Bridgerton: Penelope’s Style Analysis
Bridgerton Season 3 is out.
Though I’m only on episode 2, (I know, I am so late to the game, but in my defense, I had to wait to be added to my parents’ Netflix household!), I just had to write a blog because I am obsessed with Penelope’s newfound style.
Gone are the days of vibrant citrus hues and flashy patterns. Penelope Featherington is here to dazzle with soft pastels and elegant designs.
But what about Nicola Coughlan? What does her style look like outside of the lavish gowns of the regency era?
When I was looking through Nicola’s red carpet looks, my first thought was “she definitely needs to accommodate petite”.
Although Nicola truly is short (she stands at 5’ 1”) remember “petite” in Kibbe doesn’t always mean that you are short or that you need to wear short lines.
Petite is the quality of being short-boned and small all over, and as a result, their best lines tend to be those that are well-tailored, have sharp breaks to cut the vertical line, and are “small” in all directions.
Nicola’s overall proportions are in fact, very small.
If you look at her shoulder to wrist or her hip to knee line, it’s small, rounded, and petite.
When you look at her in styles that are not well-fitted (whether they are more yang like the sharper, more angular blazer dress on the left or more yin like the heavily detailed, flowy dress on the right), Nicola looks completely drowned by the fabric.
When she wears outfits that don't break up her vertical line (like the black pantsuit on the right) it appears to need a contrast at the waistline.
Conversely, visual breaks in her clothing (such as the color contrast between her white shirt and pink pants on the left) look much more cohesive and flattering on her.
The pink pantsuit on the left also highlights her narrow and rounded bone structure and shoulder line, as evidenced by the gap between the blazer’s shoulder pad and her own shoulders.
Since we established that she needs to accommodate a petite frame, we can eliminate the Dramatic, Soft Dramatic, Flamboyant Natural, Soft Natural, Dramatic Classic, and Soft Classic types, as none of these require petite accommodation.
This leaves us with Flamboyant Gamine, Soft Gamine, Theatrical Romantic, and Romantic.
Flamboyant Gamines are a mix of yin and yang, with a yang bone structure (elongated, sharp, angular) but a yin overall size (small, short-boned).
Though her overall size is petite, Nicola Coughlan’s bone structure is also rounded, soft, and small rather than angular and elongated.
In fact, if you were to hang a fabric from her armpit to her knee, there would be two points of disruption – at her bustline and her hip. Those points of interruption are also close enough together so that if you were to draw abstract shapes on her frame, they would be two circles stacked directly on top of each other – also known as double curve!
Now that we’ve identified double curve, we can safely rule out Flamboyant Gamines, meaning we are left with Soft Gamine, Theatrical Romantic, and Romantic.
Previously, it wasn't clear whether Soft Gamines had a double curve, but Kibbe recently clarified that Soft Gamines often exhibit this feature.
So, what distinguishes a Soft Gamine from a Theatrical Romantic or a Romantic?
So at this point, we know Nicola Coughlan has a narrow and rounded shoulder line, likely ruling out Theatrical Romantic, along with strong evidence of a double curve.
This leaves us with Soft Gamine and Romantic. Let's examine her outfits to narrow it down further.
This. outfit. looks. incredible on Nicola.
There’s 3 main reasons why.
Waist emphasis through the fit and flare silhouette of the dress
Curve accommodation through the soft, lightweight material
Low neckline and delicate straps allow her to shine rather than the dress
It does look a bit too long for her very petite frame, but overall, I think she looks beautiful.
Since I think this dress could look good on Soft Gamines or Romantics, I can’t narrow anything down just yet.
Again, a banger on Nicola.
This dress offers more structure and angularity with its square neckline, straight hemline, and slightly stiffer material. While not as flowy and soft as the previous dress, it emphasizes the waist, which is essential for Romantics and Soft Gamines.
This well-fitted cut also provides petite accommodation.
Between the last outfit and this one, I’m assessing which looks more cohesive: soft, flowing lines or slightly more structured lines.
Many Soft Gamines feel that they need more support or structure in their clothing because Romantic lines (soft, flowy, rounded) make them look or feel like their flesh is "spilling over".
Conversely, Romantics can feel restricted in Soft Gamine lines.
At first, I was convinced this dress was even better than the last one, but the more I look at it, the more it seems a bit restrictive on Nicola compared to the last dress.
This dress might be my least favorite of the bunch.
It follows many Romantic lines:
Soft, flowy fabric
Lots of ruffled detailing
Soft, flowery patterns
but the few key elements that made me dislike this dress are:
Lack of waist definition.
Lack of petite accommodation.
The lack of petite accommodation makes Nicola look like she’s being swallowed in fabric.
This is the outfit I’ve been looking for.
This outfit (if it were a bit shorter) would look so good on a Soft Gamine.
The high neckline, angular yang details in the collar, slightly structured fabric, and emphasized waist make it an ideal dress for a Soft Gamine.
If I had to suggest an alteration, I would shorten the skirt portion, because it seems to be a bit too long and unbalanced compared to the top.
Aside from the color, which I find too warm and bold for Nicola's low contrast between her skin and hair, as well as slightly cooler undertones, the dress does seem a bit stiff.
I absolutely adore this dress on Nicola.
This dress looks like it was designed specifically for a Romantic.
It has:
Waist emphasis
Soft details (like the ruffled sleeves)
The materials (such as lace and satin) drape around her curves providing curve accommodation
A low neckline that looks unrestrictive and allows her to shine.
Light blue or baby pink – like the flowers behind her – could complement her better, but this dress is an absolute banger and I’m slowly becoming more and more convinced that she is a Romantic.
There are several reasons why this dress would look fantastic on a Soft Gamine:
The sweetheart neckline of the shirt provide some rounded details
Low visual weight of the shirt is a great contrast to the slightly higher visual weight skirt
Angularity and structure of the skirt which, on a Soft Gamine, would work really well to mirror the contrast in their own bodies
Waist emphasis through the belt
Petite accommodation through the well-fitted nature of the outfit
Ignoring the color (which I think is a bit too bold for Nicola), this outfit doesn’t look bad, but I’m also not wow-ed by it.
At first glance, I'm not particularly fond of this dress.
The low visual weight and soft fabric, along with the ruffled details, make it a suitable choice for Romantics.
However, something about it doesn't seem harmonious with Nicola's body.
I suspect it might be the slightly higher neckline and the concentration of all the ruffles very close to her face, which appears somewhat restrictive, drawing attention away from her and onto the dress instead.
I love this dress on Nicola. The baby pink color complements her beautifully, especially with the low contrast between her hair and skin tone.
The soft and rounded heart details add a touch of yin. The low neckline directs attention to her, rather than the dress.
The dress seems to be made of a low visual weight material and provides waist emphasis through the silhouette.
And finally, it is well-fitted in all directions which provides the needed petite accommodation.
I think after looking at her outfits, I can safely assume Nicola is a Romantic.
Keep in mind that Nicola Coughlan is unverified, so this is just my breakdown and analysis. Celebrity photos are really tough to analyze because they’re not only taken from all kinds of angles, they’re also heavily edited.
There's a possibility that Kibbe could completely disagree with me and classify her as a Soft Gamine, in which case I'll defer to his judgment!
