Fashion History Series: A Bridgerton-Inspired Style Guide
Picture this, it is 1813, and you are about to embark upon your first social season to find the partner of your dreams. You must impress with your best outfit. The Netflix hit Bridgerton, adapted from Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels, created by Chris Van Dusen, and produced by Shonda Rhimes, revealed to 82 million viewers the exquisite fashion of Regency Britain. While Bridgerton costume designer Ellen Mirojnick took influence from the colour palettes, fabrications, and silhouettes of the 1950s and 1960s to create the show’s 7,500 costume pieces, this article provides a whistle(down)stop tour of early 1800s fashion.
The Regency era in the United Kingdom spanned from 1811 to 1820, marking the period over which the Prince Regent, George IV, ruled as a proxy for his father, King George III, who was mentally unfit to rule. In its broadest definition, the Regency period spans from 1795 as the French Revolution persisted to Queen Victoria’s crowning in 1837.
Change and new public identity defined Regency Britain; influenced by the French Revolution and collapse of the old-world hierarchy, fashion diverted away from aristocratic traditions. Instead, a neoclassical style emerged, inspired by the ancient Greek and Roman democracies, reflecting the rise in political philosophy throughout society.
Structuring the Body
Where else to start than with the corset, an item known for leaving cruel marks on the body of its wearer. Yet, despite a brief scene in Bridgerton revealing Daphne’s bruises and cuts, the rigidity of corsets and stays relaxed in this period. By the 1810s, corsets were often half-corsets and short-laced or corded, rather than full body boning. They were also worn over a chemise (thin smock) to protect the skin and ribs.
This relaxation in corset-wearing reflected changes in society. With a new focus on liberty, neoclassical style emphasised the natural figure presented in Greco-Roman art. Regency women championed the natural body, and the corset served to hoist and shape the breasts rather than the body. Often, this was for the sole purpose of aesthetic and sexuality. The adoption of low, scooped necklines, enhancing the breasts, in Bridgerton echoes this. Occasionally, women completely abandoned their corsets, exerting the freedom of the natural body.
Down south, underpants did not exist for Regency women. Drawers, two pant legs tied together at the waist, were worn by some but remained uncommon until post-1820.
From Morning Dresses to Evening Gowns
From their visiting gown to riding habit, walking gown to promenade dress, Regency women were accustomed to regular outfit changes. It was no different in the making of Bridgerton; Phoebe Dynevor playing Daphne Bridgerton had an incredible 104 costume changes throughout filming, as revealed by Mirojnick to Harpers Bazaar.
The fashion landscape from the 18th to early 19th century changed radically. The women who once paraded a wide pannier, rigid stay, and heavy fabric over a voluminous undergarment, now adopted a high waist, slim, vertical line, and lightweight draping muslin over a thin petticoat. This new look reflected both the gracious, loosely falling dresses in Greco-Roman art and the general neoclassical focus on clean geometry.
For Bridgerton, Mirojnick explained to Vogue that muslin dresses were too “limp”. Yet, this does not render the show historically inaccurate; into the 1810s, firmer cotton and silks did gain popularity. Additionally, by 1815, scholar Harper Franklin found that embellished hemlines just above the floor replaced the classical line. Notably, ball gowns of the period were elegant, exquisitely trimmed, and constructed of the best fabrics.
With an emphasis on the natural figure, the Empire waistline, just below the bust, took prominence as seen in Bridgerton. Though the Empire silhouette originated in the late 18th century, Joséphine Bonaparte, Napoleon’s first Empress, popularised the style in Europe. While the waistline did fall after 1810, following the Peace of Paris in 1814, the French ridiculed the British’s lower waistlines, so they were hoisted back up, meaning Lady Featherington’s lower waistline was not incorrect in 1813.
Simplicity characterised Regency fashion and neoclassicism. Although Franklin claims the idea of classical women only wearing white to be an incorrect assumption drawn from classical statues, white dresses were favoured. During Regency Britain, white was considered the correct colour for the evening, despite nearly transparent muslins occasionally being worn over coloured silk slips. This makes the pastel wardrobe of the Bridgerton household historically accurate. It is no surprise that Daphne caught Queen Charlotte’s eye; she is the embodiment of understatement and taste.
In contrast, the Featheringtons boast bright and ornamented dresses, symbolising their new money, as revealed by Mirojnick to Vogue. While bright colours were worn in the period, they were uncommon until the late 1810s. The Featheringtons reflect the overindulged fashion of the 18th century wealthy classes, an outdated yet overt symbol of wealth.
The eagle-eyed may notice that Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte’s fashion is far from Regency. Yet, the real Queen Charlotte, too, dressed in the extravagant gowns of pre-Regency Britain, reflecting the style of her time, born in 1744.
Upon One’s Head
Though rarely appearing in Bridgerton, during the Regency period, hats were an essential fashion item. They represented class and economic status and were a sign of respect. Women would wear a headdress, such as a bonnet, outdoors or when attending church, and if married or a ‘spinster’, a cap indoors. During Regency evenings, women would wear a headdress, toque, or turban. Older women favoured the latter.
With simplicity hailed, hair claimed attention over cosmetics. Most commonly, ringlets and curls were partnered with bandeaux, silk ribbons and jewelled combs. While the Bridgertons’ bangs were more 1950s than 1810s, Regency art does show their presence. The Queen’s extravagant wigs in Bridgerton deviate from Regency simplicity yet reflect eighteenth-century trends and, as the show’s hair and makeup designer, Marc Pilcher, stated, her African descent.
Men’s hair also took on a new form, cropped short and non-powdered with a natural appearance, resonating classicism. This hairstyle was completed with a top hat, the sign of an urban gentleman, somewhat neglected in Bridgerton’s main cast.
Fashion Faux Pas?
The long Regency era was a time of change, bridging Georgian and Victorian fashion. Yet, fashion faux pas did exist. In 1811, a Lady of Distinction wrote The Mirror of the Graces, detailing the English Lady’s costume. This costume should combine and harmonise taste and judgement, elegance and grace, modesty, simplicity, and economy. Heavy ornamentation was tasteless. The author believed a poorly dressed woman would not attract the love of a man. He would definitely not burn for you.
A young and fair girl revealing too much bosom and shoulder excited “displeasure and disgust”. She was also advised against “monstrous distortion”, executed by squeezing the hips into a tiny circumference and shoving the “bosom…up to the chin”.
It was inappropriate for a woman to show her arms and bosom in the morning, and only after the dinner-hour could her arms be bear to a graceful height above the elbow, and the neck and chest revealed. While long sleeves became unpopular, women wore gloves above the elbow to conceal modesty, only lowered by those with fair and smooth arms.
Of note, freckles were considered unfashionable. A parasol was, therefore, favoured. Umbrellas also symbolised wealth; the more delicate and ornate, the higher the family status. This is metaphorically evident in Bridgerton when Daphne visits a local town with a white lace umbrella and experiences coldness from the villagers.
The Perfect Gentleman
Many Bridgerton viewers were overwhelmed by the dashing men that graced our screens. Observant viewers, however, would have also appreciated their impeccable tailoring, making the Bridgerton brothers somewhat hard to differentiate. Transforming male fashion, Britain’s Regency tailors cemented three elements into male appearance, the coat (tail, dress, or riding), waistcoat and breeches or pantaloons.
At the root of this change was the original dandy George Bryan ‘Beau’ Brummell, an iconic figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men’s fashion. Brummell rejected overly ornate clothes and flamboyancy, establishing instead a style that favoured perfectly fitted and tailored garments. He encouraged dark coats, immaculate shirt linen, and full-length trousers over knee-breeches and stockings. He also advocated a splendidly knotted cravat; a well-tied cravat was the sign of a well-dressed man – a sub-par skill of Simon Basset. Brummell even had his boots polished with champagne – imagine!
Neoclassicism influenced post-1800 menswear; made of jersey or wool cut on the bias, breeches and pantaloons provided an incredibly close fit and almost nude effect in a cream colour, emanating statues of antiquity.
Bridgerton has revealed how the neoclassical fashion of Regency Britain can be both adapted to and adorned in the twenty-first century. While critics of the show have targeted the inaccurate depiction of Regency fashion, like the classical take on modern chart-toppers, Mirojnick’s choices reflect the show’s unapologetic artistic license to create an interweaved masterpiece of Regency and post-1950s fashion. This Bridgerton-Inspired Style Guide exposes the influences behind the series that provided many with an escape from the real world.
Written by Sophie Olver
Hi, I'm Sophie. I'm a BA and MA History graduate from the University of Southampton and currently work in publishing. In my spare time, I enjoy writing, swimming, and running.