Costuming Jack Randall from Outlander: Accessories

It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander novels (and Outlander series on Starz), as I have made, purchased, and worn many Claire costumes and accessories. But special points to my husband for putting up with my sewing/costuming madness, and for getting talked into wearing Oulander’s main villain, Captain Black Jack Randall’s costume for me. I’m sure every man wants to be Jamie, and I’m sure every woman wants her husband to be Jamie…but…well, someone has to be the villain. My husband’s costume took me months and months and months to make, but I’m so proud of it.

This blog post is specifically for the gathering and modification of accessories (tricorn hat, sword and belt/frog, boots, etc.). Also available on the blog is the post specifically for the build of the shirt and pants, and another post specifically for the waistcoat and coat build.

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Since I hadn’t seen anyone costume Jack Randall (please let me know if you do or know someone who has, I’d love to see it!), my only resources were promotional pictures and screenshots from the show and pins on Pinterest from other fans (a special thank you to KnitzyBlonde from the Outlander/Highland Inspired Costume Facebook group that I’m in, who crochets Outlander inspired pieces, for uploading the center photo above, which was most helpful). Not having sewn any 18th century pieces for men before, I did my very best within my skill level, and hope no one spits on my husband for wearing an imperfect representation (or for costuming a complete scoundrel for that matter). I bought every single gentlemen’s patterns from JP Ryan and hoped they would work with minor modifications.

Tricorn Hat

I could never fashion a tricorn hat from scratch, so we purchased a Colonial Tricorn 4″ Hat on eBay. The hat was custom made to my husband’s size, and arrived in several weeks. The quality is good, very firm, and I don’t expect it to lose it’s shape with time.

Enter the hot glue gun again and leftover gold trim from the 27 yard roll that I purchased on Amazon (HALEN 1/2″ Yellow Gold Bullion Braid Trim with Diagonal Rib: 27 Yard Roll) for the waistcoat and coat. I trimmed the outside brim of the hat and have about 10 yards of trim leftover for future projects.

On the hat’s left side (of the wearer) I folded, ironed, and glued 3″ black satin ribbon (Hipgirl 3″ Double Face Satin Fabric Ribbon (Black)), gold trim, and a gold button (also an Amazon find: C&C Metal Products 5351 Rope Edge Dome Metal Button, Size 36 Ligne, Gold, 36-Pack) to mimic the detailing on Randall’s hat.

Boots

At this point we had overshot the budget on this costume, so we went more cost efficient on the rest of the accessories. For the boots, we ordered Swordsman Roll Down Boots from Museum Replicas and modified them to mimic Randall’s. While they were on my husband, I pinned where they would be cut (above his knee in the front and below his knee in the back). I included a horizontal seam below the knee as well.

The leather is thin and was easy to sew on my old Singer 9410, and I treated the process like sewing a sleeve (the horizontal seam) and hemming pants (turning down the very top).

They’re slightly loose up top and perhaps not as stiff as Randall’s, but for the price and ease of modification, we’re very happy with how the boots turned out. They’re roomy enough for gel inserts as well, since my husband constantly complains about how men’s shoes hurt his feet. Shall we have him walk a mile in our heels, ladies?

Sword & Belt/Frog

The last accessories we purchased to complete the uniform were the sword and belt/frog. We purchased a Brown Bess Waist Belt with Frog from Atlanta Cutlery. The combo was nice and the buckle was pretty close to Randall’s. The good thing about cheap thin leather is easily adding holes for buckling. The bad thing is the belt is not very strong and it sags a bit. We may replace the belt with thicker leather later…maybe. We found a “similar” sword on Kult of Athena, a Revolutionary War Saber that included the sheath.

The Supportive Wife

Who am I kidding? He’s the super supportive one. But I guess out of context, his costume is just any ol’ Red Coat. But with Claire (or Jaime), he’s the proper villain/scoundrel. His costume is more breathable than most of my Claire costumes, so I let the weather decide what I’ll wear when he puts on his Randall costume from the white through-the-stones dress to any Scottish Highlands outfit. Links to the costume builds for these options are below. So is anyone planning to make a Jack Randall of their own?