 9 and 10 here or on iTunes!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS
I know your tongue is firmly planted in your cheek when describing the ‘poncy’ BPC ensemble, but you have to applaud Ms Dresbach and her team for recreating the portrait. One of the reasons I love the period clothes is that the men were dressed with embroidery, beautiful fabrics and even at times surpassed the women’s look.
I especially loved Lord General’s look. He’s Scots, a general, a lord and rich. His dress was a perfect indicator of this.
But I really was inspired by Dougal leading the troops on horses. Very kingly. In the same way, Henry V was on horseback at Agincourt. Gosh, think what it would mean if Dougal was BCP and actually won at the later battle of Culloden.
Watching the episode with Claire in her MASH treating the wounded reminded me of a Georgian M.A.S.H. unit. She owned it. I really thought that the other nurses were from various classes. More kiddos to the costumers.
Finally, I agree Fergus’s eyelashes are wasted on him. But he’s sooo adorable.
We weren’t being tongue-in-cheek about BPC — what I was trying to say was that his overkill tartan outfit with gold lace and fluffy cuffs is so far removed from what the real Scots are wearing, and it shows how he’s overkilling it trying to be all Team Scot when he’d never been in Scotland before in his life.
Oops, my bad. I understand that Chuck only just arrived in Scotland for the first time. I was trying to convey that 1) Ms Dresbach and team did an excellent job recreating the portrait. 2) How although over the top Charlie’s tartan ‘suit’ was, it was still part of his charismatic self & how much men’s fashion has changed.
No worries, we’re on the same page! I was just worried we hadn’t expressed our point clearly enough. :)
The shield is called a targe in old Scotland. It is VERY appropriate. The size is perfect. And I loved the variety of clothing on all the Scots. You get the idea that not everyone wore up to date styles. They wore what they had.
Oh right! Didn’t targes play a role in Culloden because of their absence? I thought I read that the Highlanders had abandoned their targes because of the weight, which contributed to their defenselessness…
Is Charles Stuart’s gold trim embroidered or is it gold needle lace that has been appliqued, I wonder? I THINK it’s needle lace made from passing thread or twist or something similar, but can’t quite tell. I hate making needle lace with a passion.
It LOOKS like applied lace to me…
yes, that’s what I thought, too. Thanks!
It is embroidered.
Commenting while listening.
Cah tree nah Balf No e sound at the end.
The foggy battle scene was filmed in a tent.
Angus and Rupert. Angus wasn’t suppose to die, but the actor who played Willie (the guy they were going to kill off) was unavailable.
Roman is 14 in real life. Fergus is 10.
And to let you Diana Galbaldon wrote ep 211.
Jamie’s leather coat belonged to his father, Brian. You see him wearing it in Season One in as BJR flays Jamie’s back (Brian has an aneurysm and dies). His father was nicknamed “Black Brian” so perhaps the coat was appropriate for him as the bad boy. :-)
The English soldier was in a couple of Season One episodes, notably when he comes across Claire and Dougal together in the Highlands. He had been charged with bringing her to Fort William to determine her status (as spy or captive or guest of the MacKenzies). He He was polite and respectful, if a bit condescending; the kind of soldier very sure of his superiority. He was quite handsome in his uniform, then. I guess I should have expected Dougal to kill him, but it still shocked me. The man has no scruples.
Right! Thank for the reminder about that being dad’s coat!
No worries!
The poem ‘Tam o Shanter’ wasn’t published until 1791, so what they’re wearing in the 1740s aren’t properly TOSs. Calling them bonnets is great, though.
Regarding Claire’s Jumps with the crossover design: totally agree with your assessment. Also, they are reminiscent of the modern surplice style neckline commonly seen on women’s scrubs worn by nurses/ppl in the medical field today….made me think of them immediately. This may not have been the design intent, but (for me) it adds to the time-travel element, which makes anything possible :) Thank you, Ladies!
I don’t suppose they owned a lot of shirts or packed many for traveling with the army. How did they get the bloodstains out back in those days?
Probably with very cold water. Just a guess, but it works well.
The shield looks pretty accurate. I don’t know if they were doing this much in the show, but shields were actually used offensively when they were brought into battle. (In Europe) The goal was to bash your enemy’s sword out of the way so you could stab him. Actual sword on sword fighting was avoided because it damaged the blade.
This site had some good into on scottish shields or “targes” at the bottom of the page:
http://www.tartansauthority.com/highland-dress/highland-weapons/
About the tartans:
Bonnie Prince Charlie is wearing a very modern, Alexander McQueen designed, tartan. Most 18th century tartans I’ve seen at Scottish museums were more orangey, less deep red, that portrait included. My guess were the pigments available at the time? Other than that, the costume is spot on!
The “name that tartan” one, looks more like (one of the) the real Fraser tartan, although at the time there was no such designation, so it’s really not important. That’s a 19th century Romantic thing.
And please, stop calling it “plaid”.
The British soldier previously met that Dougal killed was Lt Foster- he was the sweetheart that asked if Claire was alright, in ep ‘Rent’, I believe- his voice was velvety goodness!
Unfortunately I can’t find the source, but I’ve read that at one time Scots used plaid to describe both a garment and the pattern of the weaving, as we use the word in the US. Also, I love to bring up this obscure reference in the V&A of Scottish clothing, 1820.
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O18070/printed-cotton-furnishing-john-marshall/