The Hidden Costume Details In Bridgerton You Probably Never Noticed

When it comes to stylish and binge-worthy period dramas, it's safe to say that there's nothing more popular (or more addictive!) right now than Bridgerton, the recent Netflix series that has taken the entertainment world by storm. Based on Julia Quinn's best-selling novels, the ground-breaking show truly has it all, from a steamy romance set during the Regency Era to scandal, drama, and — of course — all the beautiful, lavish costumes.

Truly, the gorgeous dresses and exquisite ball gowns are hard to miss on Bridgerton — in fact, there's a whopping 7,500 costume changes in the entire series (via Harper's Bazaar). As it turns out, though, there's much more to the show's costumes than just beautiful frills and dazzling gems — and it seems as if most Bridgerton viewers totally missed some of those clever details, perhaps from being too engrossed with the show's sizzling romance and gossip (we definitely don't blame you!).

According to Cosmopolitan, there are some well-hidden motifs of bees and butterflies on the characters' costumes in Bridgerton — and there's a special meaning behind them, too. The outlet spoke with Marc Pilcher, the show's head hair and makeup designer, who explained that the show's two prominent families — the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons — each had an insect motif corresponding to their characteristics. "The Bridgertons have a bee which appears on certain parts of their costumes, and for the Featheringtons, it's butterflies," he said. "We have a few little hair decorations that reflect this as well and we pop them in now and again."

So what do the bees and butterflies exactly mean? Per Cosmopolitan, the butterfly is commonly a symbol of rebirth and growth, which certainly reflects the "new money" rise of the Featherington women — while bees often represent power, community, and hard work, which match up with the highly influential and established Bridgertons. 

In fact, the bee motif is shown quite a lot throughout the show, with the closing shot of the final episode zooming in on a bee on the windowsill. According to Decider, this clever Easter egg could be a possible hint for season 2 of the show, as the bee has a pretty significant meaning in the novels (spoiler: Sir Edmund Bridgerton, the Bridgertons' father, was killed by a bee sting). 

In any case, we're definitely rewatching Bridgerton just to spot all those hidden butterflies and bees!