A simple search for the style on Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest displays thousands of posts to inspire users. Instantly, you’ll see posts with soft pastels, corsets, and updos with tiaras. In fact, following the premiere of “Bridgerton” on Netflix, web searches for “floral print dresses” went up by 146%, “Regency dresses” by 84%, and “silk gloves” by 63% (via Women’s Wear Daily).
Asta Darling, a content creator who describes her social media pages as “a carefully curated collection of time travel,” has also participated in the trend. Normally featuring Victorian-esque looks to her 2.1 million followers, she has garnered about five million views as the “top liked” video under the Regencycore search on TikTok. Darling made her own version of the trending strawberry dress with a dash of Regency, paired with light pink opera gloves, pearl jewelry, a tulle headband with an updo, and a pink feathered palm fan.
General manager at ShopStyle Alison Stiefel tells Women’s Wear Daily that this style has been around for a few years, gradually growing in popularity. “It actually probably started back in 2020 or so if you remember when people were starting to be at home and still wanted some sort of fashion element,” Stiefel tells the outlet. “There were a lot of puffy sleeves on T-shirts and more embroidered sweaters, so those little pieces started to come in a more casual way. Toward the end of last year, it started to be a little bit more refined and more focused on outfits you can wear day-to-night — things like dresses: more Empire-waist dresses and puffy sleeve dresses.” Fast forward from 1813 London to the 2020 global fashion scene and Regencycore is born.
