Dear gentle readers, you may have noticed that several characters have gone through quite the makeover on the latest episodes of Bridgerton. Look closely as these glow-ups continue to play a key role in the second half of season 3, which has now finally been released.
Costumes, hair, and makeup have always played a tremendous role in Bridgerton. The Netflix show has made it a trademark to have its characters showcase bold and lavish looks throughout this adaptation of Julia Quinn's bestselling books.
However, this has never been more flagrant as in Bridgerton season 3, which is all about transformation.
Focused on the romance between Penelope Featheringon (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), this season’s looks are key to translating the inner journeys characters are going through.
No longer a wallflower
For the first two seasons of Bridgerton, Penelope stood out to viewers, but not to the ton. The bright citrus colors she wore made her fit in with her family, but were not intended to make her look good in the eyes of suitors or even her fellow debutantes.
In fact, Penelope was meant to look more like a child than a woman ready to marry. But between seasons 2 and 3, she has left behind her caterpillar self and entered a cocoon through which a magnificent butterfly is slowly emerging.
In search of independence, she decides to change her looks at the start of the season, and her makeup becomes more glamorous. Her features are elongated and contoured, which lifts her cheekbones and accentuates her eyes, while her hairstyle also evolves.
"You'll see how over the season her hair starts up, and then it gets looser and more down," explained showrunner Jess Brownell to Netflix. "It's actually slightly anachronistic for a woman to wear her hair like that in Regency times, but Pen is an anachronistic character."
Hair and makeup designer Erika Ökvist found inspiration in old Hollywood icons like Rita Hayworth to design Penelope’s new hairstyle, adding to it a dash of Jessica Rabbit. Gone is the wallflower, Penelope now wants to be noticed.
"Penelope is now a woman, and through her looks, she's showing her determination in finding a future that she wants," said Ökvist.
Finding the new Pen
Change does not happen in a day though, and Penelope needs time to figure herself out. In part one of season 3, viewers will have noticed that she knows what she wants to achieve, yet not necessarily who she wants to be.
“Pen does have her makeover, but it doesn't necessarily have the impact that she thought it would. Because for Penelope, the change that needs to happen is much more about her confidence than it is about her external impression,” explained Brownell.
When the citrus clothes are packed away, Penelope experiments with different shades of green, trying to figure out what is the most "her". Of course, there are some Bridgerton pastels in there, indicating where she is going, but Penelope is still searching for herself.
"Her new colors are all neutrals because we as the audience don’t really know where she is going. We don’t want her to be the old Penelope, we don’t want to fix her into what we think her new character is, so we have kept her new colors very soft,” explained costume designer John Glaser.
*Season 3 part 2 spoilers below*
As the season goes on, viewers then see the show lean heavily into the butterfly metaphor as Penelope grows into her own person. She is changing and that transformation continues in part two as she comes to terms with her double-life as Lady Whistledown and Lady Bridgerton.
Then there is, of course, Penelope's wedding dress in episode 7 of the third season, which shows Penelope at her most vulnerable, not sure about how her wedding is going to go with the Lady Wistledown news hanging over her and Colin. Her dress is stunning, understated and doesn't have any of the frills and fanciness that Penelope of the past would have had. This marks the point where she has truly grown, ready for a life as a married woman.
By the final episode of series three, Penelope has come out to the world as Lady Whistledown, and at the same time found the confidence to be completely her. The beautiful dark green dress above is her way of showing the world who she is, and that she is no longer afraid to stand out.
Transforming Mister Bridgerton
Just like Penelope used to have more childlike features, Colin Bridgerton started off season 3 no longer looking like a boy.
"He looks like a man. And his colors are rugged, rich, masculine colors from the earth," said Glaser.
Indeed Colin has been traveling and learning more about himself, so upon his return to the ton he has also emerged from a cocoon. Spending time alone, away from his family and society, has allowed him to better understand who he wants to be.
Blue remains an important color in the Bridgerton family color palette, and Colin’s costuming incorporates the color but it’s a deeper shade than the baby blues viewers will remember seeing him wear in previous seasons.
There is a certain confidence in Colin’s new look that is apparent from the very first episode of season 3, an assertiveness that Penelope is still looking for. However Colin is not the only one whose looks reflect his newfound sense of identity.
An ever-changing ton
Throughout this season, fans follow the Mondriches as they take a new position in society, which affects their sense of who they can now be. Where Will tends to cling onto the past and has a hard time shedding his old self, Alice embraces her place in society.
"Before, Alice’s hair and makeup needed to be sustained by Alice herself, without a maid helping to take care of her kids and the household and everything else that she needed to do.
"But now she’s in a situation where she has help, and people who are trained in sprucing her up so she can actually do her full beauty regime," says Erika Ökvist.
The Mondriches’ costumes are also more sophisticated this season, reflecting their newfound wealth and, one episode after next, they find new ways to shine amongst the ton, where things can change very quickly.
Not unlike the Mondriches, Kate Sharma also has to adapt to a new role this season, being the new Bridgerton viscountess. That too shows through her looks. While elements from her Indian heritage are still visible in her outfits, Kate’s style is evolving and features softer colors, matching her Bridgerton ties.
Similarly, Violet Bridgerton’s wardrobe is becoming more relaxed with her title change. Plus, as the season progresses and she opens herself to the possibility of new love, her costumes match an idea of ease, youthfulness and growing independence that shows, for instance, through dresses with more sparkles.
All episodes of Bridgerton season 3 are available to watch worldwide on Netflix.
