The Dress Brianna Wears Back Through the Stones Is an Nod to Claire in the Original Outlander Books
As Brianna stumbles her way through 18th-century Scotland at the beginning of this week's episode of Outlander, it becomes immediately apparent that her clothing is a far-cry from the expertly constructed "bat-suit" Claire wore back in time last season.
But in actuality, Brianna's '70s attire was inspired by what Claire wore through the stones, not on the television show, but in the source material, Diana Gabaldon's book.
"In the books, which I read about a billion times when they first came out, [Claire] is written as wearing a Jessica McClintock dress which is essentially a Gunne Sax. As a reader, I didn’t really notice the costumes too much. But that costume I did notice," costume designer Terry Dresbach tells me over the phone, as we chatted about this fall's exhibit out Outlander costumes at Savannah College of Art and Design.
"I remember thinking, 'But she’s already been there. She’s already lived in the 18th century. Why would she choose something that would get her like thrown into an insane asylum? She knows better. She would freeze to death!' And out of that thought, the 'bat-suit 'from season three was born. Like, if you are a really intelligent capable woman, would you go back in something you’d either freeze or be killed for? No. You’d figure out some practical way to handle it."
But Dresbach held onto the idea of a Gunne Sax dress for a year. "I’m aware that it’s a beloved costume for fans," Dresbach explained. So she decided to use Claire's look from the Voyager book as the inspiration for the outfit Brianna wears through the stones in season four of the television series.
"In that casual way that teenagers have, she can go, 'Oh, it’ll be fine!' And throw on the Gunne Sax dress and a cape-which, I had that same cape in 1970-and a pair of Frye boots. And she’d look in the mirror, the same way she would if she was heading out to the Renaissance fair, and go 'Eh! That’s fine!'"
Dresbach says she's "beyond excited" to see this full outfit on screen, but even with all the thought that went into the design, she isn't quite sure how the audience is going to react.
"For some people, it’s got to be literally by the book," she tells me. "And others really appreciate it when you come back at it and do it differently. I wanted to keep that dress in there because I knew people loved it-but I put it on a different character that I thought made more sense."
Outlander airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on Starz. If you need to catch up, watch previous episodes at the link below:
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