Introducing Miss Stirling
Michaela – Masali Baduza
Costume Designers: John Glaser, George Sayer & Dougie Hawkes
Season four of Netflix’s hit Regency Romance dropped in two parts in early 2026. The fourth Season follows the third book in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series “An Offer from a Gentleman” focusing on Benedict‘s romance with Sophie, a maid.
While Bridgerton has seasonal leads the show takes a lot of liberties with book narratives creating an ensemble piece with side-plots for many of the characters as well as setting-up leads for the future seasons. One of these characters who needs some major set up before taking a staring role is Michaela Stirling, Francesca’s cousin-in-law.
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Spoilers for season four
Bright, Bold and Bubbly
Michaela Stirling is Francesca’s husband John’s cousin and her end-game romance. Unlike Francesca Michaela is a bubbly extrovert that Francesca considers chaotic. However after a heart to heart the two become friends with brewing unspoken feelings. Francesca is unaware of what these feelings meaning while Michaela has better idea of her budding feelings for her cousin’s wife.
Michaela is also very attached to John as the two grew up together. She is very much committed to becoming a spinster. Michaela is broken-hearted after John’s passing but takes a different approach to grief than Francesca. Michaela would rather instead celebrate John’s life and not follow the ridged idea dour of grief of good proper society. At the end of season she leaves London over as her romantic feeling mixed with guilt of falling for her dear cousin’s wife are too much for Michaela to bear.
After being introduced at the tail end of season three Michaela hasn’t has many costumes. She only had two in season three and 10 in season four. Many of her season four costumes feature bright and bold colors which serve to mask her inner-self so no one can really know her. Many of her costume have very similar silhouettes, necklines, and embellishments though a few of her black dress are a little different though it harder to see those in detail.
How I Ranked Her Top 5 Costumes
This is a ranking of Michaela’s 5 best costumes from season 4 of Bridgerton. The costumes were ranked on aesthetics, memorability and how well they reflect Michaela’s character and sense of style.
List is Subject to change
Spoilers for Season 4.
5. Metallic Brown Dress
After arriving unannounced at their London home, Michaela and John stay up all night talking. This bothers Francesca as she prefers to keep to routines.
While John and Michaela chat Michaela sits on the floor, a habit of her’s in a warm metallic brown dress. This dress is presumably what she worn while traveling. While the color is a little dull the rose weave pattern is pretty as well as having a lovely slightly metallic sheen.
Like many of Michaela’s costumes the neckline is a Queen Anne neckline as it tapers to a v-shape. Another feature of her costumes is they are the embellished neckline. This dress has matching brown beads and sequins. Her puffed sleeves are short and made of the same brown fabric.
4. Navy Blue and Black Dress
After the passing of her beloved cousin Michaela goes into mourning. This means for the rest of the season she, like Francesca, wears black and darker tones.
To John’s funeral Michaela wears a very dark navy blue and black dress. The bodice is wrapped with the blue and black tones overlapping each other. The dress also has a Queen Anne neckline and the short puffed sleeves are cuffed.
It’s a fairly simple costume but the wrapped detail at the bodice and the darker two tones help it stand out. The skirt of the dress is made in the navy blue material.
She also has matching coat which is also picks on the blues of the dress even it can’t be seen super clearly on screen but it can be seen in behind the scenes images.
She wears it with a double strand black beaded necklace with gold metal beads and matching earrings.
3. Blue and Green Dress
While Michaela and Francesca were at first at odds with each other they soon become friends after an honest heart to heart. As now that they are friends enjoy spending time together and one of the way they do is puzzles Puzzle are a new hobby of Francesca and they assemble one together along with John. Michaela and John have a sibling-like squabble about sky and ground as well as who gets to compete the puzzle. It was a nice scene of three of them all together before John passes.
Michaela’s day dress is another two tone dress this time it’s blue with a green sheen to the fabric and sequins at the Queen Anne neckline. The fabric also has a fern-like embossed pattern which is pretty. She wear green crystal jewelry.
This dress was used in the promotional video for season four.
2. Red Sequined Gown
This costume of Michaela’s is her most divisive look she has worn in Bridgerton thus far. John and Francesca host a party for Michaela to introduce her to some of London’s society. Her evening gown is a bright, bold red gown. It looks like it made of velvet and is decked out in sequins even more than most Bridgerton gowns. The velvet piles are patterned in an irregular rectangular pattern that adds to the overall impression of the gown. This gown also differs from Michaela’s other costume as it’s a squared neckline.
She also pairs it with black sleeves which is another bold choice for already bold look.
It’s a lot and yet they’re at more outlandish Bridgerton costumes. It’s just first real costume of Michaela’s to get a lot of screen time. The gown does play on Michaela’s bright bold extraverted personality as well as her masking her inner working from other people. Love it or hate it, it’s very memorable.
1. Blue and Silver Dress
At the party Michaela and Francesca finally have a heart to heart conversation which had been brewing all while they were in Scotland. After this conversation they became friends. This change comes as pleasant surprise to John the following morning to see them getting along and laughing together.
The dress Michaela wears at breakfast is a bright medium shade of blue with silver lines woven into the fabric. The sequins along the Queen Anne neckline are silver and blue but they are sparse letting the color of the dress shine a bit more. The sleeves are puffed but not so full and have a like more height.
Unfortunately the bottom of skirt wasn’t shown but given her other costume it’s more likely used the same blue and silver fabric and wasn’t embellished.
She wears silver jewelry to compliments the silver details in the fabric.
The overall effect of this dress is light and bright which suits her personality and mood at this point in the narrative.
