Nicola Coughlan Trades Her 'Bridgerton' Corsets for a Moody Matching Set

Nicola Coughlan has a tendency toward romantic silhouettes, bright hues, and regencycore floral fabrics—on and off screen. But this week, the Bridgerton actress switched up her show-coordinating style in favor of quiet luxury.

For an early morning appearance on CBS, Coughlan wore an inky navy, A-line maxi skirt with a subtle pleat running up one leg. She paired it with a matching top, cropped above the waist with broad-tailored shoulders and structured, quarter-length kimono sleeves. Not your average blouse, the shirt wrapped at the center and fastened with a thin gold clasp.

The elevated basics continued with her footwear, color-coordinating pointed toe pumps, and her jewelry, a thick gold ring and large gold hammered hoop earrings.

Coughlan has become somewhat of a rising fashion icon, thanks in part to her stylist Aimée Croysdill, who's been working with the actress over the past several years.

"Nicola is brilliant," Croysdill told Harper's Bazaar UK last month. "She brings film references and iconic moments in pop culture and film, then I pair it with fashion moments, so we have a beautiful synergy between the two. Both of us will come with ideas for different events and we will just roll with it, it's such a great relationship."

In the same interview, Coughlan said, "We look for overarching themes in fashion and what will work for the story we want to tell." Their "story" at that time was the Bridgerton press cycle, which the actress referred to as "a month-long event."

For Coughlan, March was partially filled with the kinds of styles that complement her on-set Regency era persona, like pearls and bows, bubblegum pinks and vivid turquoises, Vivienne Westwood corsets, and Simone Rocha floral puff-sleeve dresses. But in recent weeks, she's also tried moodier colors and structured, minimal silhouettes. Her latest look could the start of a new era.

After all, style changes. "My style has evolved a lot; when I first started going to events or being in the public eye, I used to throw on stuff that didn't make me feel amazing," Coughlan continued later in the interview. "I felt so defeatist about the whole thing, which was so silly, as I really love fashion and dressing up—but I was more focused on what being under people's gaze and being criticized would be like. Then I realized how dumb that was and instead dressed up how I wanted. If you feel good, everything else is completely irrelevant. I always try and take that with me."