“Bridgerton” Season 2 Costume Facts

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The colors and materials of Kate’s wardrobe evolve as she falls in love.

1.

In an interview with the A.V. Club, Bridgerton Season 2 costume designer Sophie Canale said that the costumes worn by the Sharma family are influenced by their Indian heritage.


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Canale said, “We had lots of discussions about how their gowns — the embroidery, patterns, embellishments — need to be an amalgamation of Indian heritage with them now being part of the ton.” For instance, Canale moved some of the splits in their dresses, which are typically centered, “a little to the side,” which reflected a “sari-like influence.”


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As for their jewelry, Canale noted the contributions of jewelry team member Poonam Thanki. Said Canale, “She was constantly bringing new ideas to the table. We both wanted to ensure the matching jewelry has Indian notes, so we used lots of flowers, hairpins, and decorations to match the dresses.”


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2.

Speaking of jewelry: Canale told Harper’s Bazaar that each of the major families — the Bridgertons, the Featheringtons, and the Sharmas — have a different preference for the type of precious metal used in their jewelry.


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Canale explained, “The Bridgertons tend to be in silver. For the Featheringtons, it’s gold. And for the Sharmas, it’s rose gold.”


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3.

The contrast between the color schemes favored by Kate and Edwina Sharma serve as a visual cue of their different goals at the beginning of the season: Kate aims to protect her sister before returning home to start a business, while Edwina seeks love and marriage. However, the burgeoning romance Kate shares with Anthony Bridgerton changes not only her outlook, but her wardrobe, too, ultimately leading her to dress in a lighter, less solemn style.


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Canale told the A.V. Club, “The idea of doing this came naturally to me when I was reading the script. It’s how I saw Kate. I wanted her clothes to reflect her journey. Simone [Ashley, who plays Kate] and [creator] Chris Van Dusen were immediately onboard.” Whereas Kate tends to choose darker colors at first, Edwina prefers pink, because she “believes in and wants love.” Canale said, “Hopefully this helps you see the difference in the sisters immediately.”


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4.

But it’s not only the color scheme of Kate’s wardrobe that shifts as she opens up to the idea of romance, but her choice of fabrics, too. Canale told Art & Object that Kate wears “heavier silks and taffetas” at the beginning of the season because “she’s got a bit of a wall up.” The textiles quite literally lighten up as the season goes on, though.


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5.

Canale told Harper’s Bazaar that Season 2 “averaged about 700 costumes,” with the team making around 160 every six weeks. She explained, “There is no other production like it. And for the women, each one of those costumes has a hat or hairpieces, jewelry, embroidered gloves, and shoes that are dyed to match the dresses. So it’s not only dresses — it’s an entire collection with many thousands of items.”


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6.

According to Shondaland, an episode of Bridgerton “averages about 90 costumes.” However, Episode 1 of Season 2 contained a whopping 146 looks.


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7.

Let’s talk Queen Charlotte. Actor Golda Rosheuvel revealed at a press conference that she wears not one, but two corsets to achieve a truly royal look.


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Rosheuvel said, “I am double-corseted. I love them, but you have to have stamina when you’re wearing two corsets for that long. I train regularly and drink lots of water because you have to say hydrated!”


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8.

Rosheuvel told Fashion Magazine that getting into her Queen Charlotte costume takes “on average two hours.”


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9.

Canale told Shondaland that in this season, the ladies-in-waiting wear clothing that references their queen’s fashion. She said, “[Hair and makeup designer] Erika Ökvist and I had great fun collaborating for the Queen’s costumes, wig, and hair decoration to match the details on the costumes. This season, we also have the ladies-in-waiting costumes with details matching those of the Queen.”


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10.

Jonathan Bailey, who plays Anthony Bridgerton, revealed at a press conference that he had a bit of an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction while filming a fencing scene.


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Bailey recalled, “I know that we boys shouldn’t complain because the girls have to wear all these corsets, but I do remember one scene where me and the sibs are fencing, and the costumes were very tight in certain places. It was also a dewy morning and we were wearing plimsolls, so I did this lunge move and my trousers ripped at the crotch. I was suddenly aware all these people were watching me and I just screamed, ‘This is so embarrassing!'”


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If you were wondering (like I was), a “plimsoll” is a fabric athletic shoe with a rubber sole. So, yeah, pretty slippery.


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11.

Bailey wasn’t alone in his costume woes. In an interview with Glamour, Simone Ashley recalled that her first experience with a corset was somewhat…fraught.


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Ashley said, “On my first day, I was like, ‘OK, first day as a leading lady, got to eat lots of food, be really energized.’ So, I had this massive portion of salmon and that’s when I needed to be sick, basically because I was wearing the corset. I realized when you wear the corset, you just don’t eat. It changes your body. I had a smaller waist very momentarily. Then the minute you stop wearing it, you’re just back to how your body is.” She added, “I had a lot of pain with the corset, too. I think I tore my shoulder at one point!”


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In this corset crash course, Ashley also learned that “when you’re in a corset, you can’t put your shoes on.”


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12.

According to creator Chris Van Dusen, the moment where Jonathan falls into the water in his white shirt is a shoutout to the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Van Dusen said, “I’ve talked about the 1995 Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth emerging from the lake in a white shirt a lot, and we wanted to pay homage with our own version of that in this season. I love this genre, so there really are any number of things that have found their way into my brain and onto the page when it comes to period pieces.”


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13.

Eloise Bridgerton makes her debut on the marriage market in this season, but that didn’t mean Canale sidelined the character’s rebellion against her society’s strict gender roles.


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In an interview with Shondaland, Canale said that in designing the “slightly masculine look” that Eloise cultivates outside of formal events, she incorporated “stripes, checks, and small self-patterned fabrics, which provide a more masculine look than the floral fabrics of the ton.”


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14.

Eloise’s best friend Penelope undergoes a bit of a style evolution this season. Actor Nicola Coughlan told Shondaland that Penelope develops a “much more refined look” in Season 2, in part because her mother, who favors more outrageous styles, is focusing more on her sister Prudence than her.


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Coughlan explained, “In the first few episodes, there are still some big hair accessories and fussy curls, lots of embellishments on the dresses, and then it gets less and less as the season goes on. And you know, Portia Featherington is putting her attention much more on Prudence, so Penelope is kind of like, ‘Okay, you’re not paying attention to me; there are not as many housemaids sticking hot things in my hair to make it crazy. So, I’ll look a bit more refined and a bit more myself.'”


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15.

When describing the historical accuracy of Bridgerton to Netflix Tudum, Chris Van Dusen said that on the show, “Everything is rooted in Regency times, but the volume is turned up.” So while it’s a period piece, no one is married to complete accuracy at the expense of aesthetic appeal.


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One example of the costume department straying from historical record has to do with how much skin the female characters show on a regular basis. Fashion historian Raissa Bretaña told Netflix Tudum, “The bosom is very, very on display in this show. In reality, that only would’ve happened during a very specific time of day for specific activities. You would not have seen that much chest in your day-to-day life. It was actually required that you cover your chest during the day.”


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16.

Another area of sartorial inaccuracy involves the popularity of bright, vivid colors amongst the show’s characters. Bretaña said, “Colors were generally muted during this period. A lot of those day dresses were actually just white. And that’s kind of the look of the period, very neoclassical, going back to ancient Greece and Rome — these flowing white gowns. You would get pinks and purples, but they would be rather subdued.”


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She went on, “And those really rich, hot tones wouldn’t even be chemically possible until the second half of the 19th century.” Which would’ve been a devastating blow to the Featherington family’s whole deal.


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17.

And finally: Sophie Canale told Harper’s Bazaar that Season 2’s use of hair accessories has the potential to spark a real-world trend. Canale said, “We did a lot with hair decoration this season. Hair pins, jewelry, flowers in your hair — I think Lady Featherington has interesting headwear this season, and maybe that’s something we could see take off.”


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Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/marycolussi/bridgerton-season-2-costume-facts

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