Buying the Past: How Bridgerton Sells a Romanticised Regency Era

Exploring the merchandise, media, and cultural fascination behind the Regency fantasy.

This month on Roominate with EmilyRose Nulty, I examine how Bridgerton merchandise reinterprets Regency Era fashion, drawing on historical research into dress, perfume, and material culture. From empire-waist silhouettes to modern luxury collaborations, the episode explores how nostalgia and style intersect to shape our understanding of history today.

The release of Netflix and Shonda Rhimes Bridgerton in 2020, the romantic period drama set in a fictionalised version of the Regency Era in London between 1813 to 1820s, has become a phenomenon, and with that success comes merchandise lines.

Typically, for a franchise of that kind, however, recently I noticed shower gel, perfumes, dresses, teapots, linen, a cookbook, and even baby bodysuits.

These products aren’t just merchandise; they are selling a romanticised version of the Regency Era, allowing fans to yearn for a time when they weren’t alive, and allow them to ‘live’ it in the most idealistic way.

The show being released during the global pandemic in 2020 likely amplified the appeal; it allowed viewers to immerse themselves in the world of Bridgerton, at a time when people were seeking some sort of escape or connection.

With the very release of Season 4, fans continue to engage with the world of Bridgerton through merchandise, deepening their connection to the characters and aesthetic fantasy.

Researchers Benjamin J. Hartmann and Katja H. Brunk note that nostalgia can take different forms. In their study Nostalgia marketing and (re-)enchantment they explain that brands and marketing want enchantment – turning something quite common into something “magical” and nostalgia is an essential one.

There are three routes to enchantment:

Re-instantiation – “symbolic retrojection into a past” – bringing symbols or visuals of the past into the present.
Re-enactment – “Integrating the performance of past-referenced brands and practices into contemporary everyday life” – audiences integrating past-inspired practices into their own lives.
Re-appropriation – “ludic re-interpretation of the past”, creative or playful reinterpretation of the past, often mixing old and new.

Bridgerton utilises all three routes. The visual past (re-instantiation) combined with viewer participation (re-enactment) and the use of playful modern music, along with the series’ diverse casting, makes the Bridgerton world welcoming, so everyone can see themselves reflected in the story.

Bridgerton uses social media as another way to entice viewers, releasing edits, behind-the-scenes clips, and fan-made content to amplify engagement, making the fantasy world feel present. There have even been Bridgerton-inspired events and pop-ups created by fans or other companies, many of them being quite a disaster.

The Regency Era wasn’t as glamorous. Life during the 1800s was tough, and their lifestyle was frequently hazardous, harsh, and unforgiving. Many everyday objects were considered luxury from clothing to household items. The juxtaposition between the fantasy of Bridgerton merchandise and an accurate representation of life during the Regency Era. It just shows how much we soften and sanitise history for modern appeal.

The purpose of perfume was to serve religious ceremonies, signify status, and enhance personal scent. This was before the practice of modern hygiene.

Women dampened sponges with fragrance under their clothes to mask body odour. It was the 18th century when people became infatuated with perfume. High-status women would also experiment with and create their own perfumes using various ingredients.

The Americas introduced scents such as balsam of Peru, American cedar, sassafras, vanilla, toilet waters (lighter perfumes, now known as Eau de Toilette), colognes, and perfumes into Europe.

Bridgerton has a line of at least four perfumes under the name; the scents range from a peach and mango mix to a mix of strong vanilla and florals, to name a couple of examples. The modern perfumes are sweeter, softer, lighter, and designed to not only appeal through smell but aesthetically with the vintage-looking bottles to create that experience, unlike its counterparts, whicwereas masking some bad body odour due to lack of deodorants.

It wasn’t until the first half of the 17th century that Europeans, during the time of Maritime exploration and trade, where they tried tea. It was the Dutch, Portuguese and British who first exported tea from China and Japan.

“Tea was once worth more than gold,” and only the wealthiest had the luxury of tea. It was during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) that a written record was noted about teapots, a mix of “purple Zisha clay”, which is produced in the region of Yixing, China and porcelain. The first style of European teapots was similar to coffee pots, which were cylindrical in shape and had a conical lid. The most recognised and earliest recorded example of a British teapot is the silver one; versions still widely used today.

The Bridgerton x Primark teapot is designed to appeal to the modern eye, using historical inspiration while not directly resembling its actual Regency-era predecessors; the bow and brooch on the front are appealing to modern viewers as they are objectively pretty. It’s interesting to consider how exclusive tea and teapots once were, symbols of wealth and status, and how they have evolved into a modern ritual, now much more casual, with some exceptions. Unlike people in the past, who were limited by social class and price, we can access them much more easily. Even the time, intricate detail, upkeep, and materials that went into the original teapots highlight just how labour-intensive and precious they once were.

It was the French Revolution that changed everything. Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of France in 1804, and his wife, Empress Josephine, became a fashion icon, establishing France as the ‘fashion leader’. Clothing changed dramatically for men and women. Garments that were once restrictive and heavy became flowing with looser silhouettes.

For men, the tailcoat was a staple. It was fitted through the body, with a high collar and long tails at the back. The colour palette expanded. Men could experiment during the day, while dark blue and black were standard for evening attire. Waistcoats over linen shirts allowed even more variety with colours and patterns. Pantaloons replaced breeches. They cut off at the ankle, were high-waisted, and held up with braces.

The Empire Line was “the signature look of Regency fashion” according to Camila Reyes’ piece for the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. For women, the Empire Line fashion changed significantly.

The waistline for women moved up to below the bust, it was to create a smooth look without the likes of a corset, the dress had a lower neckline, a long skirt and short sleeves. The fabrics used were light, using light muslin, silks and cotton. Pastel blue, pink and yellow were popular for the day. To remain modest, women would wear a chemisette.

For women, the waistline moved up to just below the bust, creating smooth lines without the tightness of a corset. Dresses featured lower necklines, short sleeves, and long, flowing skirts made from light muslin, silk, or cotton. Pastels such as blue, pink, and yellow were popular for daytime wear, and women often added a chemisette for modesty.

The purpose of this style was to lift the bust, creating smooth lines without having to squeeze your waist. The Empire dress was an essential piece for your wardrobe during the Regency Era (if you were wealthy enough).

The Regency Era transformed fashion; we still wear similar fabrics and styles now across all types of clothing. To this day, we are still influenced in some sort of way. This period showed that fashion did not only need to look beautiful, but it didn’t need to be so restricting; you could breathe and look elegant at the same time!

While these flowing dresses and pastel hues were once reserved for the wealthy, today the Regency look has been reinterpreted for modern wardrobes. With prices starting at €150, the Bridgerton x Selkie line is still a luxury purchase for many in today’s economy. The collaboration draws inspiration from Empire-waist silhouettes and period detailing, but adapts them for modern audiences with the likes of leg slits, twists on the corset and floral patterns inspired by Bridgerton. The dresses look like pieces of art. It would have been really interesting to see them do a modern twist on the traditional empire line dress. Selkie highlights that the collection is rooted in body positivity, inclusivity, and empowerment, aiming to celebrate all shapes and sizes, which wouldn’t have been the same during the period.

We tend to reminisce or yearn for a past with rose-tinted glasses; it’s simply a human behaviour. Interestingly, nostalgia is one of the most notable “historical emotions”, as noted in an article by Tobias Becker, Cambridge University Press. With the memory boom of the 1980s – a rise in academic, technological and historical shift, oddly historians have not investigated this further.

Historians reject the idea of nostalgia because of its obscured version of history, as well as removing the negative impacts, and creating a polished, almost fictional version of events. In a way, period dramas in general can reshape our memory of history over time through the softer, romanticised version of events.

Written by EmilyRose Nulty

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