Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 2 (& the Red Shoes)

As a huge fan of Outlander (books and show), I coveted Claire’s red dress from season 2.  Having many other unfinished projects in bags just begging for attention, I purchased the red dress from Jessica’s Dress and spent almost a year making the undergarments (stays, pocket hoops, petticoat, etc.) and shoes before I could even wear it (Comicpalooza 2018 in Houston).  The most maddening accessories were the red shoes.  I don’t think I’ve said so many cuss words on one build, but I soldiered through it.  They’re FAR from perfect, definitely a little sloppy, but they’re mine.  Here’s how I made them, and everything else I made or assembled for Claire’s red court dress…

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To fans, the dress is so recognizable that wearing it without the shoes would be a travesty.  Scared as hell, I pulled images from Outlander costume designer Terry Dresbach’s website and frantically texted my friend Janelle (who made making the shoes look easy).

I wasn’t so arrogant as to start from scratch, so I purchased a pair of low heel nude pumps with ankle strap to use as the base (DREAM PAIRS Women’s Lowpointed Taupe Pu Low Heel Dress Pump Shoes).  I also ordered a pair of backup shoes in red satin just in case this conversion failed miserably (Jessica Simpson Women’s Cirrus Pump, red Mousse Satin).  If all else failed, I’d wear the red satin pumps with one buckle and hope no one would notice.

Thinking the heel would be the hardest part, I got to work right away.  I whittled two champagne corks to convert the modern heel to a French heel.  I used Shoe Goo (Shoe Goo Repair Adhesive for Fixing Worn Shoes or Boots, Clear) to adhere the cork to the existing heel, and wood filler (Elmer’s Carpenter’s Color Change Wood Filler) to smooth out and sand down the rough cork surface.

I made a paper pattern for the leather sole that would be glued onto the shoe after covering it in red satin, and proceeded to gently cover the front part of the shoe with Shoe Goo.  Not pictured is the heel leather, which looks like a circle with a flat side cut into it.  But the straps…this is where I got hung up and set the shoes aside for 6 months.  I had no idea how to proceed.

As Comicpalooza in Houston was quickly approaching, I pulled the shoes out and gave the rest of the conversion another go.  I started with the red strip that would be permanently glued to the toe section.  I made little triangle strips for the buckles/sliders.  I found 27mm squares with a double row of rhinestones on Amazon but they’re currently unavailable.  A single row of rhinestones 30mm squares are close (12pcs 30mm x 30mm Silver Square Shaped Rhinestone Ribbon Buckle Slider for Wedding Invitation Letter).

The rest of the shoe conversion was absolutely maddening, soul crushing, frustrating, and made my urge to kill rise…but I did my best.  I attempted a first pass at the 3 middle strips poorly, the overlapping heel to ankle straps just as poorly, when it finally occurred to me to use the duct tape method.  So I ripped off that I originally attempted, wrapped my foot in plastic wrap and duct tape, marked where the lines should be with a sharpie marker, and cut the duct tape up to use as a pattern.  I decided not to make working buckles but sewed in hidden Velcro instead.  And I replaced the buckled strap from the original shoe with a strap of hidden nude elastic (Dritz 9349P Braided Elastic, Ballet Pink, 1/2-Inch by 1-Yard) to bear most of the ankle load while walking.  I cussed so much during this process I scared the dogs.

Okay, they’re slightly sloppy with some glue that bled through, crinkles in the fabric, and less than perfect stitching…but they’re mine, and my skirt and shadows hide these flaws enough while wearing.  Please point me to the nearest brick wall on which to bang my head.  Moving on to the easier stuff…

For Claire’s red dress, I also wore a false rump (from Simplicity Creative Patterns 8162 Misses’ 18th Century Undergarments) with my pocket hoops (read: Sewing 18th Century Pocket Hoops).  The pictures above show the under-petticoat (read: Sewing 18th Century Petticoats) over the pocket hoops and false rump.  Since my chest is rather large, I’m glad the slit isn’t as deep as Claire’s, so I was able to wear a modern/normal bra, though I do have proper stays (read: Sewing 18th Century Stays).  And the closest earrings I found were from a French shop on Etsy, although I did find a similar pair on Amazon (Miraculous Garden Womens Silver Gold Plated Crystal Rhinestone Drop Earrings) in case they didn’t arrive from France in time.  But alas, I finished and assembled everything I needed to wear this costume to Comicpalooza in May!

The rest of the costumes I wore to Comicpalooza are here (Costuming at Comicpalooza 2018) and more Outlander inspired costumes made/worn by me are below.

Outlander inspired costumes also on the blog:

Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 2 (& the Red Shoes)

Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 1 (Additions)

Outlander Inspired Druid Lanterns (DIY)

Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 3

Costuming Outlander Inspired “Cross Creek” Claire

Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 1 (c. 1945)

Costuming Captain Black Jack Randall from Outlander

General 18th century pieces also on the blog:

Sewing 18th Century Pocket Hoops

Sewing 18th Century Pockets

Sewing 18th Stomachers

Sewing 18th Century Jackets

Sewing 18th Century Stays

Sewing 18th Century Petticoats

Sewing 18th Century Hat Trim

Sewing an 18th Century Drawstring Bag

     

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