‘Bridgerton’ Costume Designer Describes Creating ‘Masculine’ Looks for Eloise

The Netflix series Bridgerton features some of the most elaborate costumes on the streaming service. Set in the Regency Era, the ladies of the series wear elegant gowns that reflect their unique personalities. Eloise is a headstrong feminist who longs to buck society’s norms, so costume designer Ellen Mirojnick used a few tricks to give her outfits a slightly more masculine look.

The Bridgerton and Featherington families wear distinctive colors

Bridgerton’s costume designer Ellen Mirojnick puts a lot of thought into each character’s costumes, and the pieces are more than just stunning to look at. They reflect each character’s personality and their family’s place in society.

The Bridgerton women’s dress colors show off their prominent and refined status. “We wanted their color palette to be powdery — these pale blues, silvers, and greens that feel like whispers of color,” Mirojnick told Vogue.

“Later on, as Daphne gets older, the colors become duskier. The pinks and blues are richer, and the silvers deepen as she grows and matures. She begins as a porcelain doll and becomes a woman.”

In contrast, Lady Featherington dresses her daughters in bright citrus colors “because she wants those girls to be seen.” Mirojnick added, “They’re bolder, brighter, and more brazen than everyone else, and everything is overly embellished. They just don’t know any better.”

Eloise Bridgerton’s costumes have a slightly more masculine look

Like her older sister Daphne, Eloise Bridgerton wears more muted tones. However, her dresses have a wider variety of colors than the Bridgerton family’s signature blue that Daphne frequently dons in season 1. Eloise’s choice of dresses symbolizes her status as a non-conformist.

“She resisted society, either with the length of her dresses or the simplicity of how she presented herself and the tailored-ness of her clothes compared to all the other women in the show,” Mirojnick told Hello Giggles. “She hated the bows, the frills, the lace—anything that was prissy. She’s always buttoned up.”  

Additionally, Hello Giggles points out that Eloise often wears her hair down or adorned loosely with ribbons. The majority of the women in Bridgerton have elaborate up-dos for the most of their time on screen.

Mirojnick also added a few more traditionally masculine pieces for Eloise. “Her inserts were made of a self-stripe pattern, which is more masculine than feminine,” the costume designer told Hello Giggles. “The insert was made in a softer fabric, so it rode the line of being masculine and feminine. And there was one jacket in particular that she wore at the modiste, which was taken from man’s takeaway.”

Eloise continues to wear clothes inspired by men’s fashion in season 2

Sophie Canale took over as costume designer for Bridgerton Season 2. However, Canale continued dressing Eloise in outfits inspired by menswear tailoring. “She’s steadfast in what she wears, really,” Canale told Fashionista. The outlet also points out that Canale added checks and stripes to Eloise’s wardrobe in season 2.

All episodes of Bridgerton are currently streaming on Netflix.