An Apology to the Puffy Shirt

It has a place in the Smithsonian. It’s been on multiple Mr. Darcy’s. Most recently, Anthony Bridgerton of the eponymous Netflix serious pulled himself out of the water in one made of a material that could just barely be classified as fabric.

It’s the white linen puffy shirt, and it could finally be having its proper moment. The puffy shirt, or poet shirt, is mostly viewed as a period piece staple, whether that’s regency-era England or on Orlando Bloom in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Bridgerton Season Two’s release in March of this year has inspired many a thirst trap Tik Tok and Twitter freak-out dedicated to the puffy shirt. Bridgerton Costume Designer Sophia Canale said that Anthony’s wet puffy scene in the Netflix series was inspired by Colin Firth’s dip in the pond in the BBC 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini series, saying that “Whenever you see that kind of Regency man, everyone’s automatically going to go to [Firth as Mr. Darcy] because it’s such a famous scene.” They apparently even tested the fabric to get it as see through as possible. Read more at Inside Hook.