Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 1 (WWII)

As if I don’t have enough Claire costumes from Outlander, I have one from season 3 that is unfinished, and since the beginning I wanted to put together this casual costume she wears in the first episode of season 1. Claire was a nurse in the 1940s and when World War II ended, she found herself in the street drinking Champagne from the bottle. This will be me when this pandemic is over, I’m sure of it.

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In this scene, Claire is wearing an Army field uniform of long sleeve taupe shirt and olive pants, a web belt, brown boots, a nurse’s apron, and a watch. I actually found vintage WWII uniform items on Ebay, and thankfully purchased a set of 3 shirts and 3 pants because most pieces either didn’t fit or were falling apart after ~80 years of life. I’d actually recommend purchasing similar items off the rack to ensure proper fit and quality, and tea staining them to make them look worn.

Shirt: Amazhiyu Womens Linen Button Down Collar Shirt Casual Basic Long Sleeves Blouse (Taupe)

Pants: Lee Women’s Midrise Fit Essential Chino Pant, Moss

Web belt with buckle: Columbia Men’s Military Web Belt – Casual for Jeans Adjustable One Size Cotton Strap and Metal Plaque Buckle,Beige,One Size

Apron: Wealuxe Professional White Bib Aprons | 32×28 Inch | White | 2 Pack

Watch: Timex Women’s T29271 Porter Street Silver-Tone Stainless Steel Bracelet Watch

If you’re following along at home and do not want to modify two perfectly good aprons to make them look like a WWII nurse’s apron, skip ahead. I ordered a 2-pack of white kitchen cook aprons and used an iron-off pen to mark what needed to be modified for a mid-century retrofitting. Claire’s apron looked like it was a rectangle top sewn onto a wide triangle bottom, and cross-crossed in the back. Mine would be a smaller rectangle top on a wide rectangle bottom, and that’s okay. I used one apron in the package as a base, and the other apron for the wide strapping.

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I cut two ~30″ long by 5″ wide strips and stitched them into tubes. I sewed them onto the top rectangle, turned in the sides of the top rectangle, and stitched a channel in the back for the waist ties to go through. Then I cut a 3″ wide strip for the waist.

I ironed the 3″ wide strip like single fold bias tape and stitched the top and bottom edges to the top of the bottom rectangle of the apron at the waist. This was purely decorative, as I was trying to match Claire’s.

Since we’re still in a pandemic as I’m making costumes to pass the time, I haven’t worn this outside the house yet. But when I do, I’ll be bringing a bottle of champagne (and no glass). I’m still on the fence about adding blood to the apron…what do you think?

[Related: Quarantine Costuming: Working From Home Outfits of the Day]

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Outlander inspired costumes also on the blog:

Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 1

Outlander Inspired Druid Lanterns (DIY)

Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 3

Costuming Outlander Inspired “Cross Creek” Claire

Costuming Claire from Outlander: Season 1 (Additions)

Costuming Captain Black Jack Randall from Outlander

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

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