Why Outlander deserves to win the Costume Awards

Outlander’s Terry Dresbach and Nina Ayres have been nominated in the Costume Designers Guild Awards. They stand out from the competition and here’s why.

Usually I look at award categories without bias. While I believe Outlander deserves recognition, I know all nominations have been worthy. When it comes to the Costume Designers Guild Awards, I can’t stay unbiased. Terry Dresbach and Nina Ayres have been nominated for Excellence in Period Television and there’s absolutely no competition.

Okay, I do love The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the costumes in The Man in the High Castle are outstanding. I haven’t watch GLOW or The Alienist, but they will have been nominated for a good reason. Yet, Outlander is the one that stands out for me. Why?

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Let me start with a big reason: there’s more than one period. This year, we’ve had episodes set in the 60s/70s and in the late 1760s. We’ve seen Scottish festivals that likely saw Brianna use items from her mother’s wardrobe in earlier decades. There have been make-do 18th century items from Brianna and Roger and then the costumes from Claire and Jamie.

Not many shows get the chance to show off the costumes in multiple decades. I do wish that Timeless was nominated as that’s one that stands out for multiple centuries. Outlander is the one that continually pulls off multiple years and multiple styles.

Then there’s the constant repurposing. We’ve watched as Brianna has used her mother’s clothing from Season 1 on the series, while she’s also borrowed items from her cousins at Lallybroch. We’ve seen Jamie reuse the same jacket time and time again.

This isn’t laziness for the costume developers but perfect for the time period. Items would be repaired, dyed, and treated. People just didn’t have the money to buy new all the time.

And we can’t forget all the amazing Native costumes. This season has given us a year of different cultures. You can always tell where the characters are simply based on the look of a dress or a jacket. That’s something that makes the show stand out more than the others.

While The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel brings out the late 50s in style and The Man in the High Castle has impressed with the Nazi uniforms, the Japanese styles, and the mixture of fashions from various places, nothing has been quite as good as Outlander this year.

Congratulations to Terry and Nina for their nomination. Yes, it is definitely an achievement, but the show deserves the win.

What do you think about the Outlander costumes? Why do you think the show deserves to win? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Outlander airs on Sundays on STARZ.