Everyone’s favourite frazzled Englishwoman is back. Bridget Jones won a place in all our hearts when she first crash-landed into our cinemas in 2001 – bottom-first, down a fireman’s pole, of course.
From penquin pyjamas to laddered tights, bobbly scarves and a bunny suit, Bridget’s haphazard style struck a chord with many of us.
But time has moved on and our style icon (played by Renée Zellweger) is now a 50-something widow and a mum of two.
So how did Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy’s costume designer, Molly Emma Rowe, tackle the challenge of updating our heroine’s wardrobe for this fourth and final film, while still cherishing the essential Bridget that we all love?
Molly headed to Great British brands, of course. And the results are V V Good – as Bridget would say.
Anya Hindmarch
Accessorised with style: Bridget with her £350 Anya Hindmarch bag
L-r: Bow bag, rent from £45 for four days (rrp £425), reanyahindmarch.com; Gold bag from £57 for four days (rrp £550), reanyahindmarch.com
The flashes of sartorial comfort food peppered throughout the film – Bridget’s penguin pyjamas and grey turkey buffet coat both reappear – are counterbalanced by items from higher end brands such as Anya Hindmarch (see Bridget’s £350 crossbody bag from the British designer).
These brands befit Bridget’s new life: she is now living in leafy Hampstead, with her children attending a local school of which Old Etonian Mark Darcy would surely have approved.
For Anya on a budget, you can rent one of its iconic bags for as little as £38 a day (reanyahindmarch.com). And don’t worry, Bridget’s full-coverage signature knickers also make an appearance. Molly found them at East London’s Ridley Road market, ensuring optimal parachuteness. Now that’s best of British.
Mulberry
L-r: Top handle, £385, tusting.co.uk; Tote, £185, apatchy.co.uk
Bridget’s beloved Mulberry Bayswater bag first appeared in the third film and is a firm fixture in the latest, too.
That sought-after bag signalled to the world ‘I’ve made it in life, I am a success, for I have a Bayswater!’ – or so every 20 or 30-something woman in the Noughties was led to believe.
The pushlock bag, £70, cambridgesatchel.com
What I love, though, is that the films signal that such material ‘fixes’ don’t work. In films one and two, Bridget fantasises that life will truly begin once she reaches her ‘goal weight’. In the 2016 film, Bridget has reached her goal weight but her life is still shambolic.
Likewise, in the new film, yes, her Bayswater is beautiful, but she’s still the chaotic Bridget we love. For beautiful bags without the £1,095 price tag, try Tusting and Apatchy for value-for-money arm candy.
Turnbull & Asser
Seeking solace: Bridget wears Mark Darcy’s personalised Turnbull & Asser shirt
Shirt, £95, withnothing underneath.com
In this latest film – spoiler alert – we meet a Bridget consumed by grief, seeking comfort by wearing her dead husband’s clothes.
In the hilarious scene where Bridget gets stuck up a tree (trying to rescue her children) on Hampstead Heath, she’s wearing a shirt embroidered with Mark’s initials. Obviously, since it belonged to Mark Darcy, QC, it’s from Turnbull & Asser – the stalwarts of Savile Row have been making the finest £300-plus shirts since 1885.
For personalised shirts on more of a budget, try With Nothing Underneath – they offer bespoke monogramming (withnothingunderneath.com). Or you can send your shirts to Initially London (initiallylondon.com) for any embroidery that your heart desires.
Barbour
Looking the part: Her Barbour came from a vintage dealer
Suede jacket, £169, zara.com
The wax jacket Bridget wears after accidentally signing up to accompany her son’s class to the Lake District on an outward- bound trip is the quintessentially British Barbour, of course.
Bridget would wear one she’s had for years, possibly once belonging to her dad or husband Mark – and, naturally, one with some crushed crisps and old tissues in the pockets.
The one seen in this fourth film came from Urban Village Vintage rather than brand new from Barbour. Vintage and second-hand sites such as eBay are awash with Barbours that are perfectly imperfect ‘just as they are’.
Elsewhere, Zara has a suede barn jacket that will age beautifully in no time at all (£169.99, zara.com).
Jigsaw and Reiss
L-r: Miranda in Reiss cardigan; Cardigan, £130, boden.com
Jacket and trousers, rent each from £50 for four days (rrp £240 and £150), Jigsaw at loanthelook.com
Jacket and trousers, rent each from £50 for four days (rrp £240 and £150), Jigsaw at loanthelook.com
Much like Bridget, her friends have also grown up since the last film and they’re loving the odd luxury item or two of clothing.
Bridget’s buddy, TV presenter Miranda, shops at the aspirational high-end of the British High Street. Her fuchsia Jigsaw suit is old season but available to rent from £50 for four days via loanthelook.com.
Likewise, her Reiss cardigan is an oldie – but luckily Brit brand Boden has a near identical version for £130 (boden.com).
Whistles
Old school: The costume designer bought Bridget’s Whistles cardigan from a charity shop in Hampstead
Cardigan, £290, navygrey.co
Bridget Jones and a cardi go together like Daniel Cleaver and 20-something models – and her cardigans in the latest film are advanced versions of those that she (and we) relied upon more than two decades ago.
The clever flashes of familiar items such as these remind us that this is still the Bridget Jones we know and love. Take the geometric cardigan that Bridget wears to give a talk to her son’s class.
Yes, her cardigans might now be from yummy- mummy mecca Whistles, but this Whistles one happens to be old season and is from a Mary’s Living & Giving charity shop.
For similar reimaginations of the once-granny staple, go to Navy Grey (navygrey.co).
