22 thoughts on “Bridgerton’s Hairstyles: Good, Bad, & Wacky

  1. I think what helps set this show from other historical shows that are trying to be ” modern”

    ( YES ANY SHOW BASED PHILIPPA GREGORY. I AM LOOKING AT YOU!!!!).

    Is that not only it is intentional ( which is the best I can describe it, but I know that the costuming team did try there hardest. I personally partially blame the higher ups who want to make the clothes more ” relatable”) ,

    but you can just see that EVERYTHING was thought to a T.

    Like there hairstyles were not historically accurate but , the majority of them, look like they were thought out and you can actually see the effort and craftmanship that goes into those hair.

    Like I sometimes like to imagine in the world of Bridgerton, how every morning Cressida and her mother’s ladies maids would always have a MENTAL BREAKDOWN every time they would try to style their hair .

    Also as for the queen’s ” Beyonce ” wig. I also think it nicely shows how the 18th century ” Hedgehog” hairstyles are actually Western white people appropriating the Afro.

    You can actually read it in “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty: 40 Projects for Period-Accurate Hairstyles, Makeup and Accessories”. Where they worte an essay and actually cite sources talking about it .

    Though they did not find any sources as to WHY suddenly the Afro specifically was chosen to be appropriated ( I also did my own research and I got nothing, but if you find anything please don’t be afraid to share it.)

    1. Agreed agreed! Also, as I wrote in our original, general review of the series, I thought the changes they brought to the history MADE SENSE for the subject matter. The show is frothy fun, so it makes sense that they made the costumes frothy fun. If this were a Thomas Hardy adaptation, frothy fun wouldn’t have suited. I’m all for going crazy, but going crazy in a way that makes sense for the subject matter/theme/source material.

  2. In regards to the side curl/ponytail look, It is the style of hair that Daphne is described as having when the Duke first meets her in the book. I am rereading the series and just read that chapter.

  3. Two things:

    The “meh” Queen Charlotte look for you reminds me SO much of Dolly Parton, particularly in Steel Magnolias, although I’m not sure why. It’s just such a STATEMENT for daytime and I dig it! :)

    I reread The Duke and I, and I can tell that it was written in 2000, long before Candice Hern’s AMAZING blog about Regency clothing and this incredible focus via FF and the CosTubers about what would and wouldn’t have been worn. There are boots aplenty – in fact that’s about all Simon wears. Daphne has a half-up style for a ball (granted, she’s not in her deb season in the books, but still! HAIR UP.) It’s amazing what 20 years, the Internet, and a bunch of great people gathering historical images has done for our knowledge.

    And I NEED to know the color Queen Charlotte is using on her lips! I love that mauve-y, dusky burgundy purple.

    1. I was so disappointed that they went with standard issue Sexy Period Drama Boots. Who among us did not want to see Regé-Jean Page’s well-turned calf?

  4. I loved the care the wig team took in fitting each character to a hairstyle Regency inspired. I want to be Lady Danby when I grow up.

  5. Thank you for this in-depth dive! I was FASCINATED by the hairstyles (though the half-up hair made my teeth itch). I looooved Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte’s hair — it’s worth watching to see Charlotte’s wigs alone! I am in awe of how much work went into them, and gosh they must be HEAVY! I cannot imagine wearing one of those for hours during filming, the actress must have amazing neck muscles.

    1. Actually it really depends on what you use for the structure to hold them up… although the actress who played the queen did say the Beyoncé wig was particularly hot to wear. Some of the wigs they made so she could take them on and off easily during filming breaks. I know for the high wigs I make, it’s all about angle – if they angle too far back they’re hard on the neck. I use wire mesh to make the inner shape, and that’s pretty lightweight.

  6. Betsy, Tacy and Tibb! it made my heart so happy to know someone else remembers the girls! my first thought of Queen Charlottes huge afro wig was “what an enormous hedge hog wig she has my dear!” I imagined a lady in waiting walking along with a stick to prop it up as it tried to topple one side or the other. and you KNOW they only have a few hairpins and bobby pins in all of California and they used them all up with the regal ladies. :-)

  7. I am so glad that you are doing a deep-dive in to Bridgerton. Like others have said, every detail was intentional and planned, the translation from Regency novel to modern-written romance novel, then from novel to screen seemed like a perfectly delicious match for Frock Flicks.

    I’d like to share my outsider’s of an experience of hair racism. One of the (many) infuriating parts of working in a nursing home was the casual disrespect and racism to those with black and natural hair. It was 7 months long battle against leadership that I eventually lost. I know that I tried my best, but I am ashamed of myself because I couldn’t get it done, even in the single nursing home, and even on my own–not the company’s–dime. I think about those (mostly) elderly ladies, and their indignities not just in the 1960s, but just last year.

    So Bridgerton was personal. Wonderful Bridgerton! What a balm for the whole of the US to see natural hair and locs celebrated! And crowned with precious jewels and tiaras. I was especially eager to hear your take on the use of locs as buckles. And D.M.A.C.C.’s comments about the hedgehog style are a revelation. Definitely next book on the list. Thank you.

      1. Your comments to me always make me feel special. Thank you. I am ashamed for failing, but honestly, the ladies at the nursing home had it much worse, and we need things like Bridgerton so that future older ladies with textured hair have it easier.

        Do tell me–what did you think about using locs as “buckles” (the rolly-things on 18th century hair–that’s what they are called, right?) I thought it was inspired. I would love to know more about how Afro-hair was taken into account for a period we are told was mostly white. Will definitely be following the articles mentioned.

        Thanks again! Happy 2021! And hooray for frothy fun.

        1. Firstly the the way a buckle were made for 18th century hair, it was teased until had a texture of a dread lock .

          Though mostly they actually use fake hair to make the buckles and attach it to their head.

          Now as for how Afro-hair was taken into account. From what I have read, Free black people and enslaved black people who are going to Church or Special occasions would actually style their hair into the same styles that white people wore.

          And follow the same the procedure in cleaning and styling their hair, with powder and pomatum( also known as pomade)

          Though while when they are working, enslaved people would wear Turbans or Tignon as it is sometimes called would have cornrows and a “Threaded” hairstyle. So basically , identical or similar to protective hair styles that Black people still use today .

          You can see and hear about info in these videos made by the AWESOME Cheyney McKnight (Though please be aware this is focused more on the 18th century) (Links below):

          This video ( link below) is more about reviewing historical makeup products, but you can hear tidbits Cheyney talks about when it comes to black people and 18th century makeup:

          You can also hear this Podcast as well if you want another input of information(Link below):

          https://soundcloud.com/americanduchess/episode-23-cheyney-mcknight-on-african-hair-and-headwraps

          The book, The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty: 40 Projects for Period-Accurate Hairstyles, Makeup and Accessories” actually gives you instructions to how to achieve women’s hair from 1750s to 1790s and they show how to this with a VARIETY OF HAIR TEXTURES and would give advice how to help achieve these styles with the hair you have.

          You can see the authors ( Abby Cox and Lauren Stowell) of “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty: 40 Projects for Period-Accurate Hairstyles, Makeup and Accessories” actually showing them doing a hairstyle in the books while talking about how people would clean there hair and debunking MYTHS like ” how 18th century people had vermin in there hair” .

          As well having Cheyney McKnight discussing her essay in the book, on how the ” Hedgehog” hair is actually appropriating the Afro.(Link below)

          1. Aw, you are NEAT! Thank you for listing all of this, together for me and anyone else interested in this.

  8. I kept looking for the ‘love’ button on these comments. THANK YOU so much for the deep dive into hair design. I am usually a historical purist, BUT Bridgerton is based on a romance series set in the Regency period, not an actual period novel, so I have no problems with the license the costumers took. I, for one, am glad for the imagined aesthetic. As others have mentioned, I thought this entire production was well thought out, from costumes to casting. It’s all of a piece, and it works for me. Everyone is such fun to watch, but I particularly love the portrayals of Lady Danbury, Queen Charlotte and, of course, the Duke. For some reason I find the characterization of Eloise grating, though. (And I admit to not having read the books, so perhaps she’s just as annoying in print as she is on screen. She must makes my teeth hurt.)Again, thanks for a very entertaining post.

    1. I agree. I was much more forgiving of any issue – aesthetic or narrative – here than I was in, say, Sanditon, which took itself so much more seriously.

  9. All the women’s hairstyles are deliriously AMAZING, but Queen Charlotte’s are next level.

    I don’t know why, but the care and thought put into Queen Charlotte’s hairdos makes me want to weep.

    I think Elise said it best: “Wonderful Bridgerton! What a balm for the whole of the US to see natural hair and locs celebrated! And crowned with precious jewels and tiaras.”

  10. As somehow a fan of the real queen and visitor of Mecklenburg-Strelitz it’s just like a punch in my face (especially if compared to – if I remember it right – Heike Makatsch’s performance in a very short scene in “Longitude”). I fear that I’m just too much connected to the subject to look at that production. If it really doesn’t matter how the queen looked – why not taking a male actor for the queen. I think that Katharina Thalbach did a great job as Friedrich II. von Preußen.

    There are obviously some productions which are hard to look – and I don’t mean so much cheap TV-productions.

  11. My mother always taught me to stay clear of bloody road kills. Therefore, I decided to skip this atrocity of a period drama.

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