Outlander is a TV adaptation of a book series that follows a woman who, after spending WWII as a nurse, celebrates the end of the war with a second honeymoon to Scotland, only to find herself transported back via a standing stone circle to the Highlands of 1743. Whew, that was a long sentence! Anyway, my mom adores the books, and I adore historical TV series, so when we saw that the first 8 episodes were available for purchase on Amazon instant video, we decided to treat ourselves. (Scroll to the bottom to see more of my thoughts about it.)

And oh my goodness, I'm just loving the aesthetics of the show! It's filmed on location, so you have the perpetual eye candy of the Scottish landscape, and the costumes are just fabulous. Claire finds herself at a castle, and is kindly outfitted by the housekeeper in a delicious mix-and-match wardrobe, 18th century style. Here's a good overview (a blog post by the costume designer; there's a lot of interesting information in the blog in general too). I found myself daydreaming about chunky knitted cowls and capes, paired with simple, rustic mitts; I'm already contemplating yarn sources to add some to my wardrobe. But in the meantime, I couldn't resist pulling together an outfit inspired by Claire's style.

This was for a Saturday in which I had no plans, other than walking, and I'm pretty sure my neighbours are used to my quirkier dressing at this point. So I let myself get a bit costume-y and had a great time. The weather was hovering right around freezing, so it wasn't too cold, which gave me more freedom for playing.

Obviously, I started with a full plaid wool skirt. Then I added my wool tights and over top, my Scottish knee high wool socks, that I got as a souvenir on a trip to Scotland when I was 11 & that magically still fit (yay for stretchy ribbing!). They're so warm.

For the top, I knew I needed some wool to keep my warm, and neither of my vests worked as references to the laced bodices of the period. So I picked out a sweater with a square neckline, common in Claire's wardrobe, and added a lacey cream blouse underneath as a pseudo-fichu. I put my hair up, as I'm in my late twenties now, so probably no longer of the free flowing maiden hair years, even though I'm not married. It's too short and straight to really replicate Claire's updos, but I added a little velvet ribbon to soften it a bit.

I kept my jewelry fairly simple: pearl drops that the generous MuseumGal sent me (she made them herself!) and a butterfly brooch. I'm wearing my little gold rings too, although you can't see them well, as I almost always wear rings.

For outerwear, I added my rayon/silk velvet jacket; I love all of the browns in Claire's wardrobe, so this was way of adding some. The waist isn't nearly as defined as an 18th century jacket would be, but it's at least got a bit of curve. And the peplum felt right! I added brown hiking boots, both because my ankles appreciated the support (still not feeling great) and to echo the jacket. Also, I'm so excited on the days that I don't need to wear the 3 snow-appropriate boots I've been rotating between since December! lol The high bun would have looked funny under a hat, and I wanted to hint at a cowl anyway, so I grabbed my wool/cashmere pashmina-style scarf (a bridemaid gift from my sister's wedding; she got it at Nordstrom's and it's fabulous quality) and wrapped it to be both a scarf & hood. I freely admit this likely tips me into costume territory, but it was fun. hehe Oh and I added some hand knit mitts, a la Claire! Mine are alpaca though; extra cosy but I doubt there were many alpaca running about the Highlands.

Whew! Sorry about that epic narration. I must've burned myself out, because yesterday & today I just wore outfits I've already worn, and was happy to have forum-approved, easy, cosy combinations to fall back on. I played a bit with 18th century style back in the fall though, and I definitely plan to play with it more in the future. I really love all of the layering!

All feedback welcome, as well as suggestions/criticisms/etc. I have a thick skin, and I really appreciate all of your thoughts! I'm especially curious about the line between quirky dressing & costume, so any feedback on that is especially welcome.

Apologies for the uneven lighting; I took these during golden hour & my windows face northwest. But better than no photos at all!

(ETA to make my concerns about the show more explicit, which made the paragraph so long I moved it down here!)

I'd recommend the show version of Outlander, as it's smart and beautiful and features a very capable woman lead, and my mom approves of how they're adapting the book. Although it should come with a bunch of trigger warnings, as there's a fair amount of sexual violence, both real & threatened. I find that aspect very distasteful, and I wish it wasn't in the show (it's also in the books), but for me there's enough good qualities (this article discusses the feminism of the show) to make me keep watching so I just fast forward. (Also: this is a Starz production, so the sex, violence, and sexual violence are all portrayed more graphically than you'd see on an ordinary tv show. Just giving you a heads up! None of the scenes make up the majority of an episode, but you might want to keep your remote handy if you don't care for such explicitness.)