It seems to be highlighting her discomfort with the marriage mart, as well as the fact that she’s not quite ready for the epic love story that will come for her later. I suspect the dresses will become better suited/fitted to her when she has her season. This was such a cool detail!
I think it’s more than likely the intentional look of Francesca to look uncomfortable. The dresses are built for someone else, not her. She doesn’t feel comfortable in her own skin, and even less when expected to be outgoing or perceived by others. It’s a prominent part of her story that she doesn’t have the same easy confidence as the rest of her family. It would thusly make sense that the clothes she wears to be around people don’t fit her exactly. She doesn’t fit this role and isn’t comfortable in that. Eloise for instance looks good in her costumes, but she has always been comfortable with her aversion to high society. She also doesn’t push against the advantages of her charmed life, so her wearing her generationally wealthy clothes suits her naturally no matter how she politicizes her beliefs. I think that’s what they’re playing at. Kind of like how Penelope has always been cut at the bust before season 3 and has always had a more powdered complexion. Nicola is beautiful, but Penelope early in the series is hemmed in and restricted, nearly completely lacking a sense of her own comfort in her body and sense of security.
I think it's because they are no longer wearing corsets to bump up the breasts in period pieces. Maybe they forgot to account for that in production and after the delay in shooting due to the strike they shot anyway hoping people didn't notice.
There is actually an interesting article about how the costume designer would have been better served sticking to a more historically accurate neckline. It talks about how the wide neckline kind of makes it impossible to get the desired effect. Since I read that, i can't help but notice what he was talking about. I know bridgerton isn't historically accurate, that's not exactly what I'm talking about, but maybe this lack of understanding about how regency gowns fit and about corsetry in general have played a role? Actually, now that I'm thinking about it... if she was fit in a corset, but then decided not to wear one, then they didn't have time to alter things... maybe something like that is playing a role? But, I do also wonder if they were cut for ruby stokes. The bust changing from fitting to fitting can maybe be explained by a few things, the neckline thing is an issue for almost everyone, lack of corsetry awareness/fit is maybe effecting things, but the shoulders... why else would that be so off?
I don't think they wore corsets in the regency era. They wore half stais (?) Or something like that. Because with howls of that era you don't have that over the top figure and all.
@jessin.614 it's a bit more complicated than that. Yes, they didn't wear a corset like what people think of when you say corset. They wanted straight lines, not curves. You are right there. But they had many versions of this depending on preference, level of support needed, activity level, etc. There were long stays. Some people did require more boning and support or coverage to hold everything in. Think Spanx, regency style. The short stays you are thinking of were worn by many though. Then there were ones made entirely out of fabric with very little support. Like a sports bra. Whichever way you look at it, bridgerton does not seem to understand corsetry. Or they do and they ignore it. I thought maybe they were just ignoring it while on screen, but based on what I've heard and seen in not so sure. You shouldn't get an injury from a corset. If that's happening, something is wrong. People so thin should not have to have it so tight that they have a hard time breathing. You should be able to use the bathroom. You might have to bend and move a bit differently, but the things that people have been complaining about should not be happening to such an extent. Especially if they are in short stays. I know for a fact that Penelope isn't. You can see the bottom of the corset. There was also a season 3 thing showing her in her corset. It was a curvey one. She had to wear a bra with it. Considering MANY large busted women turn to corsetry for support, she should not have needed to wear a bra with the corset to get the correct amount of lift. So, someone, somewhere, clearly does not understand the basic engineering that goes into corsetry. This then feeds into the Simone Ashley thing. She described an injury to her shoulder. The actual lift to bust should be coming from the corset or stays themselves.... not the straps. And if there are straps, they probably shouldn't be right where the joint connects, if that makes sense. If they were trying to lift the bust from stairs in that spot, putting a lot of pressure on the joint..... not good. A whole clump of nerves goes right through there. I'm not explaining it well, but I hope that makes sense. The article I mentioned didn't get into the anatomy aspect of this problem, but rather the anesthetic aspect of it. Basically, the costume designers wanted skin skin skin, so they cut the neckline very wide to show as much as possible. Because of this, the corset has to be cut differently and can't provide the same kind of lift (this is where it seems like a lot of that lift was taken up by the straps instead). Not as much lift means not as much regency in your face cleavage. The writer argued that if they really wanted more skin, they should have kept the historically accurate neckline. And, if you look at people with larger busts on the show, they have more shoulder coverage. After Simone Ashley complained, they said the actresses didn't have to wear one of they didn't want to. And incorrect construction or not, a bra isn't the same. So, maybe, they fit the with a corset, then she decided not to wear one and the fit became different. What bugs me is that most of the actresses are so tiny, they really should not be having the issues they are reporting. And if the people with larger busts have to wear all the crap to support them that the actress playing Penelope is wearing... well I'd be uncomfortable too. Then there is their portrayal of corsetry. As usual with historical dramas... it's terrible. This is a shame because corsets do have a place in medicine, but they get such a bad name that people hear the word corset and automatically think the worst. If you already knew all of that, sorry for the long reply.
It makes me wonder. It's so obvious. & it's mostly just her. I know there are time & budgeting constraints. But they could've just had them quickly altered, or even padded & taped her out a bit.
