Why Daphne Bridgerton’s Micro-Fringe Is The Mood We All Need Right Now

Daphne Bridgerton enters society as a debutante via her presentation to the Queen. The occoasion at the start of each season in London was an elaborate affair and important in setting the tone for each lady's season and prospects on the marriage mart. Daphne wears her hair curled in the latest fashions, leaves her neck exposed (this was thought the most elegant part of a woman's body at the time) and wears her family jewels to best represent the Bridgerton name. The message? Daphne Bridgerton is a viable contender to be named the season's diamond of the first water.

Eloise Bridgerton is yet to make her debut in society. As such she is not soliciting callers and not yet looking for marriage. Her hair and her hemlines are both sound signals. Her hair is left to drop over her shoulders as was the fashion for children of the time, rather than being tied up to reveal a more adult and elegant stretch of neck.

Home life for a lady out in society called for modesty. Here Daphne eschews her fine hair accessories and jewels (which might be deemed vulgar outside of a ball) for a simple half-up-half-down do, which signals her adulthood whilst speaking to her purity - an essential trait in the marriage mart.

Lady Danbury hails from an era that followed the fashions of France to the letter. Women in England copied the towering powdered hairstyles that became so popular at the court of Versailles (think Marie Antoinette). That Lady Danbury's hairstyle is, in comparison to those fashions, unelaborate and modest, unpowdered and entirely elegant speaks to her character. We must assume, from her hairstyle, that this woman is unfussy, forthright an forward thinking.

Here Marina Thompson wears flowers in her hair, speaking to her love of the outdoors and appreciation of nature. Women of the time were required to be accomplished. Most learned to play an instrument, all took up needlework, many drew and a few studied botany. There was a focus on the outdoors and English countryside during the Regency period as the Napoleonic wars very much closed society off from travel. Society's gaze turned from exploring the continent to making the most of the great outdoors on their doorstep. In wearing flowers in her hair Marina appears at once fashionable and modest.

Don't for one minute think that men put any less thought into their hairstyles during the Regency period than women. Men like Beau Brummell became celebrities of the time and set fashions as keenly as the A-listers of today. In wearing their sideburns bold and their hair on top long they sought to channel the power of the warriors of Ancient Greece. And who better to wear a power-heavy haircut than Lord Bridgerton?

We'd hazard a guess that if Penelope Featherington had things her way her hair would be styled in the more fashionable, less-is-more way like Daphne. As it is she's under the rule of Lady Featherington and her hair appears more in the style of the elaborate French courtiers of the late eighteenth century. Penelope's hairstyle at the time would have been seen as outdated and a little OTT - more a reflection of her mother than Penelope we think.

Cressida Cowper's high and elaborate hairstyles make her look severe and intimidating - if that's not a true reflection of her Briderton character we don't know what is! Ladies of the time would be helped to dress for balls by their lady's maid and it's clear Cressida's is required to devote a lot of time to her hair. Her accessories and elaborate style speak to both her wealth, and her determination to snag a husband before the season is out.

Benedict Bridgerton's hair doesn't boast the bold sideburns of his brother Lord Bridgerton, but that subtle sweeping of the hair on top is reminiscent of the style of the Romantic poets that became popular towards the end of the Regency period. Benedict is an artist and his hair speaks to his creativity.

Colin is the second youngest Bridgerton boy and it is evident he feels free of the duties that both his older brothers Anthony and Benedict feel bound to. As such his hairstyle appears a longer, livelier and more playful.

Regality. That is the message that emanates from Queen Charlotte's hair and rightly so. As an older woman the Queen would likely have adhered to the fashions of her youth, meaning the bold, high, powdered wigs of the late eighteenth century, before the days of the French revolution when the English studiously followed the fashions of France and the decadence of the court at Versailles was entirely a la mode.