The designing of costumes for a show such as Outlander where there is a lot of historical accuracies involved is not an easy task. Not to mention, the designer of these costumes not only wants to transport you to a different time with the use of these garments, but they want to leave you in awe when you see them gliding across your screen.
That is precisely what Outlander costume designer Terry Dresbach - who is married to Outlander showrunner Ronald D. Moore - accomplished over the course of the past four seasons of this hit series. And Claire Fraser’s costumes, in particular, have been so completely ethereal and stunning, they left us with our jaws on the floor nearly every time we saw her in them. Now, we’re going to take on the impossible task of ranking Claire’s 10 best costumes ever on Outlander… at least, so far.
The Dress Where It All Began
When Claire first transports herself from the ’40s in Scotland at Craigh Na Dun to those very same standing stones in 18th-century Scotland, she is in clothing that is not suitable for the time. She’s wearing a white belted dress that was spot-on with the modern time period she is actually from. The problem is, when she is unexpectedly transported 200 years back in time, this made her stick out like a sore thumb.
What costume designer Terry Dresbach wanted was to create a dress that would be perfect for the 1940s yet could transform into an 18th-century shift dress for Claire - which is basically an undergarment of the time. She did so seamlessly and it was the dress where it all began in the first place.
Claire’s 1960s Trench Coat
Let’s fast forward to Season 3 when Claire was visiting Scotland for her old friend, Reverend Wakefield’s funeral. While there, she decided to visit her long lost love, Jamie, at the gravesite of the Battle of Culloden, where she believes he died.
While this may not be one of the more detailed costumes on the show, it certainly gives you the glam ’60s vibe that Claire emulated during this time period. Her chic belted trench coat with her leather driving gloves and matching knee-high boots created the perfect modern-day outfit for Claire to visit her love, Jamie, in.
Repurposing Her Iconic Yellow Dress
In Season 3, we find Claire and Jamie in Jamaica during their search for Young Ian. Terry Dresbach decided that while Claire was at the Governor’s Ball, she would reuse a classic costume of hers from Season 2.
It’s a genius move, really, to reuse an iconic costume like Claire’s yellow dress from Paris simply because that would have been exactly what a real-life Claire would have done during this time. Often, women back then would repurpose their old dresses for new events instead of always buying a new one. It made sense for them financially more than anything. Plus, this dress is as gorgeous as ever.
Channeling Another Historical Figure For This ‘60s Look
In Season 3 of Outlander, when Frank passes away and Claire and Bree attend a memorial in his honor at his university, we see Claire donning this gorgeous look. While it is a somber ensemble, it also is channeling an American historical figure’s classic look. Yes, we’re talking about Jackie Kennedy Onassis, President John F. Kennedy’s wife.
Much like Claire, she had an incredible fashion sense and this looks just like one of her famous outfits, only instead of it being pink, it’s pitch black. Claire looks stunning and it is one of our favorite looks from her time in the ‘60s.
Season 1 Claire’s Scottish Gown
We can’t help but have a soft spot for the ensembles Claire sported in season 1 in 18th-century Scotland. It ties directly to her love story unfolding with Jamie, after all. But aside from that, this particular dress looks very much like what a Scottish woman of that time would be wearing and is also completely gorgeous.
She wore this in the fourth episode of the first season, The Gathering, and the combination of the design of her gown with the beautiful choker that perfectly matches it makes for a stunning Claire look.
Claire’s Chic Paris Ensemble
Claire and her many beautiful ensembles were never more jaw-dropping than when she was in Paris with Jamie in Season 2 of the show. This is just one example of that.
While in the streets of Paris in the 18th-century, Claire was sporting this cream and black satin gown with her matching black hat. It looked so gorgeous against her porcelain skin and screamed high-fashion, especially for Paris at that time. What truly brought the look all together was her accessories with it: the dangling earrings, the cream satin gloves, and her matching purse. It all made for one of her best ensembles of the series.
The Famous Riding Coat
In Season 1 of Outlander, Claire was seen wearing this Scottish women’s riding coat several times. It became such a famous look for her that there have been actual clothing companies that replicated the look and then sold the item in mass production. It’s also unsurprising that the look was so popular amongs fans.
The riding coat was a beautiful forest green color with a cinched waist and white fur trimmings on the hood and the wrists of the sleeves. It looked perfect on Claire. The fan-favorite coat was seen again in Season 4 when Bree went back in time to save her parents, and she wore the coat that was once her mother’s. It looked just as beautiful on her, too.
Claire’s Versailles Garden Dress
Once again, we’re going to talk about the beautiful garments Claire wore while in Paris in Season 2. This look is honestly one of the most stunning gowns Claire ever wore on the entire series. She wore this while walking the gardens at Versailles and where the infamous duel between Jamie and Blackjack Randall had formed.
It was an iconic dress to wear during an iconic moment of the show. The floral design with the bright yellow was perfect for springtime in Paris. The wide-brim hat she wore to match pulled the entire look together, thanks to designer Terry Dresbach.
Her Wedding Gown
Hands down, the most important day in Jamie and Claire’s lives had to be when they devoted their lives to one another… even if it was under dire circumstances. It was the start of a beautiful love story, and it all began with this gorgeous wedding dress Jamie got for her.
The historical accuracies in the cut and design of the dress were impressively spot-on, but it also just had such an ethereal beauty to it that made Claire look absolutely breathtaking. The embroidery on the bust, the off-the-shoulder cut, and the colors of the gown were dreamy and romantic, making it the perfect dress for their wedding day.
The Red Dress
We couldn’t end this list without having the red dress from Paris at the number one spot. It was a classic moment from the books where Jamie remarks, “You can see all the way down to your third rib,” referencing her plunging neckline. But the writers decided to add-in that Claire helped design this beautiful gown herself.
It was utterly feminine and while Dresbach was initially worried about the brilliant red color being too much against Caitriona Balfe’s skin tone and harsh on camera, she luckily was proven wrong the moment she put the dress on. Claire was glowing on-screen and, thus far, it became the best costume she ever wore on the series.
