Bridgerton Season 3 Costumes: Initial Thoughts

OK, we’ve all watched the first four episodes of Bridgerton (2020-) season 3 by now. The rest drop on June 13, 2024, but the season’s costume aesthetic has been established, and we can talk about that. Season 1 costume designer Ellen Mirojnick helped build the Bridgerton world with her stylized version of Regency costume. Season 2 costume designer Sophie Canale worked in that same world, but I suspect the pandemic restricted that production a bit (filming did get shut down a couple times). This season’s costume designer is John Glaser, who has come back to S1’s concept with a vengeance and then some!

FYI: In previous reviews, we’ve noted how Bridgerton plays with and departs from historical fashions of the 1810s, when the show is ostensibly set. This is a historical romance story, it’s highly fictionalized, and it’s not meant to be a strict historical recreation. WE ARE AWARE.

John Glaser worked on S1 with Ellen Mirojnick so he brings back some of that directive, as he said in InStyle of starting out:

“All we knew was that it was 1813 and that there would be no women’s bonnets. That kind of gave us a clear vision as to where we were going. And I always say that our initial inspiration boards were very clear where it shows a fashion reference, it shows an historical reference, and hopefully a painting in there too, which sums up exactly where we went.”

Things have definitely gotten more, well, more this third time around. In an interview with Essence, Glaser calls this season’s designs elevated:

“The elevation is a natural progression because [in] season one we didn’t know the families. We didn’t know the audience. We had to show the audience who each family was. That’s why each family has a color, a palette. Season two became a little more period-oriented and not as fashion-oriented because of the story.

In season three, we felt that the audience had seen 16 episodes, but they knew the characteristics. They’ve watched the show, and we didn’t have to hold to that color palette as much as we did before, which allows what you call the elevation because now we can expand our colors, we can expand our textures, we can help to enhance the characters without using certain colors that aren’t correct for them. So we were able to design things that were more in tune with the actual person and the character that they were showing us.”

Everything does feel even more exaggerated and over-the-top than even at the start of the series. There’s tons more embellishment, for example. In Woman’s World, Glaser talked about the fabric treatments:

“We put our fabrics together in ways that it doesn’t look like it’s just off the bolt. We have a very big embellishment department.  It’s nine people that re-embroider things, make flowers, add layers and make it look like a flower garden.”

While it doesn’t look like the cheap bridesmaid dresses that some of S2 did, all this layers upon layers of stuff doesn’t always work to my eye. I’m a maximalist, I put shittons of trim on everything I make, and even I was “whoa, dial it back there, buddy!” while watching these episodes. Visually, I found it to be just kind of a mess at times, not pleasing to either a modern or period aesthetic. The goal here seemed to be “let’s throw everything and the kitchen sink at these costumes!”

I’ll start with some little things that bugged me, in no particular order:

 

 

• The Giant Sleeves

This is actually one that bugs everyone else — I’ve already seen a lot of shitposting about Cressida Cowper’s ridiculous sleeves. Because they are nuts. The costume designer and his team must have had a bet about how big could they go with her sleeves.

She’s not the only one, however! The Featherington sisters get their share of oversized sleeves. If you stretch, you might possibly say these ones are inspired by 1830s fashion. Maybe. Kinda.

Then there’s the ladies who get off-the-shoulder sleeves. Lady Danbury wears this style at most of the balls, and the newly introduced Lady Tilley gets a similar style, while Mrs. Mondrich dabbles in cold-shoulders. None of these are Regency fashions, of course, just modern.

Costume designer John Glaser had some explanation for Lady Danbury in an Essence interview:

“We’ve expanded her silhouette where we see her shoulders. She’s much more open and free when she’s at a ball. And that too, again, is because the story has matured, the characters have matured. So the time has now allowed us to expose a little more of her other characteristics, not just the one iconic character that we think of.”

She looks good, she always does, but this smacks of a lazy way to make period costume “sexy” in a modern sense. Yawn.

 

 

• Bows, Bows, Bows

I think Eloise Bridgerton has always worn a few bows, at least at the front, but now they started migrating to her back. Glaser told British Vogue about Eloise’s costumes:

“We do get to see her in some things that she wouldn’t normally have worn before. We got to break out of her stiffer clothes, and give her bows and ruffles, but it feels tailored rather than fussy.”

Really? Looks hella fussy to me!

It’s not just her either. Right at the start of these episodes, the debutants swap their long court trains for, uh, kicky shrug/capelets and giant butt bows:

Though it’s the extras who get loaded down with bows. Mostly butt bows, which might make sense if these were sashes tied in the back with a bow, but they’re not. Even weirder are the bows on the back that are randomly tacked up mid-back or at the top of the back neckline — maybe to hide the zipper?

Sure, bows were used in Regency fashion, but they weren’t just plopped here and there on an outfit. Sashes were tied around the waist (the high waist) in bows, usually at the back, but sometimes in the front. Bows either matched the gown or were a contrasting color that was the same as the trim or contrast on the rest of the outfit. There’s a sense of harmony and proportion in bow decorations of the 1800s to 1810s.

This season’s Bridgerton just goes overboard with the bows. Once you start seeing them, you realize they’re everywhere. Sometimes two bows on top of each other. Sometimes on the front. Sometimes hanging from the neck. I guess they were contagious.

 

 

• Raggedy Tweed

Oh suddenly we’re English and getting all tweedy? The costume designer told British Vogue, “This season, because of the story we’re telling, we thought, ‘Let’s make it softer. It’s more textural, a little more blurry.'” I’m not opposed to the fabric as such, and sure, it adds texture, but holy moly, it looks so clunky here!

Lady Danbury is the only one who gets a classy tweed like a vintage Chanel suit. Everybody else is wearing ratty cut-up old blankets loaded with an aisle of flowers from Michael’s.

 

 

• Sad Muffs

No, that’s not a euphemism for anything, I’m talking about the fake-looking so-called muffs that Eloise carries. One looks like a folded over bath towel.

Then Eloise carries one that looks like bows (omg again!) on a bath towel, and both are too thin and skimpy to be anything close to a practical muff.

Now, muffs were a popular accessory in the period and did not have to be practical! There was a trend for ginormous muffs that’s well-documented in fashion plates from the 1790s through the 1820s, when they finally shrink down to more reasonable proportions.

 

 

• Cressida’s Bath-Scrubby Pelisse

C’mon, really? She looks like she skinned a BarbieCore Muppet.

This and a lot of her clothes seem to be riffing on Italian fashion designer Giambattista Valli, who’s been doing these OTT looks for the past few years. Just compare these pieces from one of his 2019 collections with Cressida’s feathered and giant rose sleeves. Makes you wonder what she’ll be wearing in part two of this season!

 

 

• Cressida’s Neck Corset

The dress is dumb enough, why add the neckpiece? She’s not punk.

 

 

• Square-Top Wigs

Those poor ladies-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte! Did someone iron the top of their wigs? Why are they flat?

 

 

But it’s not all bad! I can dish out the praise along with the snark. Here are some things I liked, in no particular order:

 

• Alice Mondrich’s Wardrobe

The breakout star of this season, IMO. Having her son inherit a title is pretty random, but it’s also just an inverted twist on what happens all the time in Jane Austen’s novels — a distant male cousin inherits the house and title out from under the female relatives. At least this time, there’s no family to kick out to a distant cottage.

Anyway, with Alice’s improved status, she gets more and better costumes, though I like everything she wears. She gets a more harmonious style that feels more of the era than many other characters, even though the fabrics and embellishments are heightened. Alice’s wardrobe doesn’t go over-the-top, which I’m sure is meant to show that she’s new to the Ton and just finding her way, but I think it looks more elegant and pretty. John Glaser talked about Alice and her costumes to Essence, saying:

“She has a slightly different look than everyone else. You really don’t notice it because it still has to blend in with everyone. She’s got the money, she has the position. She has a great husband. She has a great family. I think she feels secure in her life.”

She arrives at their new house in this purple floral pelisse that I would 1000% wear myself:

For her first ball, she has one of the dead rich-lady’s dresses made over, and while it’s supposed to look a bit out-dated and fusty, it suits my taste.

Then Alice gets her own brand-new ballgown, which Glaser also described in Essence:

“That look is really [pivotal] because it’s one time that we know that the camera will shoot from the floor to the ceiling, and again, it was an opportunity. This is the first time that she’s out in society. I’ve said this before, it’s a time when a costume designer could have done something flamboyant, over the top that the audience would see the dress, but they wouldn’t see the character. It would hinder the scene. And I feel that dress sets the tone for the rest of Alice’s wardrobe that we see. We also used a color that was very complimentary with her skin so that the costume, the actor, and the character kind of blend together.”

The camera scrolls up from her feet, showing the red and gold layers of her gown first:

Then closeups show the green/gold with red bodice with coordinating jewelry and hair decoration.

At the ballooning event, Alice gets another excellent pelisse — the cut suits the period but the fabric is totally modern. And yet, because the tones are soft and based on a stripe, it feels related to the historical style.

 

 

• Lady Featherington’s Spencers

OK, this is a very little thing, but I’ll take it. Polly Walker’s costumes in this show have always had a distinct and not-very-Regency silhouette — as Kendra said in her review of season two, “Did Polly Walker have a “waist” clause in her contract?” Yep, she still has that shape, but I’m just noting the tiny little nod towards 1810s fashion in that she wears spencers this time. Glaser confirmed with Popverse:

“On Lady Featherington, if you look at her closely, it’s the first time that she’s ever worn a spencer. [It’s] the first season that she’s ever worn a jacket with her dresses.”

 

 

• Lady Danbury’s Daywear

She’s still my favorite character and gets the best costumes in the show IMO, but she didn’t get get as many stunners this season. Plus I’m not a fan of those off-the-shoulder evening gowns. Still, the daytime outfits she wears in scenes at home, with the queen, or out visiting are damn fine. In Essence, costume designer John Glaser said of Lady Danbury:

“Her character [is] covered because we played her a little masculine, but you’ll find out that she, in this season, she maintains that iconic look of Lady Danbury, the burgundy.”

And this is the most magnificent burgundy:

She wears velvet well, such as this perfectly period ensemble for a breakfast chat with her brother:

 

 

• Queen Charlotte’s Motorized Wig

Glad to see they’re trying to up the hair game somehow! Though I wanted to see MORE of it. Hair and makeup designer Erika Ökvist told ScreenRant how this idea came about:

“The last ball was the Queen’s Ball, where we had the [Eros and Psyche] ballet. It was one of the weeks that I had just been dying to do since season 2, but there was never a right time for it in season 2. Then finally, we had this ballet and then I was thinking, ‘Well, what would be great for the ballet?’ She’s got moving pieces within her wig, so we printed this clockwork platform and got some motors so that I’ve got some swans swimming around this kind of Faberge egg-shaped wig. I think that the biggest problem with that one was to make it quiet enough for the sound man not to want to kill me. That was difficult.”

Ökvist noted in the same interview that season three was a bigger production overall:

“The reason I think we’ve got more people involved in these balls is that there is no more COVID lockdown. That was a big thing in season 2, where we had restrictions on how many people we could have in a room. That restriction didn’t happen in season 3, so within the first two weeks, we had as many extras as we had for almost the whole of season 2. It was crazy.”

This promo pic shows the wig more clearly than you see onscreen:

At the ball, there’s one camera closeup into the wig:

 

 

• Penelope’s Dark Green Ballgown

That’s a hell of a glowup, girl! Yes, I even like the sheer black gloves, don’t @ me. This dress had been previewed a lot before the show dropped, but it was still a wowzer of a scene when Penelope enters the ballroom and has all eyes on her for the first time. Designer John Glaser told British Vogue:

“After her first big reveal, we see her in this darker green colour. If you look closely, you’ll notice that her hair in that scene is now a slightly different shade of red. The under layer of that outfit is actually an iridescent fabric that’s green and copper, and it sort of blends in with her hair.”

Glaser described Penelope’s costume to Teen Vogue:

“She’s never worn a dark color, layers of fabric or metallics like that before, so we thought this was a chance to do that. It was influenced from fashion in Paris at that time and that dress was good for that moment, but to follow that pattern for the rest of her clothes throughout the season would have been a detriment to all of us.”

 

 

What do you think of the costumes in this first part of Bridgerton‘s third season?