Bridgerton Season 3 focuses on the love story between Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, who go from being great friends to passionate lovers. As the season begins, Pen is on a mission to find a husband and leave home, possibly to move on from her feelings for Colin. But there’s more to her wardrobe overhaul than meets the eye. It’s not just about attracting suitors; there’s also a hidden meaning behind it.
Costume designer John Glaser has been cleverly using colors in Bridgerton from the start to give each character their own style, while still maintaining the Regency-era feel. He’s not afraid to experiment with different colors and finishes to indicate the characters’ social status, family ties, and feelings.
As loyal viewers of the show will know, each family in Bridgerton has its own color scheme that helps to telegraph who they are and what they want. For example, the Bridgertons wear blue, symbolizing clarity, while the Featheringtons wear yellow, hinting at envy. Cressida’s red isn’t just childish, it’s also exaggerated to get attention—and it ends up backfiring.
When Penelope Featherington decides to revamp her wardrobe in Season 3, she goes bold. Stepping into the atelier, she gazes into the mirror and declares that she does not “wish to see a citrus color ever again”—the very colorway that has always defined her, her mother, and her sisters. Her mother’s insistence that she’s not beautiful has left her resigned to spinsterhood, deferring to others when it comes to choosing her clothes. At every society ball, she retreats into a corner, preferring to fade into the background. No one notices her, and she remains silent, keenly observing the dancing crowd and listening for gossip, which she then uses in her Lady Whistledown column.
When she decides to look for a suitor, the first thing she does is rethink her wardrobe: not so much in silhouette, but in color. The first ensemble is an emerald green empire-style dress adorned with black decorated tulle. It’s an unusual choice for Penelope, but the colors hint at hope, at change; never mind being the queen’s “diamond of the season”—Penelope is happy to be an emerald. And then there’s the black, which notably contrasts with the pastel shades worn by other young ladies at the ball. Their muted yellow, pink, and green dresses are never as intense or vivid as Penelope’s green and black look. And so, as she descends the stairs at the ball, everyone notices her—for perhaps the first time.
When Penelope hides away in her house during a scandal, what she wears clearly articulates her state of mind: she does not want to be seen by anyone. We see her coming down the stairs dressed in the same colors as the house, pale yellow, while her embroideries and trimmings echo the burgundy tones of the floor. We get the feeling that she wants to blend in with the upholstery—to literally disappear.
While green and yellow reflect Penelope’s moods, the shades of blue that also find their way into her wardrobe not only complement her pearly complexion and red hair, but also clearly indicate where she wants to be: with the Bridgertons. In the show, she confesses that the happiest moments of her life have been spent in the company of Eloise and Colin: their home is one she associates with affection, friendship, and love.
