Get ready to dive into the historical hiccups of everyone's favorite Regency romance! We're breaking down the most glaring historical inaccuracies that make "Bridgerton" more fantasy than fact. From questionable fashion to surprising social dynamics, we're spilling the tea on what the show got wrong!
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00:00I should like to try something a little different tonight."
00:02Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:05for the ways everyone's favorite period romance Bridgerton
00:08danced away from history.
00:10This author shall tell it all, and warns you there will be some spoilers.
00:14Well plead your case.
00:17Number 10.
00:18The characters are diverse, but unrealistic.
00:21This series' use of diverse casting is one of the most praised
00:24and contentious aspects of Bridgerton.
00:26Is it realistic or a modern fantasy?
00:29What are you suggesting?
00:32Lady Whistledown May writes what she sees.
00:34Perhaps we need to help her to see things a bit more clearly.
00:38There were plenty of non-white people living in London in the Regency era.
00:41Some were even part of nobility, like Dido Elizabeth Bell.
00:45However, slavery was not prohibited in the British Empire until 1833.
00:50I've enabled every rule of convention so that you would know exactly where you belong.
00:55And yet, little appears enough for you.
01:00And what if there were not a rule, Papa?
01:04What if the rule that allowed you to take me did not exist?
01:07Interracial relationships occurred, but were likely much more rare
01:11than what appears on the show.
01:12The majority of English nobility was white.
01:15Bridgerton's colorblind society is more of a creative choice
01:18than a precise portrayal of the history.
01:20You heard Mrs. Karner.
01:21That is not how it is done.
01:24We cannot...
01:24Yes, we can.
01:25We can do whatever we want, Alice.
01:27This is our life now.
01:29Number nine.
01:30The hair.
01:31However you feel about this series' up-do's and down-do's,
01:34real-life Regency hairstyles do have some overlap with the show.
01:37Regency hair was generally short or in a high bun,
01:41with tight side ringlets and curls.
01:43Hair was typically worn up and covered with a bonnet.
01:45How do you get those ringlets?
01:48By the application of hot irons.
01:51I'd be delighted to arrange yours if you'd let me.
01:53No, I may be losing grip on reality, but I'm still in control of my hair.
01:57Other more elaborate headgear included diamond headdresses,
02:00turbans and silk, pearls, flowers, and beads as adornments.
02:04You can see the Regency influence in some of the hairstyles,
02:07but others, not so much.
02:09Do you like it?
02:13If you should have something to say, Mama, please say it.
02:16Daphne's hair being down in public especially would have been quite scandalous.
02:20The stylish do's on Bridgerton are more of a creative spin on the era,
02:23along with other influences, including Audrey Hepburn and Beyoncé.
02:27She's beautiful.
02:30Good afternoon, Lady Featherington.
02:32Number eight, the makeup.
02:34In the Regency era, the ideal look was more natural.
02:37Recipe is my only son.
02:39I'm quite certain the Duke should find it appealing.
02:41Younger women shied away from too heavy white foundation,
02:44preferring to use combinations like lighter powders and aromatic water.
02:48They also wore mascara and eyeliner,
02:50as well as blush that could be made of things like carmine and rose pink safflower.
02:54Is a rouge not to your liking?
02:58No, it is perfect.
03:04I should like some more.
03:05There are some natural enough looks in Bridgerton,
03:07but by the third season, the bold ones began to dominate.
03:11Penelope's standout rouge and smoky eyes stand out as especially not faithful
03:15to the time period.
03:16Let's not touch on the glitter either, for our sanity.
03:19I did not expect to be inspected as if I were some rare insect
03:23writhing under a microscope.
03:26You do not much like attracting notice, do you?
03:28Number seven, gossip columns, including full names.
03:31Do not tell me that is yet another scandal sheet.
03:33Eloise, this one is different.
03:35This one lists subjects by name in full.
03:38Let me see!
03:39It's true that Regency London had its share of gossip sheets
03:42that insinuated the romantic, personal, and social scandals of the London taun.
03:46But where Bridgerton veers into inaccuracy is depicting Lady Whistledown
03:50actually publishing the full names of the scandalous subjects.
03:53You of all people would be quite interested in today's issue, Penelope.
03:57Lady Whistledown has a good deal to say about your precious Bridgertons.
04:00Call it, in fact.
04:02Normally, just an initial with a dash sufficed.
04:05This was done to skirt England's historically strict libel laws.
04:08The publisher could face legal consequences for publishing scandals.
04:12Particularly if it was about a peer of the realm.
04:14Seems Lady Whistledown is playing games again.
04:18Ah, are you going to play along, your majesty?
04:23I do love a game.
04:26Especially when I am so often the victor.
04:28Lady Whistledown's bold use of these nobles' full names
04:31probably would have been even riskier in real life.
04:34But it's no wonder there was such ire against Penelope.
04:37You've all these great ambitions, these great plans,
04:39but I am the one who actually did something great,
04:41and you cannot stand it, can you?
04:45And what do you think that makes you?
04:50I wish never to see or speak to you again.
04:54Number 6.
04:55Geneviève Delacroix as a modiste.
04:58Women's roles during the Regency era were very circumscribed.
05:01There were very few professions open to women.
05:03If you desire the sun and the moon,
05:05all you have to do is go out and shoot at the sky.
05:08Some of us cannot.
05:09Working women were typically in service roles such as teachers,
05:12maids, and, yes, dressmakers.
05:14There were also female writers, several of whom became quite famous,
05:18including Jane Austen and Mary Shelley.
05:20However, it would likely be very rare for a woman to run her own business.
05:25The silks you ordered, mom?
05:28You may leave them at the back.
05:30I only hope I'm of use for them.
05:32Madame Delacroix could have been a seamstress.
05:35However, her perceived independence in the show,
05:37making her own money and managing her affairs,
05:40would likely have been frowned upon at the time.
05:42Would you prefer to sit around simpering over your needlework
05:45or whatsoever it is these debutantes must do to pass the time?
05:50You and I make our own way in the world.
05:52That we do.
05:53Number 5.
05:54Ladies didn't wear painful corsets.
05:57Corsets have basically become an on-screen shortcut
05:59for communicating the struggles and standards of womanhood.
06:02How's it coming?
06:04It's difficult to say.
06:06I'm told it's the latest fashion in London.
06:08Well, women in London must have learned not to breathe.
06:11In reality, there are a variety of kinds of corsets,
06:14and few are as restrictive and uncomfortable as popular culture
06:17has painted them.
06:18Only a minority in the later Victorian era chose severe tight lacing,
06:22contrary to Bridgerton's misrepresentation.
06:25Is she to breathe, mama?
06:26I was able to squeeze my waist into the size of an orange and a half
06:29when I was Prudence's age.
06:30Your sister, she'll do the same.
06:33Regency-era women were more likely to opt for a similar,
06:36less cartoonishly restrictive garment known as stays.
06:39These undergarments were more similar to bras than torture devices.
06:43Corded stays varied in length, style of fastening, materials, and decoration.
06:49But they were functional, comfortable, and often very pretty.
06:53Stays resembled more of a waistcoat and shaped the bust more,
06:56but were less restrictive than even regular corsets.
06:59They were easily worn with the popular High Empire waistline and flowing skirts.
07:03The bodice has tapes sewn on the inside of the waist,
07:06which are tied inside the gown to hold the waistline firm.
07:10The bodice is then closed by means of a drawstring at the neck
07:13and a hook and eye at the waist.
07:15Number four.
07:16The costumes were not that extravagant.
07:18Your dresses have arrived.
07:24This one is quite ravishing.
07:26Mary Edgecombe wore a similar shade last season.
07:29And Secured 3 offers the very next day.
07:31Much ink has been spilled regarding the historical accuracy,
07:34or lack thereof, of the Bridgerton costumes.
07:37Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick purposefully played with elements of Regency fashion,
07:42embellishing some with modern adornments and ignoring others.
07:45We've made it more luxurious and more sumptuous,
07:50and we've introduced a modern color palette,
07:54but really trying to stick to the basic foundation.
07:57The general silhouette of High Empire waistlines is accurate,
08:00especially with Daphne's costumes in the first season.
08:03The contemporary glitter, however, is a different story.
08:07Even some of the colors of clothing are shades
08:09that would not have been used in the period.
08:11Call us, ma'am, the Earl of Stafford and the Marquise of Finley.
08:14You would?
08:14Well, you should have my colorful fashions to thank.
08:17The menswear is more faithful to the Regency silhouette
08:19and appropriately luxurious.
08:22Number three.
08:22Regency royalty differences.
08:24Is there any fruit to show for all of my efforts on your behalf?
08:29As the eldest, have you been of any assistance to the crown in this manner?
08:33King George and Queen Charlotte were real-life monarchs.
08:36That much is true.
08:37However, the nature of King George's illness and the Queen's reign
08:40were different in real life.
08:42What are they doing?
08:43Stop!
08:43Leave!
08:44Leave me!
08:45Leave me!
08:46Nowadays, scholars believe George III may have suffered
08:49from bipolar disorder or porphyria, a type of rare blood disease.
08:53When his illness intensified in the early 1800s,
08:56his son George IV became regent.
08:58Queen Charlotte was not the reigning monarch.
09:01Fun fact, that's why the period is called the Regency era.
09:04One thing that Bridgerton did get right, though,
09:06was the couple being reportedly happy together before his decline in health.
09:10You did not go over the wall.
09:19No, George.
09:20I did not go over the wall.
09:23Number two, Marina wouldn't have been able to keep her child.
09:26Marina's secret pregnancy would have been indeed scandalous during this era.
09:30For the most part, this season one storyline is treated
09:33with the gravitas it would have had.
09:35You cannot hide me away forever.
09:37No, I cannot.
09:39Which is why you are to re-enter society at once and find yourself a husband.
09:43I do not want to.
09:44What you want became immaterial long ago.
09:46You shall wed, and you shall do it as soon as possible.
09:49It even shows Marina's period-appropriate attempts to end her pregnancy with a tea.
09:53However, it was probably more likely that Marina would have carried the baby to term,
09:57given birth in the countryside,
09:59and given the baby to a family or a charity orphanage.
10:02I will not stand silently by while you cut a sham with this miserable prospect
10:06you've cooked up in your head.
10:07I have a man who loves me.
10:09Oh, is that so?
10:10Well, where is he then?
10:11Why is he not here, tending to you?
10:14Because he's fighting in Spain for king and country.
10:16Is he aware of your condition?
10:17He is.
10:18I have written to him beautiful love letters.
10:20And has he written back to you ever since informing him?
10:24Perhaps Marina's love for her beau prevented her from this course,
10:27but without a marriage to shield her,
10:29there was little else she could have done otherwise.
10:31Bridgerton just had to make it dramatic with her relationship with Colin.
10:35I had no choice.
10:36I needed to wed, and you,
10:38you were the only man who offered me even a glimpse of happiness.
10:41So I should feel flattered then?
10:44Consider myself lucky that you chose me,
10:47lied to me,
10:48tried to trick me into a fraud of a marriage.
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11:05Number 1.
11:06Simon would have wanted children
11:08It is furthest from my intentions to offend you,
11:12but surely you can understand that family must come before all else.
11:15What was the most important duty of a nobleman?
11:18The answer would have been clear to the Georgians,
11:20pass on your wealth and title to your heir.
11:23I will never marry.
11:25I will never sire an heir.
11:29The Hastings line will die with me.
11:33Simon's determination not to continue his lineage
11:35despite his cruel father would have made more sense as a young brash teen.
11:39But as an adult,
11:40Simon would likely have realized that if the line stopped with him,
11:43his wealth and assets would have passed down to the nearest relative,
11:46perhaps even on his cruel father's side.
11:49Not to mention it would have been regarded as foolish
11:51for a duke not to have his child inherit the land.
11:54Either way, it's a bit too much of a stretch for the sake of a plot twist.
11:57I told you I cannot give you children.
12:00Cannot and will not are two entirely different things.
12:04You chose this for yourself.
12:06Are there historical inaccuracies in Bridgerton you can't look past?
12:10Let us know in the comments down below.
12:12Just because something is not perfect does not make it any less worthy of love.
12:18Do you agree with our picks?
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