The Outlander season 3 costume debate — why is there one at all?

Who imaged that we’d have so much costume discussion going on at present with Outlander season 3? We can say that for CarterMatt, any potential backlash towards the outfits this season wasn’t even remotely on our minds.

Yet, here we are — and much of it seems to have to do with the fact that Claire (Caitriona Balfe) has sported the same outfit, (affectionately called the Batsuit by many) ever since returning to the past. It’s an outfit that on the show she specifically designed to take on any set of events thrown at her … which is really why we’re surprised that there is any criticism in the first place.

There are a couple of things to think about here, with the biggest one being that shopping, (we imagine) is a little bit different in the 18th century — you can’t just walk into a Macy’s and try on clothes. Even if you knew a tailor or knew how to sew, it’s a long and often expensive process. Men and women have a smaller ensemble of outfits and they wear them the vast majority of their lives.

While we understand that Jamie and Claire do have some money and could probably therefore afford more clothing, isn’t that a little bit difficult in their present situation? We’ll say this — if we were in Claire’s shoes the last thing we’d be thinking about at the moment is what to wear and when to buy it. We understand that there is a big part of the fandom who does like to admire the fashion and the brilliant work Terry Dresbach does on the costumes behind the scenes. That can still happen, but with a realistic take on where Claire is right now.

In a new post on Twitter earlier today, Dresbach made it clear to some raising questions that nothing had changed in terms of the costuming budget for season 3 — it was just allocated in different ways than some of the elaborate ball gowns and other outfits you saw during season 2.

We know that for us, we appreciate the realistic approach here given there are many shows on TV where we watch and wonder how in the heck some of the various series regulars were able to afford the clothes that they are wearing — or, in the case of superhero shows, how they were able to take the time to make the elaborate costumes in the first place.

What do you think about the Outlander season 3 costume debate? Then be sure to share in the comments below!

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