Eloise Bridgerton was simply meant to be played by Claudia Jessie. Her lightly accessorized, minimal outfits were carefully crafted to provide insight into who Eloise is and how she differs from other members of the Bridgerton clan. As the show’s costumer designer, Ellen Mirojnick, told Popsugar, “Eloise is scholarly, intelligent and curious — she has no patience to be girly. She has a straight-forward, buttoned-up style that airs on being a bit masculine.” Jessie takes to this Regency style effortlessly, but that’s probably because she’s had practice.
Before “Bridgerton,” the actress worked on another period drama, the “Vanity Fair” mini-series (via IMDb). “I feel as though I’m still coming to terms with it. I had to pinch myself when I got the part,” Jessie said to YOU Magazine when “Vanity Fair” first premiered. The show is an adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel of the same name, and Jessie plays Amelia Sedley, a character that is the total opposite of Eloise Bridgerton.
Amelia is someone who thrives on and conforms to society’s rigid rules, unlike Eloise (via Cliff Notes). When you consider their outfits, and the fact that they’re from the same time period, it’s easy to see how the two characters are actually quite similar. Apparently though, Jessie wasn’t a fan of one specific aspect of her time filming “Vanity Fair.”
