Outlander Wardrobe and language

[Nathan]

Certainly. We wanted to steer away from the clan tartans of the Victorian era. It just starts getting very complicated in a LOT of ways, too numerous to go into. The very first time we had all of our Highlanders walk on set, someone said, "they look like they just grew up out of the ground". scotland herself is a character in the show, and we wanted to honor her, and tell her tale and the tale of the people who so intimately lived on the land. Ron also wanted the only red in the show, to be on the Redcoats, the invaders of the land and its people.

Thanks for the interesting reply. I agree that you'd certainly want to stay away from any manufactured clan tartans from Highland Revival era such as the Sobieski-Stewart's spurious tome and other later creations etc...but I do find it interesting that, notwithstanding the fact that red was a prominent feature in the (pre-clan tartan era) tartans of the mid 18th Century, you chose earth tones.

The explanation that you wanted to make the people look "of the land" is a fair one from an artistic perspective. That said, the natural vegetation of Scotland made very vibrant dyes indeed. I would also add that the land itself looked very different back then than it does now. Prior to the arrival of the Cheviot sheep and the ecological and demographic havoc their boom created, Highland territory that is today earthy brown and covered in bramble was then lush and green. The sheep ate all the good grass and changed the look of the Scottish Highlands forever.

Your comment about having a colour scheme for one side versus the other does make sense though. It harkens back to cinematic traditions like white vs. black cowboy hats etc...

I do appreciate your response, Terry.