Adjoa Andoh, 'Bridgerton's' Lady Danbury, Dishes On The Highs and Lows Of Wearing Corsets - For Her And Her Character
There's been much debate online recently as to whether the costumes of the smash hit Netflix series Bridgerton are entirely period accurate, with many claiming that corsets were out of fashion during that time.
Okay but, Netflix, why are you forcing the Bridgerton cast to wear corsets??? I don't understand. They were not part of that wardrobe historically, the dresses don't require them, and whenever you have an intimate scene, you trade them for lingerie anyway? Make it make sense!
— Hannah Fergesen - THE INFINITE MILES is out now! (@HannahFergesen) April 7, 2022
The show's own Lady Danbury, however - Adjoa Andoh - has a bone to pick with anyone who wants to nitpick Bridgerton's detail work. She told The Telegraph in a recent interview:
"Netflix threw the kitchen sink at this. It's not just about the budgets, but the quality of the tailoring and the level of care that's gone into the costumes and sets. It's the tiny felt maker they tracked down in Spain, the wig designers, the boot and button makers... It's stunning."
Others have also been quick to set the record straight, clarifying with detailed fashion-history-crash-courses that while corsets were falling out of fashion, they were still in the process of transitioning away from them during the Regency period - which means they still wore corsets, just less restrictive ones than the ones we typically think of when we hear the word.
At first glance, they just look like very basic stays, usually made out of boring fabric - but they were worn under the bust, making the shift taut to provide a more naturalistic but still present support! pic.twitter.com/HVy1nCOQRL
— Cassidy Percoco (@mimicofmodes) March 12, 2022
Historical accuracies or inaccuracies aside, though, Andoh herself is more concerned with the overall look and feel of the show - that its use of historical elements helps to get their intended messages across to the audience. In this case, that's a message abut the unique trials that women were up against in those days:
"I'm not claiming we're a searing documentary, but you get a sense of what it was like to be a woman and financially insecure at that time. Not to be married was terrifying - unless you were rich. That's why they were such peacocks. We're appalled by the foot-binding and oppressive customs of other cultures, but hello, lacing into a corset? Women's organs shifted. And women wore them when they were pregnant.
"Youth and appearance were currency even more than they are today. If corsets gave you more of that, then, of course you wore one".
This kind of costumed immersion not only helps the audience feel what the characters are feeling - it helps the actors get into character too.
"Huge shout out to the designers because half the performance is whether you feel good in the clothes - especially for someone like Lady Danbury who is such an intentional dresser. Clothes are her weapon of choice."
Of course, wearing an old-timey corset on a modern-day set with modern-day actors wasn't without its trials, and they didn't love them every day.
"You talk about the highs and lows of doing Bridgerton - the corsets, which ran from breasts to hips, are both. They make you look amazing, but you can't eat anything starchy. And never loosen it while you're having lunch. Some of the other actors did and they're agony to lace up again afterwards."
You heard it here first, folks: Don't overeat in your corsets.
If you want to talk more about tiny details in Bridgerton like this one, I must take a second to reccommend the podcast I co-host with my coworker Carly Polistina, Whistledown, Pinkies Up - where we do watch-along companion episodes to talk about everything that vexed us and made us burn this season of Bridgerton. We'd love to have you along for the ride!
