'Outlander' effect: Aussie mum turns son into 'Mini Jamie'

The Starz “Outlander” TV series has been a phenomenal success, with fans coming together from across the globe. Many Aussies are also proud members of this highly passionate clan of supporters. Andrea Whitrow, a mum from Adelaide, is one such fan. She is a dressmaking specialist, and has used her skills to turn her son into “Mini Jamie.”

Fans of the franchise may have come across a set of adorable photos [see below] online, of a boy dressed in a very familiar kilt. The boy dressed as Jamie (Sam Heughan) from the wedding scene is Whitrow’s son Oliver.

“Oliver spent the 1st year of his life being the perfect baby (being the youngest of 6 he kind of just had to fit in with what everyone else was doing),” Whitrow said in an interview to International Business Times, Australia. “Around his 1st birthday he decided he had had enough of that and became the most feisty, stubborn, trying and yet totally adorable little rascal that I have had to deal with. Some of the characteristics that I believe Jamie would have had as a child.”

When Whitrow saw the wedding episode of the show, she knew immediately that her son’s “flowing locks, adorable face and rascally behaviour” makes him the perfect “Mini Jamie.” The outfit is a little off with the plaid on the wrong side of the shoulder, but with the cuteness overload we can overlook such minor details.

Whitrow started her costume business when she saw how difficult it was to find a good costume for boys. Some of her work can be seen on the Facebook page of her company.

The discovery of “Outlander” TV series was purely an accident for Whitrow. “I was just browsing through Netflix one evening - watched the 1st 5 min's of a couple of series nothing caught my attention. I saw Outlander and clicked on it. I grew up in Forres a small town near Inverness and we used to go there most weekends. So to hear it mentioned really caught my attention, I have also always found time travel stories intriguing so I was hooked basically from the initial voice over introduction (yes, even before I had seen Sam Heughan).”

Whitrow watched the first two seasons back to back. She then bought the first book in the series by Diana Gabaldon to read during Droughtlander. However, she found it challenging to read while focusing on work so she started to listen to the book in Audible.

The Aussie mother spends a lot of time on her sewing machine from July to October to make Halloween costumes that she sends over to the US. “I got through the entire series so far. It really helped me with the enormous work load and I loved every minute of it,” Whitrow said. As a dressmaker, she finds the costumes on the show “just divine.” But, there is another reason for her love for the show. She is originally from Scotland and she moved to Australia when she was 18 years old. “Having come from Scotland; the scenery just makes me yearn to return home and to show my children their heritage.”

The pictures of her son are already a hit among fans. “I have only seen positive feedback, everyone that has commented has loved the photos I have had so many comments saying how lovely he looks in his kilt and how much he looks like a Mini version Jamie. Even some suggesting he could play a 'certain grandchild' to appear in the show later in the series. He does have an agent and has done some modelling work in the past 'hint hint' haha”

As for “Outlander” season 3, Whitrow, like everyone else, is eagerly waiting to see the Print Shop scene. However, she feels there is more to the show this year than just the reunion. “The excitement and yet anguish that Claire will have to go through at the start of the story. The reunion, the voyage, the reappearance of characters that I honestly didn't see coming. I remember finishing the book and just feeling an adrenalin rush. It is a literally breathtaking story.”