Bridgerton superfan dresses like she’s in the 1800s

By Tim Sigsworth via SWNS

A Bridgerton superfan with a $19,000 wardrobe of period clothing lives like she's in the 1800s, and says she's often mistaken for a princess by little girls in public.

Sophie Andrews, 27, owns 25 daytime dresses and 17 ball gowns custom-made in the style of the era.

She also owns 12 bonnets, a string of parasols, reticules and Spencer jackets which she wears at get-togethers with fellow Jane Austen and Bridgerton enthusiasts.

Sophie is a huge fan of Netflix's new Queen Charlotte series and hailed the show for its costume design, even though it isn’t historically accurate.

She claims it was no surprise the Bridgerton spin-off has amassed more than 300 million viewing hours in its first fortnight on the streaming platform.

Sophie hailed the “incredible” pieces worn in the series, saying the rise of the show has sparked a revival of interest in the period’s fashion.

Sophie, who works in finance, from Reading, UK, said: “Queen Charlotte isn’t aiming to be historically accurate, and I can forgive a lot because I know Bridgerton got a lot of flak to do with the outfits in the early days.

“I did find the fashion and the outfits in Queen Charlotte really interesting because we are looking at the fashion for a Queen so it’s all a bit grander.

“Even as the older Queen in Bridgerton, she always had the fancier dresses, and it was always incredible to see all the detail that was going on.

“There was some stunning embroidery on both the King and Queen’s outfits, and I know they have incredible teams working on the show.

“Whereas when I watch Bridgerton I think ‘I could make a dress similar to that,' when I watch Queen Charlotte, I end up thinking ‘I’m never going to be able to afford to pay anyone to make me something like that’.

“It is fantastic, and her hair is always incredible. I really enjoyed the series, and it was really interesting to see how the Queen Charlotte we know in Bridgerton came to be.

“I have been interested in the regency and Jane Austen in a big way since 2012 and it has been really interesting to see more people coming in.

“I first became fascinated by the Regency era when I was encouraged to read Jane Austen’s novels by my English teacher."

“I was caught up in the elegance and eloquence of the world and her words and I then devoted myself to studying all aspects of the Jane Austen world and phenomenon.”

Sophie regularly wears her own collection of regency clothing at conventions, balls and other meet-ups with fellow enthusiasts.

She is part of the Jane Austen Pineapple Appreciation Society, a group for younger Jane Austen fans to socialize together.

She said: “It is a lovely, lovely era for fashion.

“Obviously Bridgerton is just a fantasy version of it but when you look at fashion plates from the time, the dresses I think for women are a very flattering style – whatever size you are it looks nice.

“The same is true for men. Men were a lot more tailored than the women, but they didn’t have any silly wigs.

“I probably have around 25 day dresses and probably about 17 ball gowns. Then I have various spencers which are short jackets.

“I probably have around 12 bonnets as well, parasols, loads of reticules – you have to have one of those with each outfit obviously.

“Fans, gloves – there’s a lot of accessories that go with regency. It makes it quite good if you’re just starting out with one dress. You can make it look very different.

“To get yourself a basic dress you’d be looking at a minimum of £120 or £150 ($150 USD to $187) because it is handmade to your size.

“But if you present someone with a fashion plate from the era and say recreate this or get a court dress like the dresses the girls wear in Bridgerton when they are presented to the Queen, they can easily be £1,000 ($1,244).

“I don’t wear it every day partly because it takes quite a long time to put everything on and also, it’s just not very practical – it’s not really an office kind of outfit.

“I’m not bothered about what people think of me because I am used to being out and about in public.

“But there was certainly a time when I didn’t want to be out on my own.

“You do get looks, you do get people asking you questions.

“But on the whole, I have very little negative feedback.

“People will ask me if I’m filming or doing a photoshoot and they’ll end up guessing the era I’m from, often wildly wrong.

“They often ask for photos, and I don’t mind at all. It’s a compliment to me that people like my outfits.

“My favorite is when you get little girls asking for photos because they say to their moms that we look like princesses. That’s lovely.”