Bustling With ‘Bridgerton’: Painting The Ton Silver in Season 4

Bridgerton is back! Well, half-back. Yes, Netflix left us all hanging most cruelly after debuting the first half of its fourth season in January. I, too, am back with another look at the series’ costume design, once again headed up by designer John Glaser, whom I interviewed in the run-up to Season 3. 

For the first time in Bridgerton history, many costumes this season appear to be reruns. That’s not due to budget cuts, but a practice that makes perfect sense, given that, apart from the many themed balls that mark the passage of time in the ton’s marriage mart, even highly fashionable and wealthy people such as the Bridgertons, Lady Danbury (Adjoah Andoh), and Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis) would re-wear their clothes. They would also have them made over or updated where possible. 

Therefore, on a day-to-day basis, Lady Penwood (Katie Leung) and her daughters, Miss Rosamund Li (Michelle Mao) and Miss Posy (Isabella Wei), are the ones who stand out the most. Lady Penwood demonstrates her fashion-consciousness through the mental spreadsheet of her shoe inventory – about 500 pairs, as we learn when Sophie (Yerin Ha) is tasked with cleaning them all – and through the gowns she and her daughters routinely wear.

The Penwoods

Lady Penwood’s every ensemble screams “widow’s weeds, but make it fashion” thanks to details like rich, subtly shimmery beading and copious use of luxury fabrics. In an interview for The Nod, costume designer George Sayer said that Lady Penwood’s all-black wardrobe is primarily about sticking to a look that works for her, rather than a reflection of her status as a widow.

“We just thought that she started to kind of own the colour,” says Sayer, noting that the palette also helped her stand apart visually from the rest of the ton. “It was more of a style choice for her, really.”

Lady Penwood’s daughters Rosamund and Posy, too, have signature looks that distinguish them from the rest of the ton, leaning into bold pattern-on-pattern combinations united by color palette, incorporating lots of Asian-style botanicals, and incorporating exaggerated puff sleeves (sometimes festooned with a pinwheel effect) in the little jackets they wear over their gowns.

All but one of my remaining favorites of this season’s first four episodes come from the masquerade ball thrown by Lady Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell). I just love it when a character is wearing a costume that the actual character knows is a costume. So meta! 

Sophie in Silver

Sophie’s surreptitiously borrowed masquerade ball gown is the logical place to start. Her storyline and this gown echo the classic Cinderella narrative, as she appears, a near-celestial vision of white-and-silver purity and radiance. When footman Alfie (series MVP David Mooret) brings the gown out of storage in the attic, he notes that it used to belong to the late Lord Penwood’s sister, and is several years out of date, but that’s of no concern for a masquerade ball. He’s also seen to her shoes, lavishly sparkly silver stilettos (ahistorical, but you could not pay me to snipe about it), while she can wear the emergency replacement mask Sophie whipped up when her original for Rosamund went missing.

I’m convinced that Rosamund herself “misplaced” the mask under her dressing table to make Sophie redo her work. Get a real hobby, Rosamund! Well, the joke’s on her, anyway, because by forcing Sophie to make a new mask, she ensures that there’s a suitable one to hand for Sophie to use. In a way, Rosamund set Sophie and Benedict’s (Luke Thompson) love story in motion.

In the scheme of things, Sophie’s gown isn’t particularly notable. She isn’t seeking attention at all – quite the opposite. But she elevates the gown by wearing it, making its demure scoop neck, sweet puff sleeves, and beaded empire waist flowing into a long skirt, shimmering and lacy, into something special and memorable. Maybe even enchanting. Benedict never stood a chance, is what I’m saying.

Eloise of Arc

For my money, Eloise’s (Claudia Jessie) extremely on-brand Joan of Arc costume is the best of the ball. She took the opportunity to go for something slightly daring, using the masquerade’s conventions to zig where others zag. No over-the-top femininity for her, thanks! Instead, she’s in a slate-tinged shade of Bridgerton blue* with gold accents, managing to be militaristic while coloring within the lines of a gown to satisfy her mother’s expectations.

*Costume designer John Glaser, who has been with Bridgerton since its second season, roiled some otherwise calm waters a bit in an interview with Town & Country, in which he declared that “There is no Bridgerton blue. That’s a misconception.” The name is a helpful shorthand, however, and I’m continuing to use it, with modifiers as needed.

The gown’s material looks like chainmail and even seems to move like it, but from what I can tell, it’s a fabric with a lot of body and movement. Her breastplate/stomacher features an oversized golden fleur-de-lis on a field of blue, and for her sleeves, she’s replaced any hint of a puff with sturdy epaulets. The gold trim, which we can see in close-up as a snake, is a witty detail. Look all you want, but keep your hands to yourselves, lads!

Best Couples Costume

Rounding out the most notable costumes from the masquerade, we have Mr. and Mrs. Mondrich as Antony and Cleopatra, respectively; Lady Danbury and her brother Lord Anderson accidentally both attending as Zeus; and Sophie’s stepsister Rosamund as Marie Antoinette. The former two pairs are notable for the bold black-and-gold palettes of their costumes, while Rosamund’s choice to cosplay as a queen who quite literally lost her head is – well, a choice.

The gown is beautiful, linking her to Queen Charlotte, who is at least two generations older than she is, regards her wardrobe as armor, and is a role model of imperiousness that Rosamund is very interested in emulating. Her neck is adorned with an elaborate diamond necklace that I think alludes to The Affair of the Necklace, a monarchy-threatening scandal dramatized in the second season of the PBS series Marie Antoinette. What remains of the real necklace at the heart of the controversy confounds expectations by being much smaller than one would imagine, and is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 

Lady Violet’s Lingerie

I went and saved the best for last: Lady Violet’s “I am the tea that you are having” lingerie set. I know Benedict and Sophie are the main love story for this season; however, as a woman of a certain age myself, I love how this season has made room for a mature yet still giddy, lusty relationship between Lady Bridgerton and Lord Anderson. After a multi-episode run of being excruciatingly proper – in drawing rooms, at balls, and in the lovely gardens of a manor house – they finally start talking a tad more frankly about their mutual desire, and what do you know, they’re smooching on the settee all of a sudden! 

The three-piece lingerie set Violet (we’re dispensing with formality for a moment) wears for her assignation with Marcus consists of a silky, flowing robe, a set of stays with little bows at the shoulders, and a darling pair of tap pants. They all coordinate, of course, in a shade leaning slightly more towards teal than the classic powdery Bridgerton blue, and I can’t tell you how many posts I’ve seen across social media demanding to know where one could acquire something similar for oneself.

The tap pants are 100% ahistorical and 100% adorable, and you can prize them from my 100% metaphorical cold, dead hands. I can’t recall if we’ve seen Violet’s dressing gown before, so it may just be a coincidentally coordinating piece; regardless, it’s simple and beautiful, and admirably performs its role of very temporary, saucy concealment. 

Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2 will debut with all episodes on Thursday, February 26, 2026. Seasons 1 through 3 and the first half of Season 4 are available to stream on Netflix. The series is officially renewed through Season 6.

Bustling With Bridgerton will return with the second half of Bridgerton’s fourth season.