"In Hollywood, we (the royal 'we') want to see cleavage," she said of Claire's costume. But so much shooting takes place in a "cold, drafty castle," where if the leading lady were wearing just a bosom-bearing gown, "she would die, freeze to death. Or be stoned to death as a whore. Then you have to get creative." The little shrugs and shawls help to cover her up and keep her warm.

There was also the matter of timing; Dresbach's team had about seven weeks to create all the costumes for filming, and she had to have virtually all of Claire's done in about two weeks. To that end, she contracted local Scottish knitters to make some of the pieces, and found many of the others from Scottish Etsy sellers.

"I want the Scottish artisan's perspective," she said. "They're descendants of the knitters on our show."

Some viewers have complained that the pieces aren't "authentic" enough, but as Dresbach said, they solved the problems facing the design team. "The most important thing is that it feels right."