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.
Your Frock Flickers are still in Paris (you can find pics of what we’ve been up to on Facebook!), so it’s just Kendra today on the blog while Sarah madly packs to head home! You’ll find both of us on the podcast, as well as two special guests: fashion historian and former professional TV/film costume designer Lisa VandenBerghe, and fashion historian/cordwainer (shoemaker) Francis Classe!
We’re back in Scotland, baby! And all the costumes are nicely made from interesting fabrics and supremely un-shiny. Bah!
Jenny is practical with laced-on sleeves… although I’m not sure that’s really accurate to this period? Laced-on sleeves seems to be a medieval/Renaissance thing, but I’m not an expert. Weigh in.
ooo, interesting trim, pretty center front lacing, and sewn-in sleeves!
Jamie must be SO relieved to get back into wool, wool, and more wool!
Okay, now that’s a lovely embroidered shawl/fichu/wrap on Jenny! I liked the fringed edges too.
Jamie veered back and forth between dorky and hot hair. This is a hot hair shot — it’s the tousle. Keep tousling, Jamie!
Claire wears her arisaid (the woman’s version of a kilt) in very practical, appropriate ways in this episode. And she looks snuggly.
Jamie’s grandfather may be an important lord/laird, but he’s team Bog People when it comes to attire. And hair. And general demeanor.
Laoghaire goes team Puritan in her jacket, fichu, and cap.
Lord Lovat dresses up with a cravat and waistcoat! Crazytown!
Laoghaire’s jacket fits her beautifully, and I love the pleats in the sleeves/cuffs at the elbow bend. We discussed the possible need to distress this a bit more on the podcast.
Boned stomachers are ubiquitous in the Scottish scenes.
Historical knitters, what did you think of this wrap? It’s chunky, but it’s not crazy chunky like in season 1! (Most historical knitters object to the chunky knits as they’re not as warm as tight knits, and therefore not really a practical use of wool, and not what was done in the period. Modern knitters, on the other hand, keel over in happiness).
Laoghaire gets her hair out to tempt Lord Lovat’s son.
It reads perfectly for a modern audience, and clearly Lovat Jr. is picking up what she’s laying down.
Colum shows up looking better than Lord Lovat, but that’s not hard. His long coat has a fur lining that shows on the collar turn-backs and cuffs.
ooooo, I love how Claire is wrapping her arisaid (plaid)! It’s functional and chic.
Daw, Lovat Jr. looks almost All Grow’d Up in his plaid and tam!
Holy crap, Lovat Sr. can actually put himself together!
Love the green velvet coat — it’s nice but fits his Bog Person persona.
Thanks to Kiss Them Goodbye for the screen caps!
Outlander Season Two, Episode Eight, Podcast Recap
Listen to our podcast recap of the episode here or on iTunes!
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Lord Lovat as a Bog Person is, I feel, crafting a defense of non compos if he’s tried in England. Ergo very ‘fox’ Big Person. Also don’t feel him to love fashion as we do.
It was nice to see Jenny again. She is a no nonsense person, and her clothes show this.
I really liked Claire’s arisaid. It seems she’s grown more comfortable wearing it. But I really prefer the nice pretty French fashions she wore.
‘And now, to present the Annual Award for Best Slut, Trollop, Bitch to Laoghaire is….’. I really want her to get her comeuppance. Say Dragon fodder or being gifted to Ramsay Bolton, any suggestions?
It is just as well you brought up Game of Thrones…when I was checking the cast list on IMDB (I had to make sure Lovat Jnr wasn’t actually a hobbit in his spare time…), I realised that Lovat Snr is played by Clive Russell, who is also Brynden ‘Blackfish’ Tully on GoT.
I knew I recognized that face!
In my re-enacting I was taught women wore their heads uncovered in the Highlands until marriage. So, I was confused when Laoghaire had her head covered. I thought maybe she’d married. Hunh. Otherwise, I miss the sumptuousness of Paris…..
Laogherie has been sent away in shame. The decision was to cover her hair as a kind of shaming device, the Puritan look.
excellent! I appreciate the backstory information. Thank you!
Thank you for the background info. I still want to either feed her, Laoghaire, to Drogon or gift her to Ramsay Bolton.
BTW, your blog posts on Annalise’s casaquain, Count St Germain’s DPFH attire, his rich suit of the opening episodes, and Claire’s Van Dyke Dress were marvellous, sumptuous and just gorgy.
She looked miserable, serves her right!
Any chance we could get the dimensions of Claire’s tartan wrap here? I’ve wanted to make one ever since it first appeared!
The most famous Lord Lovat was Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, JP, DL, DSO, MC, TD, 15th+ Lord Lovat and 4th Baron Lovat, commander of #4 Commando in WWII. *He was de facto 17th Lord Lovat, but de jure 15th because of the !!SPOILER ALERT!!! death and attainder of his Jacobite ancestor in 1747
Spoiler alert aside, wasn’t Lord (Bog Person) Lovat’s descendant played by Peter Lawford in the Longest Day?
Is it just me, or does Lord Lovat Jnr. remind you of a hobbit? Between the scraggly hair, kinda fey face and the Scottish accent, all I can think about is Pippin and Merry…
I didn’t see it before, but now that you mention it he looks *a lot* like Billy Boyd.
The Master of Lovat, aka, Lovat Jr, reminds me of one of the frames in the Hobbit.
Er dwarves. My autocorrect vocabulary is lacking in alot of words.
I was so happy to return to Scotland! I became giddy immediately once I noticed the opening credits had changed. The French costumes were lovely, and I know Terry and her team put immense work into them, but my own preference is for the more earthy tartan and wool ensembles, and the way the costume department succeeds in showing such variety in how Claire layers her garments. Homegirl’s layering game is on point. The way she has her arisaid wrapped around her waist and fixed with the leather belt reminded me of last season when they arrived at Lallybroch, my favorite ensemble of the season. Honestly, someone do a Youtube tutorial on how she wraps her plaids and I am there!
The boxy check patterned coat Jamie wears with his kilt in a number of scenes was to die for. If some retailer makes this a size down, I will snatch it up and wear it all winter. I also loved that distressed wrap with the frayed edges Jenny is rocking. Would buy.
Ugh, Laoghaire. I think for future plot purposes, this was a good adaptation change, because otherwise what happens in Voyager would be difficult for non-book readers to follow. But, I hate her, so I’m irritated that she shows up and I’m irritated to be reminded of what happens with her story later on. Also, I think it was a mistake for Claire to tell Jamie that Laoghaire was responsible for her being tried as a witch. In the books, he doesn’t know until…. after.
In the Jezebel recap (http://themuse.jezebel.com/outlander-scotland-never-looked-so-good-1779589499) the writer mentioned that you can practically smell Lord Lovat’s velvet jacket from your tv screen it looks so rancid. Props to the costuming department for making Bog Person so boggy.
When I was researching at the Bath Fashion museum, the curator said she didn’t have any laced-on sleeves in their 18th-c collection. Doesn’t mean they didn’t exist, but I can’t say I’ve come across any in my own research.
Just off the top of my head (I’m only an occasional lurker among the historical knitters), I would say the knitted shawl is far from historical, though it or something similar seems to be popular among historical costume designers. It looks a lot like the ones Gemma Arterton wore in Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Juliette Binoche’s in Camille Claudel 1915 (not historical in those time periods either). If it’s not knitted from this pattern in bulky wool http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/side-to-side-shawl-079 , it’s likely structurally quite similar.
Aargh! Lots of Lowland women’s clothing here. I’ve never seen an airsaid crossed over in the front like Claire is wearing. I’d love to see the documentation on that, since there are prints of Highland women wearing airsaids in various configurations, and I’ve certainly worn a few different configurations myself.
Yes, the tied-on sleeves are Renaissance and definitely not Highland. Laoghaire (I thought that was a man’s name) is wearing Lowland (i.e., pretty much English) clothing. The wrap Claire is wearing has no precedent in the Highlands that I know of, but then it seems to be a continuation of Weird Woolen Wear left over from Season 1.
In case you guys haven’t heard Outlander has been renewed for both season 3 and 4.
Thanks for heads-up. I hadn’t.
Claire’s wrap (when it cosses over the front of the body and ties in back, it’s actually called a “sontag” shawl) looks much more like something you’d see in the 1860s during the American Civil War. You can actually find a lot of images of tintypes of women from the era wearing them. Ravelry has a couple of patterns for it.
Hope this helps.
It is sideways garter and has a stripe. I am not sure it’s mid 19th C, either. But it’s not 18th. No knitted shawls. Only woven or bobbin lace and maybe some
needle lace neck handkerchiefs.
Did the HighLanders use the French term Fichu or the British term neck handkerchief, or something else?
Do you, by ANY chance…have a pattern for it?? I’ve searched everywhere, and can’t find one!
I believe Susan is right about Peter Lawford. A propos of nothing special, if anyone didn’t know, David Niven, who was also a Commando, was a cousin of Patrick MacNee (RN). And George Macdonald Fraser, to name another of that ilk, was a ranker in one war and a Highland officer in the next one (Middle East, I think.)
Just listened to podcast. I too am Team Kilt, but prefer Parisian wardrobe to Bog People clothing.
Re Laoghaire, the Trull, I believe it was established in the book that she’s a servant, the niece of Lord Mackenzie’s housekeeper, Mrs. FitzGibbons. Ergo, she’s not a suitable wife for the laird’s nephew. She is too stupid to realise this, possibly due to her naivety and sluttish behaviour. She’s als o has no respect for the marriage vows. Drogon, your dinner awaits.
Any idea where to get the pattern from the Shawl/tucked-in capething she wore when saying goodbye to Jamie? I SO want to make it!