Outlander Wardrobe and language

[Nathan]

There's another very lengthy thread about the TV adaptation of The Outlander books, but I think it would be great to have a thread that just dealt with the accuracy of the garments chosen for the show.

To those who are very versed in the textiles of the era, how does the show do? Is it spot on or Hollywood Brigadoonery?

As an aside, when I first watched it, I was bothered by the Scots accents and dialectical choices of these Highlanders when they speak English. I would expect a Gaelic speaking Highlander to have a more Gaelic, Highland accent when speaking English that is somewhat more reminiscent of Hiberno English than Lallans. They use many terms like "ken" etc... that are identifiably Scottish but would they have been common in that region? I suppose if these Gaels learned their Inglis from Lowland Scots, it could be explained, but it still seems a stretch to me based on the current accents in Cape Breton and the Scottish Gàidhealtachd.

Just thought a more focused discussion on the historical accuracy of the clothing.

[figheadair]

I've not seen the actual show so am relying on pictures and clips but as I observed in the other thread (#182), not only is the tartan historically inaccurate but the plaid is made from double width cloth with an unfinished edge rather than a selvedge. Boots and hose - unlikely etc, etc.

As for the accents, I expect the producers were aiming for something that wasn't American or Queen's English and therefore anything vaguely Scottish was perceived as 'in keeping'.

[Dale Seago]

As far as clothing goes, it was by no means universal but quite common for jackets and waistcoats to be of tartan, and often of different tartans than that of the belted plaid or philabeg. Having the jacket and waistcoat not be the same color was "in" for the period.

I'm seeing too many beards: the norm for Scottish males at the time was to be clean-shaven, more or less.

Colum's dress dirk in Episode 4 is anachronistic, the handle shape being circa 1800. They pretty much get it right with other dirks I've seen, though. Also, it was common for baskethilt swords of the time to have either a full or partial basket liner of hardened leather to give the hand further protection from sharp points coming at the basket.

You can get a better sense of what I mean about the dirks and swords from this picture of my own broadsword and one of my dirks.

[creagdhubh]

Whereas I am quite fond of the series thus far (I have yet to read the books), I will say that I would have preferred to see the Highlanders dressed in more vibrant tartans, especially red-based tartans, which seemed to be in vogue at the time. However, I understand the producers, director, screenwriters, costume designer, et al, obviously wanted to have the costumes reflect more of an earthy and rugged look reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. The myriad array of knitted items that much of the cast of characters wear seem a bit too modern to my eye, as well. As Peter eluded to, the boots and hose when worn with the kilt look a bit off too. Is there any historical evidence that would suggest this was even done? I've always understood that the vast majority of Highlanders (keeping rank and social status in mind) during the 18th century wore brogans, buckled shoes, or simply went barefoot.

[Elizabeth]

Here is Terry Dresbach's website to see stills of some of the costuming and blog posts about her design process.
http://terrydresbach.com/

[walkerk]

It's a television show based on a romance novel. If it's historical accuracy you're seeking, look elsewhere. The errors in the presentation of time travel alone were astounding.

[Dale Seago]

Interesting commentary on clothing from "the social life of Scotland in the 18th century":

With incomes small and tastes simple, gentry dressed in a plain, homely, and even coarse way. At home, or even to kirk and market, a gentleman went about in homespun clothing and home-made woollen shirt,^ which had been spun by his wife, family and servants, and woven by the village "wabster." When, in later days, their sons, who had seen a little of the world in Edinburgh, or had studied in Leyden or Paris, despised the rude garments of their elders, and began to wear Holland material for shirts, the old men were only induced to put the luxurious stuff on their shoulders and arms above the homely woollen, which they changed but seldom. Not less simple in their ways were the ladies, who spun the material of much of their clothing and made it into dresses at home. If they bought material, it was country- woven, and a lady of rank was quite satisfied to get a " Mussel- burgh stuff" gown by the carrier at the cost of 8s.

http://archive.org/stream/sociallife...huoft_djvu.txt

[figheadair]

Here is Terry Dresbach's website to see stills of some of the costuming and blog posts about her design process.
http://terrydresbach.com/

Interesting. I would describe the 'Green Plaid' as tweed, not tartan,because of the use of mixture yarn which is a feature of tweed and not traditional tartan. similarly, this one.

This style of dress with an insert bodice is unlike anything of the period that I've seen.

This style of dirk is too early for the period too.

Kilted on horse back? Trews were normally worn for riding and it would have been simple to get that right. Oh and did I mention the boots and hose?

With so much historical evidence around in the form of paintings, drawings and descriptions it's a shame that more attention wasn't paid to source material.

[Pleater]

I am really going to have to look for something to protect my legs - I go out and about on the heath and in the garden barelegged, in sandals and I have so many scratches and small hurts it is ridiculous.

Hose and boots would be just the thing.

As plain boot hose were machine knitted - on knitting frames, they were not very expensive. The knitting frame was invented over 400 years ago, so not anachronistic for 18th century costumes. There were huge frame knitting industries in Scotland and England exporting by the ton as well as for home consumption.

Hand knitting was done, but the items would be 'high end' lacy stuff and more likely sold or exchanged for shop goods than worn by the maker or his/her family.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Tobus]

To those who are very versed in the textiles of the era, how does the show do? Is it spot on or Hollywood Brigadoonery?

Like others have mentioned, the boots really bother me. They look like ren-faire/pirate boots to me. And the bonnets too. I suspect these choices were made as a compromise between historical accuracy and viewer appeal.

As an aside, when I first watched it, I was bothered by the Scots accents and dialectical choices of these Highlanders when they speak English. I would expect a Gaelic speaking Highlander to have a more Gaelic, Highland accent when speaking English that is somewhat more reminiscent of Hiberno English than Lallans. They use many terms like "ken" etc... that are identifiably Scottish but would they have been common in that region? I suppose if these Gaels learned their Inglis from Lowland Scots, it could be explained, but it still seems a stretch to me based on the current accents in Cape Breton and the Scottish Gàidhealtachd.

My guess is that since the intended audience is American and won't know the difference, they needed to make it sound like what Americans would expect a Scots accent to sound like, whilst still being mostly understandable. Being authentic to the point where the audience doesn't have a clue what they're saying would be a poor choice.