There's a Hidden Meaning Behind Bridgerton's Penelope Always Wearing Yellow
Bridgerton has been around less than two years and has already become one of the most popular Netflix shows.
Fans love being swept away into the romance of the past, the scandals, the drama, and the emotionally charged storylines of the myriad of characters. The actors bring to life some of the most wonderful, charismatic, and yes also frustrating and annoying muses that television has seen in a very long time.
A great deal goes into creating a show like Bridgerton. The writing, the production, the sets, and of course, the costumes. Costuming is one of those rare gems in the world of movies and television, whereby if it is done exceptionally well, you almost do not notice it. Costume designers are able to express their own creativity in their work, and when they unite with writers to produce subtle little hints, true magic can happen.
Did any of you even notice that Penelope Featherington, the heavyset eldest daughter of the Featherington family who has an interminable crush on Colin Bridgerton, usually always wears yellow? Well, if you did not, you certainly will now. Penelope stands out from her peers through her choice of dresses, often sporting bright flowery patterns and hues of lemon, fallow, citrine, canary, and even goldenrod.
And there is a very specific reason for this. Nothing any character wears in anything you have ever seen is by accident. Legendary costume designer Ellen Mirojnick has explained that Penelope's attire was heavily influenced by two key factors. Firstly, the fact that she is dishonest and plainly hiding something all through the first season. And secondly, yellow was a popular color for women of high status in the time Bridgerton is set.
Season One introduced us to Penelope and we very soon suspected she had some dark secrets, on top of her strong feelings for series protagonist Colin Bridgerton. But what we did not see was the shocking twist that revealed to us all that Penelope was in fact equally reviled and revered gossip writer Lady Whistledown. The series has taken a deliberate departure from the books here, where her secret identity remained a secret for far longer.
Penelope has grown as a character during season two, however. We hear her tell another character that she is not fond of wearing yellow. This is our first clue into Penelope's shifting nature. She no longer wishes to be deceitful. She wants to be honest and open. And slowly, but surely, we have begun to see her in other colors as she transitions into a less devious woman.
It is exciting to ponder what awaits Penelope in the upcoming third season. And also to wonder, just what colors will she be wearing?