As someone working as a graphic designer in the book industry, I can 100% tell you that every single time we suggest a book covers with accurate fashion history, the marketing team tell us to change ut to a "sexy modern queen marie-antoinette or empress sissi type of girl". And how many time I read in an email "can we have more boobs/pecs."... Way too many times.
That sucks. You should show them this video and the comments and how many people say they'd had more interest in the books if the covers were accurate!
@@snazzypazzy The problem with that, from a marketing standpoint, is the people who'd buy it thinking it's historical not-romance and be offended by the romance (and sex! The horror!). That's why all the skin and fantasy gowns still exist in the genre.
@@cherylrosbak4092 It seems like books need more tags like fanfiction does. Like, this book has explicit adult fun time scenes, this book is aimed at general audiences, or this book has torture scenes in it. :P So much easier to filter stuff in or out that way.
not gonna lie...this is giving me ideas for a WLW story about a youtuber who loves historical clothing and a instagramer or tiktoker who loves cosplaying fantasy or vintage
@Ocean Mariep imma do you one better. A historical clothing fanatic and a time traveller from the past who has a knowledge of historical clothing because they belong to a family of seamstresses and tailors and what not. The historical fan is so impressed at every turn by this person who seemingly has the same hobby when it seems no one else does. Time traveller is like I just wanna go home but this person is so cute and wow look at all the ways clothing is made in the future and they end up working together on the costumes for a movie or play or something and ya I’m still wondering what the conflict in this story would be but yeah something like that
@@tinypirate3109 the conflict could perhaps be that the fanatic finds out that the time traveller was hiding this secret from them, maybe through a series of photos or historical accounts that include them :0
"Our love cannot be! For I am the high-born eldest daughter of a lord most favored in the royal court, and you are but a lowly stable hand. Plus, I just can't get past whatever the hell it is you've got going on there with that...is that supposed to be a _doublet?_ Seriously?"
You are so funny! How nice to share your knowledge while using romance novels. I saw this early this morning and enjoyed starting my day with a few giggles. Thx
the second one i think turned out MORE scandalous and sexy than the original cover. her being fully dressed and him being shirtless is even better to show how they're different and "can't be together"
Bernadette is the reason that my search history has shit in it like "1840s mens underwear" despite the fact that it will never be described in my story, because if im not historically accurate in my writing I will feel the look of "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" upon my shoulders from her and lord cesario.
It is the mark of a good author to have researched their setting to a nearly exhaustive degree before endeavoring to place characters within it. Doing so allows you to really enter into the mental space of people within that era and location and allows you to better describe their experiences there. It's also a bit of an occupational hazard for writers, editors, and others in the field to have a search history filled with a myriad of random topics in a variety of fields because it is useful to know a little (or a lot) about many things so you can tell at a glance when something seems off. When your writing is cohesive then it draws your reader in and allows them to maintain their suspension of disbelief. While the vast, vast majority of people may have no knowledge on such topics as 1840's men's undergarments, you may still have a reader or two for whom a neglect of research into the topic will drop them out of your story. So kudos to you for feeling this urge to put more effort into your research. You've grown even closer to your characters in the process.
But... do you actually write the book tho? Becsuse I got from idea for one of the character being deaf fir plot purposes to researching Deaf culture and communication so much I'm now closer to getting a masters in sign language than to finishing the story...
Several years ago at a Highland Festival, I saw a man demonstrate how an actual kilt was worn. Yes, they put the fabric on the floor and then he "wrapped" himself up in it. He described as a cross between origami and burrito.
I had to make my Scottish dance costume. Complete with 3 tier petticoat & 13 tabs around the corset top with boning. Whew, but it was fun dancing when we were all dressed (kilts for men).
You drew those two friends so beautifully at 9:48 And it's so great that those two women are such good friends that they even sleep in the same bed. And even though neither of them ever found a husband I'm so glad they decided to live together as friends for the rest of their lives.
As a ghostwriter with over 500 historical romance books under my belt, I approve of this message. The publishers (who own the rights to my books) drive me mad with their cover choices!
Interestingly, the redesign of the "The Lady's guide to Celestial Mechanics" is not only more historically accurate but a better design from a color theory perspective. On the original cover it's just a blob of red with a tiny bit of white, but on your version with the white chemise the colors pop, they complement each other resulting in a much more balanced and visually striking cover.
@leo but what matters is readability on a busy bookshelf in a store. The design in this video is a better DRAWING of the couple in the book, but a slightly less practical book cover in the form that bernadette presents it with the text on
I love how you just *casually* decide to use stripes for the second dress. Trying to draw patterns on intricate bustle folds is intimidating to say the least, but STRAIGHT LINES!? You are a glorious madwoman & I bow to you
As an avid romance reader, that is actually friendly on Twitter with a couple of these authors, I really, really appreciate how lovingly you did this! So many other creators would have taken the chance to make snide comments about the romance genre of writing or made a classic “Fabio” joke. Thank you for acknowledging that these are a marketing choice by publishers that doesn’t make the book quality lesser. You had fun but you did it with kindness not disdain which is so often the case!
@@parryyotter yes, but authors need to market their books to sell them so they get money and can live lol. Alot of the times historical accuracy is not the point of the novel as well. It's just a make believe story.
@@SaintShion me too. I’m often embarrassed by the covers when people see me carrying these books around, a more historically accurate cover is better imho.
@@parryyotter You are assuming authors have far more control over their covers than they really do. Unless they're self publishing, most authors get very little if any say, not just in romance, but in general.
"... which... is actually historically accurate, so he can stay in his jeans-" I LOST it. I often find myself saying something, stopping, looking away, and often saying, "OK, that sounded better in my head."
I remember that there is a lot attention paid to clothes in the book itself. The countess does embroidery so both the main characters have embroidered details on their garments.
I'd be interested in more romance cover redesigns - possibly also "good" covers & what they do well? ex. Cat Sebastian's Sedgwick series clears the very low bar of not showing us the men's rippling washboard abs via ahistorical front-closure shirt alchemy
This is balanced out, I'm afraid, by the covers with two men with rippling abs. Dear author, I can see how the duke would have time for 1000 crunches a day, but, seriously, his valet has a day job.
@@denisha8596 So, I personally love the trend in some historical romances where they feel like they have to justify the abs on the cover. "Uh, he is so ripped which is the exact opposite of the court dandy that was considered attractive at "this" time - but he was disowned for ten years by his horrible father and had to do...manual labor, which for some reason I, the heroine, find so appealing..."
yes! Oh yes, especially when the author describes it via the other person's surprise when His Lordship removes his garments and it's NOT all good tailoring and padding :)
The book "Godmersham Park" has an INSANE book sleeve, it has an embroidery of the real life Godmersham Park, Jane Austen's home for many years, and on the inside of the sleeve, it has the messy thread spiderweb of the back of the embroidery on the front. It's incredibly smart design!
What I absolutely wasn't expecting from this video is finding out that Bernadette is an excellent painter, in addition to all the other things she excels at that we more extensively knew about.
Completely agree - Bernadette seems to have ALL the talent, I firmly believe there is nothing she cannot do (and do BEAUTIFULLY, at that). I am in awe! 🤩😍
You have to be if you are doing costume concept art. She seems to have no deficiency in her training, so it's not at all surprising to myself. I learned some of this when I took an advanced Technical Theatre class.
To get a degree in fashion history you are going to have to be learning dress and costume design. This sort of art is a crucial skill for having a profession/degree like her's.
I agree! The rufff actually is quite lovely and does nothing to detract from the attractiveness of the lady on the cover. In fact, the high ruffled collar combined with the 'peekaboo' nature of the--I forgot the term for it--gap in her top actually makes it MORE tantalizing.
There is a genre of comics called "Otome Isekai" where a modern woman is transported to a fantasy world and is usually some sort of noble lady. I'd love to see you rate the outfits in some of the more popular series. Some of them can be pretty ridiculous lol.
@@SuperSmashDolls lmao I’ve admittedly never watched Inuyasha, but Otome Isekais are almost always into the world of a romance novel or an otome game (dating sim directed at women). If you’re curious, there’s an anime for Otome Isekai (My Next Life as a Villainess) and another one coming in october (I’m a Villainess, so I’m Taming the Final Boss). A lot of the plots stem from the main character knowing the plot of the novel & either trying to avoid their death, or to get the main characters of the novel together
@@operagirl0101 I can name at least a half dozen OI’s where they say “oh the style in this fantasy world is supposed to be like the robe de la polonaise!” And it is the furthest thing from it. My OP wasn’t really meant to be serious either just a silly thing to see
Lol I agree there r some insane outfit choices in some of them, tho I give most some slack bc 1) fantasy obviously and 2) they're written by authors in east Asian countries who probably don't have access to the English language historical costuming resources we do
So, a friend of mine self-published an historical romance, and she got a mutual friend to dress up as a musketeer, and I felt a bit weird because he was decked out in a shirt with a very deep slit down the front... and she explained that this was a necessary part of the design because there's a Shirt Code in romance novels: what you see, is what you're going to get (the guy's nudity is an indicator of how naked the woman becomes in the story.)
There is truth that man chest is a code for "higher heat" novels. However, I write very high heat and a lot of my (contemporary not historical) romances have clothed men in suits, and if they are man chest, I often have a wash on the lower part of the cover so it's not full on. NOT because I am prudish about such things but because it makes marketing the book on prudish social media easier!
This explains all the romance covers I’ve seen, though I think some try to market themselves with the more revealing stuff but don’t manage to actually reveal much for long. It’s click bait for books.
Color in fashion theory baby. Red is a romantic and passionate color. While pink is also romantic its also innocent which is not great for a ‘steamy’ romance
Working in a library, we called these novels "bodice rippers" as the heroine usually had a torn top, and was being held by an attractive man, who had obviously just rescued her.
@@catinthechat01 I mean, when it comes to covers, yes. I've read two of these books (those by Beverly Jenkins, and Alyssa Cole), and they are very well researched. They have bibliographies. The authors are teaching history as much as titillating. I think many in their audience (myself included) would be happy to see more accuracy in covers, and it's certainly unfair to paint the books, or the readers, as unconcerned with history.
in germany we call them 'Groschen-romane' (Penny-novels) because they're always on the discount-table and very poorly written, like the author got not well payed for their work. XD
OMG - I have read SO MANY romance novels where I start reading, and the author has put so much work into describing accurate historical clothing, and the cover is COMPLETELY wrong. Loved this. More of this!
the "sexy" book covers actually make me less likely to read a historical fiction book lmao i wonder how many books i've missed out on because of this peeve
@@freddie6307 same. I see those covers and it makes me think it’s just gonna be a raunchy romance filled with sex scenes with no care to historical accuracy. I know they say don’t judge a book by its cover but a cover is there to tell you what the book is going to be like.
I love this so much! Could we get a part two featuring a Lisa Kleypas book? She expends so much time and energy on her historical research only for the publishers to plaster on yet another cover model with disheveled hair and off-the-shoulder prom dresses. These shenanigans made my morning!
i love lisa kleypas books! but i guess she personally bought painting from max ginsburg who is the painter of lots of her book covers. some of these covers are: dreaming of you, only in your arms, someone to watch over me, because you’re mine, stranger in my arms, midnight angel, and when dreams begin. the painter, max ginsburg, has been painting with his models and it might be ready-made to purchase. personally, my favorite cover was the “dreaming of you,” according to max ginsburg, ms. lisa bought the painting because she liked the spirit expressed in the pose, especially of the heroine. but i get what you meant, it’s not really historically accurate. even the painter said it on interviews. even the painter hate the idea of his illustration to be cropped so drastically by avon books (publishing com. of lisa kleypas) i did some research before this, because lisa kleypas book covers and its accuracy has been one of my research topic in college.
I made my entire book club historically adequate chemise, drawers, and petticoats after finishing The Wallflowers series. We're going to play rounders in our knickers once we're all together again.
@@matematicarka it was originally a derogatory word, but people started using it in a joking way to refer to the stuff they were writing, so it’s a neutral term for erotica in fanfic circles
As an AVID romance reader and writer, I always hate to see my lovely authors get stuck with such atrocious covers! Thank you for giving these stories the dignity of historically accurate cover art. The romance genre already doesn't get the credit it deserves for storytelling and research, then to get slammed for covers most trad published authors have no control over is just insult to injury. I'd love to see more in this series, and perhaps a focus on the authors or publishers who are doing it "right" as well. Lovely art!!~~
I want to think that Gail Carringer gets her covers right, given that she is also heavily into fashion history but now I'm too afraid to take them off the shelf to look...
@@sarahrosen4985 Gail Carriger seems like she market her books as adventure books more than romance so most takes on the covers or art of her books (novel, comics, Japanese version) looks more historically accurate to sell the image of the setting (albeit a bit idealized) than everything that we see on here, who were mostly being like this due to the romance genre put on it.
@@sarahrosen4985 Also, the pub listened to her input on how she wanted her covers done and even went along and used the model from Clockwork Couture she had as an example of what she wanted. (At least for the Soulless series).
It makes me very sad that they feel the need to do this to the covers! I would much prefer the more accurate ones. Bernadette made the Scottish Outlaw one look very sexy and romantic, and they're still in period clothing! If Bernadette can do it, then so can the publishers! Edit: I am Scottish myself on my mother's side, and the two clans I am descended from (Butler and Colquhoun), had their own tartans. However, Clan Colquhoun actually had two tartans! One was for regular, everyday use while the other was used for special occasions such as a baptism, wedding, etc.
I loved this! A part 2 would be great. : ) I wish publishers would consider more historical cover art, especially when the author has done their research and written a (more or less) accurate novel!
Authors who have done their research and written a believable representation of the period their story is said to be set in ought to be rewarded with covers that reflect this fact.
Back in the 1980s, in the UK, I went to a talk by a historical novelist. He was a working class guy who had left high school at 15 like everyone else at the time, But at some point he had discovered that he could spend his time doing what he loved - historical research - by writing period romance (and I think crime) novels. He wrote under a female name for the romance, because that’s what you had to do at the time.
@@jennyt3672 Jessica Stirling. (Hugh Rae, initially with co-author Peggy Stirling) He also wrote in other genres under other names. He was an excellent presenter and raconteur.
I was once in a writing group with a woman who had published her first historical romance. The heroine on the cover was showing her back, which obviously had a zipper. The poor author was mortified, but had no say in changing the cover.
@@katiebayliss9887 although cinderella’s dress is more similar to 1850s, it is important to note that the dresses in cinderella tend to vary in style as needed to give each character an instantly recognizable silhouette
I can't believe that "The Ladies Guide to Celestial Mechanics" showed up here. I took a library science class a year ago, and that title came up in a discussion of, "I never thought this genre existed." I think half the class then read the book because it sounded too interesting to ignore.
@@thecatofnineswords well, it's a Regency lesbian romance novel that was heavy on the slow burn and light on the bawdiness. That may not be your cup of tea, but the class was extremely entertained that the book intersected romance, historical fiction, and LGBTQ. My other Regency setting novel that semester was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, now that was a guilty pleasure!
@@thecatofnineswords I really liked it & was super-excited to see it here. If you like queer regency stuff, I'd definitely give it a try! (And if you like queer regency stuff but with more oomph to the romantic scenes, Rose Lerner is great, as are Cat Sebastian and Erica Ridley.
Also, she used historical photos of black women from the time periods under discussion. Well done! Some of the photos were lovely. I especially liked the woman in the "pagoda sleeves" example--she was clearly a person of taste and elegance.
Please, please do a follow-up video with the sequel to "The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics", "The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows. It has an 1820's village beekeeper in a modern power business suit, with a widowed London print shop owner in a yellow evening gown as the cover photo. My mother who has her degree in History (specifically English/Irish) developed a nervous tick looking at it. Your commentary would just be perfect!
The book title is so beautiful but I look at the cover and I can’t help but laugh at how bad it is. Like even if you know very little about historical fashion, that is clearly a modern suit. Nothing about the cover makes me think it’s supposed to be historical.
Yes, you are quite right about tartans. People would recognise that someone came from a different district, just because “you don’t see that sett around here”; and you could well get extended families wearing the same tartan - for the same reason you still see Amish people wearing the same colour dresses or shirts - because the cloth is bought by the bolt. And when you’re hand weaving, whether it’s homespun or made in town, it is much easier and quicker (more economical) for the weaver to just set up the warps one, and when a bolt is taken off, instead of setting up all over again from scratch (which is quite a chore) just knot the fresh warp threads to the old ones in the same colours, and keep with the weft pattern that you alrady have in your head. This could also function as a “brand” in the modern sense, an indicator of quality. Besides this, it was common for centuries that apprentices and “servants” (ie employees and farm labourers, who in Scotland were often extended family) to get part of their wages in kind - in shoes, and garments, so much per year.
@@GabyGeorge1996I dunno about that. In Scotland paying in cattle would be “in kine” or kyne. In KIND means, payment for goods or services in a similar way, not with money, but with other goods or services. (Same kind or other kind…)
It was wonderful to see you paint what you're so passionate about and I loved the side-by-side photoshop magic! 😀 It really is true that we don't get to see your wonderful painting skills enough, but the amount of paintings you did for this video is impressive and must have taken ✨forever✨ (like, the detailed faces and garments are crazy.)
Let's make this a ruffs-positive zone! As an art student from the Netherlands, the 17th century portrait tradition has the most beautiful and intricate ruffs you can imagine from an art historical perspective. I've had the privilege to look at many of these paintings by the likes of Rembrandt and Vermeer up close, and they're just marvelous. I can really recommend going to the Rijksmuseum if you're ever in Amsterdam if you want to see some of these masterpieces. In any case, it's lovely to hear ruffs get the love they deserve :)
You can date an historical oil portrait to within 5 years just going on the size, shape, and material of the collars and cuffs. The people wealthy enough for an oil portrait were wealthy enough to wear the latest fashion.
True fax: A blue prom dress served as the reference dress for a lot of ‘90s Romance novel covers of all periods. Same dress, many periods. In reality, it was a Princess Di knockoff circa 1982.
I'm going to need a part 2, 3, 4, 5... I loved this. I love how kind you were and the respect you afforded the work of the artists and authors, aware of the marketing aspects. And watching you paint was so relaxing 😍
I agree 100%! We definitely need parts two, three, four, five.. and her kindness and respect for the artist and authors is lovely. AND the relaxation afforded by listening to and watching her paint, sublime!
My people suffered a lot in the highlands, even though you are talking only about the clothing, I can not thank you enough for bringing this to light.💜
me: scottish, throwing up in my mouth a little at the sight of the last one's original cover Bernadette: speaks the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, and makes things as they should be me: :') even if the publishers of romance novels don't got me, I know Bernadette Banner got me
I've honestly got so irritated and fed up on reading a character was wearing bra and knickers, instead of the era appropriate underwear, I've stopped reading the book. Gone on full rants about how chemises are sexy too with my friends, who fortunately have found my frustration amusing! If books had covers like the ones you painted, I'd honestly be more tempted to buy more historical romances, they're so gorgeous and I wished publishers appreciated the beauty of historical clothing rather than 'woman with loose, vaguely curly hair, prom dress and ruffles = historical costume'
imo chemises are so comfortable to wear, I actually own one that I wear sometimes and it's so much better than wearing a tanktop and sometimes leggings under my dresses
@@Floriannehere I've always gone on about how a good fitting corset can be super comfortable to wear. I've often had bad posture and wearing a corset really helped with that, and the back ache I sometimes got. It's so frustrating that people believe that historical clothing was deliberately uncomfortable to wear.
@@1607hannah1 The higher class women had very little exercise. In our days, bad posture can be helped much better with proper exercise. We have a spine and muscles for a reason, to hold us up. We are not molluscs. Of course, for someone who hates any form of exercise, a corset might be needed in the long run, to keep her straight.
@@irmar Cool, thanks for making assumptions about me. Bad posture can happen even if you do exercise (and I've done a fuck tonne of pilates, yoga, horse riding and dance in order to rectify the issue properly), but wearing a corset can help you maintain the right way of standing without getting into old bad habbits when you're not exercising. Plus they're also sexy and pretty to look at! Also, by the Victorian era many women were taking walks, cycling, horse riding, playing tennis, etc, etc In comparison to us, sure they weren't going to HIIT classes, but they were active and many women were still wearing corsets until 1940/50s. This is just my experience between wearing a corset and wearing a bra (of which I've found most are incredibly uncomfortable, dig into my skin and don't necessarily provide support for either my tits or my back etc).
I love that you kept the person block on Duke of My Heart the same shape using the shawl! Also, your use of the artists colors to create your designs was a lovey touch.
Re: kilts and plaid - I grew up in the SCA and have had my trusty "hunk of plaid" - an almost but not quite square of wool tartan - since I was 16 years old and I can 1000000000000% attest that wool tartan is the best thing ever. Cloak? I had an actual cloak hook in it for years. Blanket? Do you want to keep warm or sit on the ground, it's got you covered. Table cloth? Oh you can bet your booties it'll be the best table cloth ever. As an Adult (tm) I have considered getting a proper cloak but just... can't bring myself to replace my trusty sidekick.
Now I want Bernadette to react to the fashion in Sims Medieval. I’ve always loved that everyone is in “accurate” clothes, you don’t have townies wearing the most random outfits.
This is the perfect intersection of my interests. Can we talk about how frustrating it is to read a historical romance and then they get the underwear wrong?! Please. Why are men in the regency wearing drawers? Why is the 1770s gentleman sleeping in drawers with no nightshirt? Where is her chemise? 😭
YESSSSS!!! That was my main issue with the Bridgerton books. In every sex scene, the man just slips off the woman's dress, and she's automatically naked. Where are the stays? Where's the chemise? It bothers me so much and takes me out of the story.
@@sacrilegioussasquatch The worst part is that a good number of fanfic authors go all the way down the research hellhole with their works and actually write the details correctly the way a paid professional should. So there really is no excuse for the actual paid professionals to fail like this.
@@zaramikazuki8374 Yeah. I write historical fanfiction and I make sure every nitpicky little detail is correct. It makes me so angry when movies and actual books fuck it up when I, an amateur with my subpar quality of work put in the research, time and effort for something I do for free and fun make sure that the details are correct.
Re: Jeans: I have a Victorian etiquette book that recommends the use of blue denim for curtains in home decor, specifically stating how well the material ages. 👖
@@hb-ov9tn thank you. “Jurtins”literally made me LOL, which I desperately needed. :D And now my mind is manufacturing a permed-haired teen girl’s room done up in Jurtins and all-over denim, including eyelet ruffles and studded bling a la 1980’s jean-jacket DIYs. !!!
@@DawnDavidson you conjured up visions of the Bedazzler commercial.....maybe I wanted that particular piece of machinery quite badly as a child of the 80s and early 90s!!!
@@DawnDavidson But the 80's denim was stonewashed or acid washed. I think Victorian denim curtains would be very dark, and almost stand up by themselves. ;)
I loved everything about this. When I was in undergrad, two of my dearest friends and I were all at different schools in reading-heavy subjects (two Lit majors and a Pre-Med major) and we used to read and trade romance novels to relax and those novels were always chosen based on the cover. I think our most ridiculous one was set during the pre-American Revolution period and all I remember was there being a straw hat involved for the lady and the obligatory no shirt for the fella. Thanks for this lovely diversion!
I had two Medeival scholar friends in grad school, and we used to go to Barnes and Noble for fun. We'd walk through the romance section, and they'd exclaim, "Look! We need to show this book to our professor so he can see that Vikings were clean, handsome, and had excellent dental care!"
@@lesliemoiseauthor I could only think of Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan: 1651) "... the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.". Totally lol'd!
I showed my mom this video and I just have to share what she said! "She seems like someone you want to be friends with. Her smile and voice and eyes are just like a princess or something super happy and genuine and sweet"
This was delightful! I haven't bought a historical romance in the better art of a decade, but I think I'd be far more likely to in the future if it were in gorgeous historically accurate dress. As it is, I think I'll stick with my coverless (and free!) fanfic.
I have done so much Edwardian/WW1 era fashion research for my Titanic fanfic. I’ve almost made it to 300k words and I haven’t even gotten to the wedding in 1913 yet. I’m allowing myself a little leeway there, it basically becomes a society duel between two families so of course they’re going to go over the top
Honestly? Historical romance has changed so much in the past decade that it might be worthwhile for you to dip back in. So what if the covers are made to appeal to the average person? It's what's inside that matters, and authors are doing their research, now.
Totally agree. Not only do they now remember to (yay!) put a chemise or something under her corset, they explore what it would have meant to have PTSD or be a conscientious objector or be neuro-divergent in eras that didn't even have words for those things. Courtney Milan is the first example that comes to mind. The Alyssa Cole book mentioned in this video too, if memory serves. Meljean Brook for steampunk. Definitely worth dipping back into the genre, @Katherine Morelle.
Just started watching this but already have to comment that the ironic thing is that to me, as an enjoyer of historical romance novels, I always actively try to ignore the cover image because they're often so very cringe. I choose books by reading the synopsis on Goodreads and seeing recs on Reddit. So this idea that a publisher thinks that putting historically inaccurate, nearly naked ppl on the cover is going to get me to read it is hilarious. lmao
Same! For years I wanted to read historical romance but didn't find any of them appealing because of the poor cover art, until one was recommended to me a lot and I decided to give it a shot despite its awful cover. Those covers look so horrible that if I ever search for a romance book (historical, but also any other subgenre really...) in a bookstore, I always turn the books around and read the blurb and actively avoid looking at the covers or my interest in the story will vanish completely. I don't understand how publishers think these covers work at all 😂
As an unabashed lover of historical romance AND as an actual certified historian, I cannot thank you enough for this. My friends have heard me rant about this so much and they just don't care lol. This gave me LIFE today.
I wrote a historical romance novel and I was so glad that my publisher choose a appropriate stock photo that fit the time 😅😅 The make up is modern, but at LEAST the outfit is okay! If anyone is interested: It’s called „Die Tochter des Zementbarons“ and is set in 1914, Germany.
The Regency period seems to be a particularly... confusing situation. Is the book set in the Regency era? Make them wear clothing from a vastly different time period! Is the book set in anything but the Regency period? Regency dresses it is!
The UA-cam algorithm pointed this out to me without any of my interests ever going in this direction. Just watched the entire video and it’s stunning. It’s so well done and the thematic is interesting and presented in both a serious and humorous way! Kudos
These are all really nicely done! I really like seeing what they likely would have actually looked like in their purported time period; nothing like today… I wonder if anybody is going to start asking you to make art for their historical romance novels :)
Bess of Hardwick had not only a small ruff in her earliest portrait, but she rocked some unbelievable level of blackwork (in red) on it and her copiously visible linen!
I prefer the realistic once way more than the original covers. It just brings the story more alive and authentic. I hope that becomes a trend in the future. And the drawing you made where beatifull!
Some of these are so lovely as a romance novel enthusiast, I would 1000% read these! Honestly, I kind of miss this style of romance novel cover. These days, it's very graphic (graphic style, not graphic like... lewd?) and very stylized. Bright colors, silhouettes, illustrations and borders. Kind of minimalist? I wonder if the absolute joke the Harlequin romance covers became in the 90s and early 00's killed this style, but I miss it. Its so pretty and painterly. Also I appreciate the education and the fixes without shaming romance novels, the novelists, or the people who read them? Like... romance is seen as the butt of the joke in the literary world, and I appreciate the diversity of novels you presented. So thank you
I read a post that there was literally only one or two artists doing romance cover paintings, so when they retired they had to switch to the photo shopped/"graphic" style.
I read somewhere that a lot of romance covers these days are designed to be eye-catching when browsing e-books, because that’s how the bulk of romance novels are sold these days. That’s about a 1” x 1.5” square depending on the screen size, so they have to be graphic or stylized in order to have any impact at all.
I may not like romance, as a genre, but I can understand why others do. Read what you like. The important thing is that you keep reading, or at least listening to audio books. Something to keep your brain stimulated. This is ludicrously important as people age. You need to maintain some kind of mentally stimulating activity so your mental acuity doesn't drop. The problem is that so many of the elderly from the baby boomer generation didn't really "get" technology well enough for audiobooks to be a viable option for them as their eyes got progressively worse.
As a graphic designer: it’s all canva. Canva is a free graphic design website similar to photoshop but one thing that it’s known for it having clip art type assets like the “2d minimalist man in jeans” png that is just ready to go. I guarantee they have some graphic designer contracted at $15 per cover and they just slap something together using the canva preloaded assets. For self publishing they use fiverr. That’s why all these covers look like this. It makes me mad
Definitely, for self-published romance, it is attributable primarily to cost, though there is something to be said about how those sorts of covers were shamed by broader society and people who read romance, especially smuttier romance (especially the subset of those readers who are older women) probably want a more discreet cover so they can read in public or around their families. I mean, look at the covers for the twilight saga and the 50 shades trilogy. It is simultaneously minimal, modest, and instantly recognizable. You see those hands holding that apple or that particular tie and you know what book you're looking at. As sad as it is to see that kind of portraiture for covers going away, there is at least some sense to why it's done the way it is.
This popped up in my recommended and it's so nice to hear someone talk accurately about Scottish culture and the history of what happened to my country. Well done Bernadette!
This was so much fun to watch. As someone who enjoys reading the occasional historical romance, I would agree that many dress designs read more "Modern Prom," than "Historically Accurate." But, like you said, these covers aren't necessarily being design to attract the fashion savvy. 😆 They definitely serve their purpose. 😊
Love, love the video! I think I've read 3 of the novels you featured. Romance novel covers are my jam - unfortunately they're mainly eye candy. It comes from the legacy of Harlequin paperbacks being distributed via truckers across various outlets in the 60s and 70s. Marketers noticed that the truckers were unloading the paperbacks that caught their eye better. So all the bulging pectorals, heaving bosoms, and sexy poses.Modern romance cover design has definitely improved but there is still a hint of that in most romance novel covers. Love your redesigns but alas they probably won't pass muster with marketing. Enjoy seeing you drawing again, too! Will you be making prints for these?
Bernadette doing historically accurate romance novel cover recreations is something I didn't realize I needed. I think the thing that most communicates the sexiness & sensuality is more in the poses & positions & gestures & expressions of the models on these covers, so I don't see why them being in accurate clothing would make it less sexy? I think the human race has proven itself to be plenty horny regardless of what era it's in & what the people are wearing. Marketing people are honestly shooting themselves in the foot not finding ways to creatively take the historically accurate stuff & actually work with it, like someone else mentioned, the peek at the heroine's stockings of the Scottish Highlander romance as Bernadette illustrated them are still pretty sexy as opposed to the original's bare legs.
@@Canny-Octopus if only there was a way to remedy that, perhaps with some after photo artistic modifications, or even instead of a photo, draw a correct scene 😉
I loved this. And I don’t see why the romance novel reader wouldn’t still buy these books with more accurate artwork. They’re still going to rip that bodice off and have utterly inappropriate, uh, romance in the book. All the clutching and pawing on the cover promises it. But they’d be doing it with clothing that makes sense.
A romance author group shared this for us readers. Often times romance authors only have a limited number of models to choose from for their covers. However, I love your video and information. Your painting talent is exquisite!! Perhaps you could paint covers for authors to help them be more accurate :D
These "new" covers really make me want to try reading some of these books now! I really struggle being engaged with the stock photo nature that some of these books have - it just shatters the suspension of belief for me, even though I know they are probably good stories! Marketing companies please hire illustrates and let characters wear accurate clothes! We have proof here that it still looks engaging!!
I like how you tried to be diverse in the stories you picked. I used to resell Harlequinn Romances, and I think I only ever saw a black couple once and a few instances of mixed (one black, one white) couples. I never saw any Asian or Latino people (although characters that were Latino in the book may have whitewashed on the cover as there is this whole "latino lover" thing people are obsessed with, but idk, I didn't read any of them).
Did anyone else get excited during the last one when she put him in a "pirate" shirt? I was much more intrigued with that than having him be shirtless 😝
The man in the last cover did indeed look better re-done, more masculine in a romance novel way. It's a shame the covers are often so untrue to the time periods they're supposedly depicting, as they ought to be a reference to the reader about how the characters look.
I love the fact that this video shows Bernadette's incredible knowledge on historical accuracy, beautiful drawing and painting, and, in the background, there's a framed guinea pig/capybara in historical costume portrait. 10/10. Could not be better.
Guinea pig! She has at least one other royalty Guinea pig painting. Her siblings Dani paints them, also a very talented human! I follow them on Instagram.
Thank you Ms. B. Being an historical fiction author and having engaged in the research of the period to create authenticity I appreciate your thoughtful redesign of these book covers. Watching you sketch was very soothing. Well done.
I love all of these!! And this is playing into a recent idea I wanted of smutty period romance, but with correct clothing layers (and decent consent acknowledgment…)
"... another petticoat my dear? How many does that make? What's this little fellow called? A bum roll? [Giggle] all right.... and this frightening contraption? A crinoline... I've seen less substantial cages for wild beasts! What sailor taught you this knot for your corset laces? It's impossible to undo... Edit: I sort of like this as a wedding night scene...
I've actually been thinking about writing some historical romance that is both queer and historically accurate. No clue where to start but it seems like fun :) And if I ever do, and it becomes something suitable for publishing, I'm asking Bernadette is she'd design the cover. (As a comission ofc)
The Simpsons had a "1900 house reality show" episode years ago that winked at the undergarments issue. I only picked up one "romance" novel once long ago, and it was all horrific abuse, so consent in a romance novel would be lovely.
Sending this to my mom immediately! She writes historical fiction that is barely fiction, more family history in novel form and self-publishing so yay for having control over our covers! But the amount of arguments we had that, no, no one will care if the building on the cover (which was literally the building the characters lived in irl) now has a tiled roof even though it had a thatched roof at the time. She doesn't belive me that 100% historical accuracy isn't the norm for most book covers.
@@Izzy-uh9wp nice! The newest one (called Dorfschulrose) also has a ton of history hidden within the personal story so you can get two birds with one stone: practicing your language and accidentally learning some German history as well
I may be biased (I am, most definitely, entirely biased), but I personally find your covers even more alluring and attractive than the originals -- that same sort of bated-breath feeling as when the love interests brush hands and quickly retract with a gasp. It's so much more exciting when the pretense of being "put together" is challenged, like how the Scottish man's shirt was actually very conservative, until you open up the front. Oof. Period wear will always carry the most drama. I hope this made sense I just woke up hehe
You should definitely do more of these. this was extremely pleasurable to watch and I can think of so many authors and cover artists who still need...covering.
Can we also give a special shout out to how absolutely amazing Bernadette's outfit is in this video? So classy! The burgundy coat and white turtleneck is absolutely adorable.
To be honest I MUCH prefer the historically accurate book covers then the "fantasy" book covers 😍 And I feel like most people who read these types of books would probably feel the same way because you can find romance novels all over the place but if you're specifically going after historical set ones you probably like history at least to some degree 🤷🏻♀️
I love this. I tried to read a historical romance novel recently, and simply couldn’t get over how deeply in shambles the main character’s reputation would have been by chapter 3 (no escort when youre going out with an unrelated man? Allowing him to help you out of the carriage by grabbing YOUR WAIST???)
Probably most of the people, who write these stories didn't do any research too, so in a sense it is right to give inaccurate books inaccurate covers. :D
@@barbarak2836 she did a lot of research. She also wrote non fiction history. She also wrote murder mysteries set in her own time which are delightful period pieces in their own way.
@@lenabreijer1311 Are all her books written under the name Georgette Heyer? I would be very interested in reading them. I didn't realize she wrote things other than historical fiction.
Painting folds and billows of purple striped and tartan fabric: Respect! The redrawings of the first red Regency dress, the Bess of Hardwick Venus, and the purple striped one were especially choice.
What I've learned: The regency period's clothing will be used with any romance novel UNLESS it occurs in the regency era.
And also the hair! It was a shame that they missed the opportunity of putting long hair when historically accurate 🤣🤣🤣
With lovely bright makeup
@Krys Earles 🤣 funny & accurate
😂😂😂😂
Bwahahahaha!
As someone working as a graphic designer in the book industry, I can 100% tell you that every single time we suggest a book covers with accurate fashion history, the marketing team tell us to change ut to a "sexy modern queen marie-antoinette or empress sissi type of girl". And how many time I read in an email "can we have more boobs/pecs."... Way too many times.
That's so sad. 😱
That sucks. You should show them this video and the comments and how many people say they'd had more interest in the books if the covers were accurate!
🥲
@@snazzypazzy The problem with that, from a marketing standpoint, is the people who'd buy it thinking it's historical not-romance and be offended by the romance (and sex! The horror!). That's why all the skin and fantasy gowns still exist in the genre.
@@cherylrosbak4092 It seems like books need more tags like fanfiction does. Like, this book has explicit adult fun time scenes, this book is aimed at general audiences, or this book has torture scenes in it. :P So much easier to filter stuff in or out that way.
The casual-ness of how your artistry is displayed is such a killer flex.
Right!?
I am not surprised to see your comment here sis 😊
IKR??? SHES SO TALENTED
I want to see a romance novel depicting the love between a historical clothing fanatic and a cosplayer.
Romance has so many sub-genres and niche it might exist already
not gonna lie...this is giving me ideas for a WLW story about a youtuber who loves historical clothing and a instagramer or tiktoker who loves cosplaying fantasy or vintage
Needs a scene with a seam ripper and a bodice, because...y'know.
@Ocean Mariep imma do you one better. A historical clothing fanatic and a time traveller from the past who has a knowledge of historical clothing because they belong to a family of seamstresses and tailors and what not. The historical fan is so impressed at every turn by this person who seemingly has the same hobby when it seems no one else does. Time traveller is like I just wanna go home but this person is so cute and wow look at all the ways clothing is made in the future and they end up working together on the costumes for a movie or play or something and ya I’m still wondering what the conflict in this story would be but yeah something like that
@@tinypirate3109 the conflict could perhaps be that the fanatic finds out that the time traveller was hiding this secret from them, maybe through a series of photos or historical accounts that include them :0
"Our love cannot be! For I am the high-born eldest daughter of a lord most favored in the royal court, and you are but a lowly stable hand. Plus, I just can't get past whatever the hell it is you've got going on there with that...is that supposed to be a _doublet?_ Seriously?"
amazing! I want to read your book.
"Lo, observe the speaker! Milady, why are you in your petticoats at a ball? And your hair flowing out to rival the sea winds?"
Hahahaaaa
I absolutely love your book covers! And who knows maybe some authors will insist on more accurate clothing being used on their books.
You are so funny! How nice to share your knowledge while using romance novels. I saw this early this morning and enjoyed starting my day with a few giggles. Thx
the second one i think turned out MORE scandalous and sexy than the original cover. her being fully dressed and him being shirtless is even better to show how they're different and "can't be together"
right?? it's so much spicier with him shirtless and spanning her corseted waist with his hands. *fans self*
Bernadette is the reason that my search history has shit in it like "1840s mens underwear" despite the fact that it will never be described in my story, because if im not historically accurate in my writing I will feel the look of "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" upon my shoulders from her and lord cesario.
This is a whole mood tho lol but hey have fun researching - Bernadette, Lord Cesario, and the rest of the costubing community are very proud of you
I feel like I'm doing my ancestors wrong if I can't imagine and/or describe what clothing people of their time period would ve wearing
"I'm not sad, I'm just disappointed."
I feel you.
It is the mark of a good author to have researched their setting to a nearly exhaustive degree before endeavoring to place characters within it. Doing so allows you to really enter into the mental space of people within that era and location and allows you to better describe their experiences there. It's also a bit of an occupational hazard for writers, editors, and others in the field to have a search history filled with a myriad of random topics in a variety of fields because it is useful to know a little (or a lot) about many things so you can tell at a glance when something seems off. When your writing is cohesive then it draws your reader in and allows them to maintain their suspension of disbelief. While the vast, vast majority of people may have no knowledge on such topics as 1840's men's undergarments, you may still have a reader or two for whom a neglect of research into the topic will drop them out of your story. So kudos to you for feeling this urge to put more effort into your research. You've grown even closer to your characters in the process.
But... do you actually write the book tho? Becsuse I got from idea for one of the character being deaf fir plot purposes to researching Deaf culture and communication so much I'm now closer to getting a masters in sign language than to finishing the story...
Several years ago at a Highland Festival, I saw a man demonstrate how an actual kilt was worn. Yes, they put the fabric on the floor and then he "wrapped" himself up in it. He described as a cross between origami and burrito.
🤣🤣🤣
My husband is Scottish. Can confirm.
🤣❤️. Sounds amazing!
... burrigami...
I had to make my Scottish dance costume. Complete with 3 tier petticoat & 13 tabs around the corset top with boning. Whew, but it was fun dancing when we were all dressed (kilts for men).
You drew those two friends so beautifully at 9:48 And it's so great that those two women are such good friends that they even sleep in the same bed. And even though neither of them ever found a husband I'm so glad they decided to live together as friends for the rest of their lives.
The best roommates 🤧
And they were roommates
They close female friends in a… historical way.
Heh. Gal pals.
I even herd they were such good friends they adopted a child together, literally friendship goals!
As a ghostwriter with over 500 historical romance books under my belt, I approve of this message. The publishers (who own the rights to my books) drive me mad with their cover choices!
I wanna read ur book
How do you even begin to be a ghost writer? And why don't you just publish under your own name?
Holy heck! 500? How do you even do that? I can barely write a two page rhetorical analysis paper without dying on the inside multiple times.
.
500? Oh my god. Good for you, but jesus christ if i had that motivation
Interestingly, the redesign of the "The Lady's guide to Celestial Mechanics" is not only more historically accurate but a better design from a color theory perspective. On the original cover it's just a blob of red with a tiny bit of white, but on your version with the white chemise the colors pop, they complement each other resulting in a much more balanced and visually striking cover.
Also from a character design perspective, the woman in red having white on her outfit shows her connection to the other one.
The text is less readable on the white skirt than it was on the two red skirts though
@@voidify3 You can easily outline the text to fix it
@@alexandram2486 yeah just kind of an explanation of why the original had 2 red skirts
@leo but what matters is readability on a busy bookshelf in a store. The design in this video is a better DRAWING of the couple in the book, but a slightly less practical book cover in the form that bernadette presents it with the text on
I love how you just *casually* decide to use stripes for the second dress. Trying to draw patterns on intricate bustle folds is intimidating to say the least, but STRAIGHT LINES!? You are a glorious madwoman & I bow to you
Right? And then she tackles a plaid!
As an avid romance reader, that is actually friendly on Twitter with a couple of these authors, I really, really appreciate how lovingly you did this! So many other creators would have taken the chance to make snide comments about the romance genre of writing or made a classic “Fabio” joke. Thank you for acknowledging that these are a marketing choice by publishers that doesn’t make the book quality lesser. You had fun but you did it with kindness not disdain which is so often the case!
Authors make choices as well, just saying. They take part in the inaccuracies.
@@parryyotter yes, but authors need to market their books to sell them so they get money and can live lol. Alot of the times historical accuracy is not the point of the novel as well. It's just a make believe story.
@@zachfrommars8013 100% I would buy the ones she made more. As soon as I see goofy costumes I'm out but if it was accurate I'd likely buy it
@@SaintShion me too. I’m often embarrassed by the covers when people see me carrying these books around, a more historically accurate cover is better imho.
@@parryyotter You are assuming authors have far more control over their covers than they really do. Unless they're self publishing, most authors get very little if any say, not just in romance, but in general.
"... which... is actually historically accurate, so he can stay in his jeans-"
I LOST it. I often find myself saying something, stopping, looking away, and often saying, "OK, that sounded better in my head."
I, for one, am perfectly content that this man was permitted to stay in his jeans.
I gotta say, "The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics" is a GOD TIER book title. Obsessed in every way
It's a fitting title since they are meant to be star-crossed love in every sense of the word
And as a gay man that cover is hot
It’s a great book too!
I remember that there is a lot attention paid to clothes in the book itself. The countess does embroidery so both the main characters have embroidered details on their garments.
Also a God-tier book in general, tbh. I HIGHLY recommend it!
Artist/employer: whats your secret talent?
Bernadette: I can sketch hands without a struggle
Artist/employer: YOU'RE HIRED 🤝
I'd be interested in more romance cover redesigns - possibly also "good" covers & what they do well?
ex. Cat Sebastian's Sedgwick series clears the very low bar of not showing us the men's rippling washboard abs via ahistorical front-closure shirt alchemy
I love Cat Sebastian's books 😆😂♥️
This is balanced out, I'm afraid, by the covers with two men with rippling abs. Dear author, I can see how the duke would have time for 1000 crunches a day, but, seriously, his valet has a day job.
@@denisha8596 So, I personally love the trend in some historical romances where they feel like they have to justify the abs on the cover. "Uh, he is so ripped which is the exact opposite of the court dandy that was considered attractive at "this" time - but he was disowned for ten years by his horrible father and had to do...manual labor, which for some reason I, the heroine, find so appealing..."
yes! Oh yes, especially when the author describes it via the other person's surprise when His Lordship removes his garments and it's NOT all good tailoring and padding :)
The book "Godmersham Park" has an INSANE book sleeve, it has an embroidery of the real life Godmersham Park, Jane Austen's home for many years, and on the inside of the sleeve, it has the messy thread spiderweb of the back of the embroidery on the front. It's incredibly smart design!
What I absolutely wasn't expecting from this video is finding out that Bernadette is an excellent painter, in addition to all the other things she excels at that we more extensively knew about.
Completely agree - Bernadette seems to have ALL the talent, I firmly believe there is nothing she cannot do (and do BEAUTIFULLY, at that). I am in awe! 🤩😍
You have to be if you are doing costume concept art. She seems to have no deficiency in her training, so it's not at all surprising to myself. I learned some of this when I took an advanced Technical Theatre class.
To get a degree in fashion history you are going to have to be learning dress and costume design. This sort of art is a crucial skill for having a profession/degree like her's.
I can’t love this more, it’s so fun! Venus in Winter has to be my fav. Long live the ruff!
Long 👏 live 👏 the 👏 ruff 😤
I love the Bess of Hardwicke recognition mainly because she was embroidery mad.
Love your music covers! 💕
I agree! The rufff actually is quite lovely and does nothing to detract from the attractiveness of the lady on the cover. In fact, the high ruffled collar combined with the 'peekaboo' nature of the--I forgot the term for it--gap in her top actually makes it MORE tantalizing.
@@Sandrilenefatoren hmm keyhole? Is that the term for this peekaboo design? It is sensational in the drawing -I know I want to wear it.
There is a genre of comics called "Otome Isekai" where a modern woman is transported to a fantasy world and is usually some sort of noble lady. I'd love to see you rate the outfits in some of the more popular series. Some of them can be pretty ridiculous lol.
wait inuyasha is a genre now?
@@SuperSmashDolls lmao I’ve admittedly never watched Inuyasha, but Otome Isekais are almost always into the world of a romance novel or an otome game (dating sim directed at women). If you’re curious, there’s an anime for Otome Isekai (My Next Life as a Villainess) and another one coming in october (I’m a Villainess, so I’m Taming the Final Boss). A lot of the plots stem from the main character knowing the plot of the novel & either trying to avoid their death, or to get the main characters of the novel together
Some of the Isekai genre are in fantasy world so i think it's unnecessary if the characters dressed historically accurate
@@operagirl0101 I can name at least a half dozen OI’s where they say “oh the style in this fantasy world is supposed to be like the robe de la polonaise!” And it is the furthest thing from it. My OP wasn’t really meant to be serious either just a silly thing to see
Lol I agree there r some insane outfit choices in some of them, tho I give most some slack bc 1) fantasy obviously and 2) they're written by authors in east Asian countries who probably don't have access to the English language historical costuming resources we do
i love how she doesn't bash the decisions made by the cover designer, she's only there to analyze and redesign with some "maybe they were trying to"
Your "Venus in Winter" cover is chef's kiss 😍
Agreed, it's so much better than the original, and I love all the details of the sleeves!!
Omg you're here!!
Agreed. That is so much more attractive.
Diane! You're here! Somehow, I am not surprised in the slightest.
This is the channel crossover we need in our lives!❤
So, a friend of mine self-published an historical romance, and she got a mutual friend to dress up as a musketeer, and I felt a bit weird because he was decked out in a shirt with a very deep slit down the front... and she explained that this was a necessary part of the design because there's a Shirt Code in romance novels: what you see, is what you're going to get (the guy's nudity is an indicator of how naked the woman becomes in the story.)
"The GUYS nudity is an indicator of how naked the WOMAN becomes in the story." had me giggle snort
There is truth that man chest is a code for "higher heat" novels. However, I write very high heat and a lot of my (contemporary not historical) romances have clothed men in suits, and if they are man chest, I often have a wash on the lower part of the cover so it's not full on. NOT because I am prudish about such things but because it makes marketing the book on prudish social media easier!
i never realized this but it makes so much sense now.
This explains all the romance covers I’ve seen, though I think some try to market themselves with the more revealing stuff but don’t manage to actually reveal much for long. It’s click bait for books.
Oh lordy. Well that makes sense.
What I've learned in this video is that red dress is mandatory as romance novel goes.
🎵red dress (ʳᵉᵈ ᵈʳAEˢˢ)🎵
Color in fashion theory baby. Red is a romantic and passionate color. While pink is also romantic its also innocent which is not great for a ‘steamy’ romance
My prom dress was red. I now understand myself better.
@@8ml888 lmao
Working in a library, we called these novels "bodice rippers" as the heroine usually had a torn top, and was being held by an attractive man, who had obviously just rescued her.
Just what I was thinking. Unfortunately, historical dress is overridden by the "save me, take me" fantasy for the majority of this audience.
@@catinthechat01 I mean, when it comes to covers, yes. I've read two of these books (those by Beverly Jenkins, and Alyssa Cole), and they are very well researched. They have bibliographies. The authors are teaching history as much as titillating. I think many in their audience (myself included) would be happy to see more accuracy in covers, and it's certainly unfair to paint the books, or the readers, as unconcerned with history.
Not so much bodice rippers anymore! I think those started to go away towards more consenting bodice removal in the late 80s, early 90s.
@@bearclairebear epic
in germany we call them 'Groschen-romane' (Penny-novels) because they're always on the discount-table and very poorly written, like the author got not well payed for their work. XD
OMG - I have read SO MANY romance novels where I start reading, and the author has put so much work into describing accurate historical clothing, and the cover is COMPLETELY wrong.
Loved this.
More of this!
the "sexy" book covers actually make me less likely to read a historical fiction book lmao i wonder how many books i've missed out on because of this peeve
@@freddie6307 same. I see those covers and it makes me think it’s just gonna be a raunchy romance filled with sex scenes with no care to historical accuracy. I know they say don’t judge a book by its cover but a cover is there to tell you what the book is going to be like.
Dude I absolutely love the fashion fixes… but my little artist brain keeps getting distracted by how beautifully she paints holy moly
Same!
Same
I love this so much! Could we get a part two featuring a Lisa Kleypas book? She expends so much time and energy on her historical research only for the publishers to plaster on yet another cover model with disheveled hair and off-the-shoulder prom dresses. These shenanigans made my morning!
i love lisa kleypas books! but i guess she personally bought painting from max ginsburg who is the painter of lots of her book covers. some of these covers are: dreaming of you, only in your arms, someone to watch over me, because you’re mine, stranger in my arms, midnight angel, and when dreams begin.
the painter, max ginsburg, has been painting with his models and it might be ready-made to purchase.
personally, my favorite cover was the “dreaming of you,” according to max ginsburg, ms. lisa bought the painting because she liked the spirit expressed in the pose, especially of the heroine.
but i get what you meant, it’s not really historically accurate. even the painter said it on interviews. even the painter hate the idea of his illustration to be cropped so drastically by avon books (publishing com. of lisa kleypas)
i did some research before this, because lisa kleypas book covers and its accuracy has been one of my research topic in college.
I made my entire book club historically adequate chemise, drawers, and petticoats after finishing The Wallflowers series. We're going to play rounders in our knickers once we're all together again.
@@mandy1750 That all sounds wonderful!
Ooo yes I love that she sometimes shares things she found interesting about the research she did
@@valeriag9443 And recipes too--I've been meaning to try a couple!
I love that we got a 'Professorial Red Blazer' Bernadette moment to school us on what our smut covers should look like.
smut?
@@matematicarka internet slang for erotica
@@matematicarka smut = erotica is the most simplified explanation
@@jojovawindkeeper8244 oh ok, it sounded like something bad
@@matematicarka it was originally a derogatory word, but people started using it in a joking way to refer to the stuff they were writing, so it’s a neutral term for erotica in fanfic circles
Wow. I’m a Celtic anthropologist, and I was literally taught the misinformation about tartan. I love that for me and my immense amount of debt.
"A Most Scandalous Thing", a historical romance novel by Bernadette Banner.
Mwahaha!
Where do I sign the petition????
As an AVID romance reader and writer, I always hate to see my lovely authors get stuck with such atrocious covers! Thank you for giving these stories the dignity of historically accurate cover art. The romance genre already doesn't get the credit it deserves for storytelling and research, then to get slammed for covers most trad published authors have no control over is just insult to injury. I'd love to see more in this series, and perhaps a focus on the authors or publishers who are doing it "right" as well. Lovely art!!~~
Your comment just made me remamber Jane the Virgin, when she gets to publish her romance and the cover is waaaaay to sexy and she gets upset
I want to think that Gail Carringer gets her covers right, given that she is also heavily into fashion history but now I'm too afraid to take them off the shelf to look...
@@sarahrosen4985 Gail Carriger seems like she market her books as adventure books more than romance so most takes on the covers or art of her books (novel, comics, Japanese version) looks more historically accurate to sell the image of the setting (albeit a bit idealized) than everything that we see on here, who were mostly being like this due to the romance genre put on it.
@@sarahrosen4985 Also, the pub listened to her input on how she wanted her covers done and even went along and used the model from Clockwork Couture she had as an example of what she wanted. (At least for the Soulless series).
It makes me very sad that they feel the need to do this to the covers! I would much prefer the more accurate ones. Bernadette made the Scottish Outlaw one look very sexy and romantic, and they're still in period clothing! If Bernadette can do it, then so can the publishers!
Edit: I am Scottish myself on my mother's side, and the two clans I am descended from (Butler and Colquhoun), had their own tartans. However, Clan Colquhoun actually had two tartans! One was for regular, everyday use while the other was used for special occasions such as a baptism, wedding, etc.
I loved this! A part 2 would be great. : )
I wish publishers would consider more historical cover art, especially when the author has done their research and written a (more or less) accurate novel!
Authors who have done their research and written a believable representation of the period their story is said to be set in ought to be rewarded with covers that reflect this fact.
Back in the 1980s, in the UK, I went to a talk by a historical novelist. He was a working class guy who had left high school at 15 like everyone else at the time, But at some point he had discovered that he could spend his time doing what he loved - historical research - by writing period romance (and I think crime) novels. He wrote under a female name for the romance, because that’s what you had to do at the time.
@@eh1702 Madeline Brent?
@@jennyt3672 Jessica Stirling. (Hugh Rae, initially with co-author Peggy Stirling) He also wrote in other genres under other names. He was an excellent presenter and raconteur.
I was once in a writing group with a woman who had published her first historical romance. The heroine on the cover was showing her back, which obviously had a zipper. The poor author was mortified, but had no say in changing the cover.
Kinda want to see Bernadette talk about Disney princess dresses! I want to see if they are historically accurate!
Not really. Specifically Cinderella and sleeping beauty were 50’s versions of “medieval” dresses. From hair length to the dress structure
@@katiebayliss9887 although cinderella’s dress is more similar to 1850s, it is important to note that the dresses in cinderella tend to vary in style as needed to give each character an instantly recognizable silhouette
I can't believe that "The Ladies Guide to Celestial Mechanics" showed up here. I took a library science class a year ago, and that title came up in a discussion of, "I never thought this genre existed." I think half the class then read the book because it sounded too interesting to ignore.
I'm intrigued simply by the title. Was it a worthwhile read?
A perfectly good reason to read a book. 😊
@@thecatofnineswords well, it's a Regency lesbian romance novel that was heavy on the slow burn and light on the bawdiness. That may not be your cup of tea, but the class was extremely entertained that the book intersected romance, historical fiction, and LGBTQ. My other Regency setting novel that semester was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, now that was a guilty pleasure!
@@Velostigmat " Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" well that's a title that i didn't think I would ever see. Sounds amazing.
@@thecatofnineswords I really liked it & was super-excited to see it here. If you like queer regency stuff, I'd definitely give it a try! (And if you like queer regency stuff but with more oomph to the romantic scenes, Rose Lerner is great, as are Cat Sebastian and Erica Ridley.
This was a lovely early morning distraction. Also can we talk about the diversity in covers?? That made me very happy, so thank you! 💕
Thank you, I was thinking the same thing!
I was coming here to say the same thing ❤️❤️
Also, she used historical photos of black women from the time periods under discussion. Well done! Some of the photos were lovely. I especially liked the woman in the "pagoda sleeves" example--she was clearly a person of taste and elegance.
Please, please do a follow-up video with the sequel to "The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics", "The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows. It has an 1820's village beekeeper in a modern power business suit, with a widowed London print shop owner in a yellow evening gown as the cover photo. My mother who has her degree in History (specifically English/Irish) developed a nervous tick looking at it. Your commentary would just be perfect!
What do you mean nervous tic?
Good news: Bernadette did a follow-up video. Bad news: "The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows" was not featured in the video.
The book title is so beautiful but I look at the cover and I can’t help but laugh at how bad it is. Like even if you know very little about historical fashion, that is clearly a modern suit. Nothing about the cover makes me think it’s supposed to be historical.
Yes, you are quite right about tartans. People would recognise that someone came from a different district, just because “you don’t see that sett around here”; and you could well get extended families wearing the same tartan - for the same reason you still see Amish people wearing the same colour dresses or shirts - because the cloth is bought by the bolt. And when you’re hand weaving, whether it’s homespun or made in town, it is much easier and quicker (more economical) for the weaver to just set up the warps one, and when a bolt is taken off, instead of setting up all over again from scratch (which is quite a chore) just knot the fresh warp threads to the old ones in the same colours, and keep with the weft pattern that you alrady have in your head. This could also function as a “brand” in the modern sense, an indicator of quality. Besides this, it was common for centuries that apprentices and “servants” (ie employees and farm labourers, who in Scotland were often extended family) to get part of their wages in kind - in shoes, and garments, so much per year.
I thought “kind” meant Cattle in this context (as in the song “She moved through the fair”)
@@GabyGeorge1996I dunno about that. In Scotland paying in cattle would be “in kine” or kyne. In KIND means, payment for goods or services in a similar way, not with money, but with other goods or services. (Same kind or other kind…)
I think cattle payment is also spelled “cain”.
Thank you for the information. I thought I knew a lot about kilts and tartans... Turned out you can never know enough! :)
It was wonderful to see you paint what you're so passionate about and I loved the side-by-side photoshop magic! 😀
It really is true that we don't get to see your wonderful painting skills enough, but the amount of paintings you did for this video is impressive and must have taken
✨forever✨
(like, the detailed faces and garments are crazy.)
Let's make this a ruffs-positive zone! As an art student from the Netherlands, the 17th century portrait tradition has the most beautiful and intricate ruffs you can imagine from an art historical perspective. I've had the privilege to look at many of these paintings by the likes of Rembrandt and Vermeer up close, and they're just marvelous. I can really recommend going to the Rijksmuseum if you're ever in Amsterdam if you want to see some of these masterpieces. In any case, it's lovely to hear ruffs get the love they deserve :)
You can date an historical oil portrait to within 5 years just going on the size, shape, and material of the collars and cuffs. The people wealthy enough for an oil portrait were wealthy enough to wear the latest fashion.
True fax: A blue prom dress served as the reference dress for a lot of ‘90s Romance novel covers of all periods. Same dress, many periods. In reality, it was a Princess Di knockoff circa 1982.
I'm going to need a part 2, 3, 4, 5... I loved this. I love how kind you were and the respect you afforded the work of the artists and authors, aware of the marketing aspects. And watching you paint was so relaxing 😍
I agree 100%! We definitely need parts two, three, four, five.. and her kindness and respect for the artist and authors is lovely. AND the relaxation afforded by listening to and watching her paint, sublime!
Yes! We definitely need more of this!
My people suffered a lot in the highlands, even though you are talking only about the clothing, I can not thank you enough for bringing this to light.💜
me: scottish, throwing up in my mouth a little at the sight of the last one's original cover
Bernadette: speaks the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, and makes things as they should be
me: :') even if the publishers of romance novels don't got me, I know Bernadette Banner got me
scottish people coming out of the woodwork for this one we love to see it
I've honestly got so irritated and fed up on reading a character was wearing bra and knickers, instead of the era appropriate underwear, I've stopped reading the book. Gone on full rants about how chemises are sexy too with my friends, who fortunately have found my frustration amusing! If books had covers like the ones you painted, I'd honestly be more tempted to buy more historical romances, they're so gorgeous and I wished publishers appreciated the beauty of historical clothing rather than 'woman with loose, vaguely curly hair, prom dress and ruffles = historical costume'
imo chemises are so comfortable to wear, I actually own one that I wear sometimes and it's so much better than wearing a tanktop and sometimes leggings under my dresses
@@Floriannehere I've always gone on about how a good fitting corset can be super comfortable to wear. I've often had bad posture and wearing a corset really helped with that, and the back ache I sometimes got. It's so frustrating that people believe that historical clothing was deliberately uncomfortable to wear.
Beverley Jenkins, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole, Rose Lerner... The authors, and the era appropriate underwear you are looking for is there!
@@1607hannah1 The higher class women had very little exercise. In our days, bad posture can be helped much better with proper exercise. We have a spine and muscles for a reason, to hold us up. We are not molluscs. Of course, for someone who hates any form of exercise, a corset might be needed in the long run, to keep her straight.
@@irmar Cool, thanks for making assumptions about me. Bad posture can happen even if you do exercise (and I've done a fuck tonne of pilates, yoga, horse riding and dance in order to rectify the issue properly), but wearing a corset can help you maintain the right way of standing without getting into old bad habbits when you're not exercising. Plus they're also sexy and pretty to look at!
Also, by the Victorian era many women were taking walks, cycling, horse riding, playing tennis, etc, etc In comparison to us, sure they weren't going to HIIT classes, but they were active and many women were still wearing corsets until 1940/50s. This is just my experience between wearing a corset and wearing a bra (of which I've found most are incredibly uncomfortable, dig into my skin and don't necessarily provide support for either my tits or my back etc).
I love that you kept the person block on Duke of My Heart the same shape using the shawl! Also, your use of the artists colors to create your designs was a lovey touch.
I love how you are not only talking about this, but redrew and painted more historically appropriate costumes. Bad Ass.
I love how Bernadette is not just exercising her brilliance, but looking like she really enjoys herself while doing it 😊
Re: kilts and plaid - I grew up in the SCA and have had my trusty "hunk of plaid" - an almost but not quite square of wool tartan - since I was 16 years old and I can 1000000000000% attest that wool tartan is the best thing ever. Cloak? I had an actual cloak hook in it for years. Blanket? Do you want to keep warm or sit on the ground, it's got you covered. Table cloth? Oh you can bet your booties it'll be the best table cloth ever.
As an Adult (tm) I have considered getting a proper cloak but just... can't bring myself to replace my trusty sidekick.
As a kilt wearer that frequents busses and airplanes, they make fantastic blankets.
Now I want Bernadette to react to the fashion in Sims Medieval. I’ve always loved that everyone is in “accurate” clothes, you don’t have townies wearing the most random outfits.
There's a midieval Sims?! Well, dang, I might be interested in playing it now!
@@SusanYeske701 It came out in 2011, it's a completely separate game. It's actually really fun and well made.
I was just playing that! I appreciate their willingness to use dumb medieval hairstyles.
oh my god I love that game! Although, most of the clothes seem more renaissance than mediaeval, the designs are still super fun
This is the perfect intersection of my interests. Can we talk about how frustrating it is to read a historical romance and then they get the underwear wrong?! Please. Why are men in the regency wearing drawers? Why is the 1770s gentleman sleeping in drawers with no nightshirt? Where is her chemise? 😭
This! It's excusable in fanfiction, but if you're getting paid, you're getting PAID to put that chemise under the corset@
YESSSSS!!! That was my main issue with the Bridgerton books. In every sex scene, the man just slips off the woman's dress, and she's automatically naked. Where are the stays? Where's the chemise? It bothers me so much and takes me out of the story.
@@revinaque1342 You know what's even worse? Corsets on skin. Tried it once, hated it. Twice that if it's somehow pure snowy white
@@sacrilegioussasquatch The worst part is that a good number of fanfic authors go all the way down the research hellhole with their works and actually write the details correctly the way a paid professional should. So there really is no excuse for the actual paid professionals to fail like this.
@@zaramikazuki8374 Yeah. I write historical fanfiction and I make sure every nitpicky little detail is correct. It makes me so angry when movies and actual books fuck it up when I, an amateur with my subpar quality of work put in the research, time and effort for something I do for free and fun make sure that the details are correct.
History, diversity, books, watercolor….it’s everything I love in one
I mean it’s all romance so….
I mean I guess I would like more diverse eras
Re: Jeans: I have a Victorian etiquette book that recommends the use of blue denim for curtains in home decor, specifically stating how well the material ages. 👖
Jurtins…..
@@hb-ov9tn thank you. “Jurtins”literally made me LOL, which I desperately needed. :D
And now my mind is manufacturing a permed-haired teen girl’s room done up in Jurtins and all-over denim, including eyelet ruffles and studded bling a la 1980’s jean-jacket DIYs. !!!
@@DawnDavidson you conjured up visions of the Bedazzler commercial.....maybe I wanted that particular piece of machinery quite badly as a child of the 80s and early 90s!!!
I love it that my collection of antique etiquette books is at last inspiring people 100+ years later! 👖 forever!
@@DawnDavidson But the 80's denim was stonewashed or acid washed. I think Victorian denim curtains would be very dark, and almost stand up by themselves. ;)
I loved everything about this. When I was in undergrad, two of my dearest friends and I were all at different schools in reading-heavy subjects (two Lit majors and a Pre-Med major) and we used to read and trade romance novels to relax and those novels were always chosen based on the cover. I think our most ridiculous one was set during the pre-American Revolution period and all I remember was there being a straw hat involved for the lady and the obligatory no shirt for the fella. Thanks for this lovely diversion!
I had two Medeival scholar friends in grad school, and we used to go to Barnes and Noble for fun. We'd walk through the romance section, and they'd exclaim, "Look! We need to show this book to our professor so he can see that Vikings were clean, handsome, and had excellent dental care!"
@@lesliemoiseauthor this made me laugh out loud :')
@@malon- I used to laugh really hard when they said things like that, too!
@@lesliemoiseauthor I could only think of Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan: 1651) "... the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.". Totally lol'd!
god i love bernadette's art no one talks about how her illustrations are so godly good
I showed my mom this video and I just have to share what she said! "She seems like someone you want to be friends with. Her smile and voice and eyes are just like a princess or something super happy and genuine and sweet"
This was delightful! I haven't bought a historical romance in the better art of a decade, but I think I'd be far more likely to in the future if it were in gorgeous historically accurate dress. As it is, I think I'll stick with my coverless (and free!) fanfic.
fanart/coverart for historical AU's
I have done so much Edwardian/WW1 era fashion research for my Titanic fanfic. I’ve almost made it to 300k words and I haven’t even gotten to the wedding in 1913 yet. I’m allowing myself a little leeway there, it basically becomes a society duel between two families so of course they’re going to go over the top
Honestly? Historical romance has changed so much in the past decade that it might be worthwhile for you to dip back in. So what if the covers are made to appeal to the average person? It's what's inside that matters, and authors are doing their research, now.
Totally agree. Not only do they now remember to (yay!) put a chemise or something under her corset, they explore what it would have meant to have PTSD or be a conscientious objector or be neuro-divergent in eras that didn't even have words for those things. Courtney Milan is the first example that comes to mind. The Alyssa Cole book mentioned in this video too, if memory serves. Meljean Brook for steampunk. Definitely worth dipping back into the genre, @Katherine Morelle.
I love historical romance books and love even more your remake “covers” for them. Publishers need to see this and get their stuff together
Just started watching this but already have to comment that the ironic thing is that to me, as an enjoyer of historical romance novels, I always actively try to ignore the cover image because they're often so very cringe. I choose books by reading the synopsis on Goodreads and seeing recs on Reddit. So this idea that a publisher thinks that putting historically inaccurate, nearly naked ppl on the cover is going to get me to read it is hilarious. lmao
Point on.
Me too! We think alike
Same! For years I wanted to read historical romance but didn't find any of them appealing because of the poor cover art, until one was recommended to me a lot and I decided to give it a shot despite its awful cover.
Those covers look so horrible that if I ever search for a romance book (historical, but also any other subgenre really...) in a bookstore, I always turn the books around and read the blurb and actively avoid looking at the covers or my interest in the story will vanish completely. I don't understand how publishers think these covers work at all 😂
Came here to say this. So many of my very favorite historicals have the absolute WORST covers.
As an unabashed lover of historical romance AND as an actual certified historian, I cannot thank you enough for this. My friends have heard me rant about this so much and they just don't care lol. This gave me LIFE today.
I sent this video to a historian friend after discussing the accuracy of books. I was like, "WAIT. You need to watch this."
That "Venus in Winter" dress you did was *so* pretty. So much better than the original O_O
I wrote a historical romance novel and I was so glad that my publisher choose a appropriate stock photo that fit the time 😅😅 The make up is modern, but at LEAST the outfit is okay!
If anyone is interested: It’s called „Die Tochter des Zementbarons“ and is set in 1914, Germany.
@oaktree_ Yes, definitely not 1914s make up, but I am quite happy how it turned out. Thank you 😍
That was quite fun! It's so silly because they do cover many eras, they just always seem to stick the wrong one on the cover for the book!
The Regency period seems to be a particularly... confusing situation. Is the book set in the Regency era? Make them wear clothing from a vastly different time period! Is the book set in anything but the Regency period? Regency dresses it is!
The UA-cam algorithm pointed this out to me without any of my interests ever going in this direction. Just watched the entire video and it’s stunning. It’s so well done and the thematic is interesting and presented in both a serious and humorous way! Kudos
Welcome! I hope you stick around. Bernadette's content is high quality, entertainment and educational
Sometimes the algorithm gets it right and leads you to UA-cam gold!
These are all really nicely done! I really like seeing what they likely would have actually looked like in their purported time period; nothing like today…
I wonder if anybody is going to start asking you to make art for their historical romance novels :)
They should !
I would if I wrote novels these are GORGEOUS
I was thinking (and hoping) the same thing!
Bess of Hardwick had not only a small ruff in her earliest portrait, but she rocked some unbelievable level of blackwork (in red) on it and her copiously visible linen!
She's *such* a fascinating woman. And I first learned about her in a highly fictionalized romance novel! 😂😂
Please do this again. I loved watching you design covers that actually are historically accurate.
Edit: Also your hairstyle is goals.
I prefer the realistic once way more than the original covers. It just brings the story more alive and authentic. I hope that becomes a trend in the future. And the drawing you made where beatifull!
Some of these are so lovely as a romance novel enthusiast, I would 1000% read these! Honestly, I kind of miss this style of romance novel cover. These days, it's very graphic (graphic style, not graphic like... lewd?) and very stylized. Bright colors, silhouettes, illustrations and borders. Kind of minimalist? I wonder if the absolute joke the Harlequin romance covers became in the 90s and early 00's killed this style, but I miss it. Its so pretty and painterly.
Also I appreciate the education and the fixes without shaming romance novels, the novelists, or the people who read them? Like... romance is seen as the butt of the joke in the literary world, and I appreciate the diversity of novels you presented. So thank you
I read a post that there was literally only one or two artists doing romance cover paintings, so when they retired they had to switch to the photo shopped/"graphic" style.
I read somewhere that a lot of romance covers these days are designed to be eye-catching when browsing e-books, because that’s how the bulk of romance novels are sold these days. That’s about a 1” x 1.5” square depending on the screen size, so they have to be graphic or stylized in order to have any impact at all.
I may not like romance, as a genre, but I can understand why others do. Read what you like. The important thing is that you keep reading, or at least listening to audio books. Something to keep your brain stimulated. This is ludicrously important as people age. You need to maintain some kind of mentally stimulating activity so your mental acuity doesn't drop. The problem is that so many of the elderly from the baby boomer generation didn't really "get" technology well enough for audiobooks to be a viable option for them as their eyes got progressively worse.
As a graphic designer: it’s all canva. Canva is a free graphic design website similar to photoshop but one thing that it’s known for it having clip art type assets like the “2d minimalist man in jeans” png that is just ready to go. I guarantee they have some graphic designer contracted at $15 per cover and they just slap something together using the canva preloaded assets. For self publishing they use fiverr. That’s why all these covers look like this. It makes me mad
Definitely, for self-published romance, it is attributable primarily to cost, though there is something to be said about how those sorts of covers were shamed by broader society and people who read romance, especially smuttier romance (especially the subset of those readers who are older women) probably want a more discreet cover so they can read in public or around their families. I mean, look at the covers for the twilight saga and the 50 shades trilogy. It is simultaneously minimal, modest, and instantly recognizable. You see those hands holding that apple or that particular tie and you know what book you're looking at. As sad as it is to see that kind of portraiture for covers going away, there is at least some sense to why it's done the way it is.
This popped up in my recommended and it's so nice to hear someone talk accurately about Scottish culture and the history of what happened to my country. Well done Bernadette!
me at 3:34 s t r a w b e r r y d r e s s 😍😍
This was so much fun to watch. As someone who enjoys reading the occasional historical romance, I would agree that many dress designs read more "Modern Prom," than "Historically Accurate." But, like you said, these covers aren't necessarily being design to attract the fashion savvy. 😆 They definitely serve their purpose. 😊
Powdered hair is actually my favourite. For men and women. Just gives a very debauched and whimsical feeling
Love, love the video! I think I've read 3 of the novels you featured. Romance novel covers are my jam - unfortunately they're mainly eye candy. It comes from the legacy of Harlequin paperbacks being distributed via truckers across various outlets in the 60s and 70s. Marketers noticed that the truckers were unloading the paperbacks that caught their eye better. So all the bulging pectorals, heaving bosoms, and sexy poses.Modern romance cover design has definitely improved but there is still a hint of that in most romance novel covers. Love your redesigns but alas they probably won't pass muster with marketing. Enjoy seeing you drawing again, too! Will you be making prints for these?
wait, they were designed to appeal to (presumably) straight male truckers? This is the most wonderful fact that I've discovered all week. Amazing.
I hadn't planned to as the paintings have been digitally imposed on the covers and the paintings themselves look a bit unfinished. 😅
@@katherinemorelle7115 yes, you can literally see the shift in cover design as marketing realized the male gaze was active lol
@@bernadettebanner ah the digital Imposing was pretty good! Didn't notice it at all.
I would prefer the non cover version of the paintings. They are exquisite.
Bernadette doing historically accurate romance novel cover recreations is something I didn't realize I needed. I think the thing that most communicates the sexiness & sensuality is more in the poses & positions & gestures & expressions of the models on these covers, so I don't see why them being in accurate clothing would make it less sexy? I think the human race has proven itself to be plenty horny regardless of what era it's in & what the people are wearing.
Marketing people are honestly shooting themselves in the foot not finding ways to creatively take the historically accurate stuff & actually work with it, like someone else mentioned, the peek at the heroine's stockings of the Scottish Highlander romance as Bernadette illustrated them are still pretty sexy as opposed to the original's bare legs.
It's just... what photographer has a historically accurate gown for every imaginable decade, in both high and low society versions? Ya know?
@@Canny-Octopus if only there was a way to remedy that, perhaps with some after photo artistic modifications, or even instead of a photo, draw a correct scene 😉
I loved this. And I don’t see why the romance novel reader wouldn’t still buy these books with more accurate artwork. They’re still going to rip that bodice off and have utterly inappropriate, uh, romance in the book. All the clutching and pawing on the cover promises it. But they’d be doing it with clothing that makes sense.
A romance author group shared this for us readers. Often times romance authors only have a limited number of models to choose from for their covers. However, I love your video and information. Your painting talent is exquisite!! Perhaps you could paint covers for authors to help them be more accurate :D
These "new" covers really make me want to try reading some of these books now! I really struggle being engaged with the stock photo nature that some of these books have - it just shatters the suspension of belief for me, even though I know they are probably good stories! Marketing companies please hire illustrates and let characters wear accurate clothes! We have proof here that it still looks engaging!!
I'm not just impressed by your knowledge but your ability to draw hands
This was WONDERFUL!!! On the Scottish novel the woman's gown and stocking ensemble is actually way more sexy than the bare legs.
I love the fact that you added your drawing on the covers for them to be comparable side by side, it is perfect, thank you 🥰♥️
I like how you tried to be diverse in the stories you picked. I used to resell Harlequinn Romances, and I think I only ever saw a black couple once and a few instances of mixed (one black, one white) couples. I never saw any Asian or Latino people (although characters that were Latino in the book may have whitewashed on the cover as there is this whole "latino lover" thing people are obsessed with, but idk, I didn't read any of them).
Not until later years did they add diversity. I think she did a great job a as well.
Did anyone else get excited during the last one when she put him in a "pirate" shirt? I was much more intrigued with that than having him be shirtless 😝
i immediately thought of her pirate shirt tutorial video!
The man in the last cover did indeed look better re-done, more masculine in a romance novel way.
It's a shame the covers are often so untrue to the time periods they're supposedly depicting, as they ought to be a reference to the reader about how the characters look.
Remember Seinfeld's pirate shirt ..... aka "puffy shirt"?
@@tinydancer7426 hahaha
I love the fact that this video shows Bernadette's incredible knowledge on historical accuracy, beautiful drawing and painting, and, in the background, there's a framed guinea pig/capybara in historical costume portrait. 10/10. Could not be better.
That's Lord Cesario
Rest in peace, sWeeeeeeeeeeeet angel
Guinea pig! She has at least one other royalty Guinea pig painting. Her siblings Dani paints them, also a very talented human! I follow them on Instagram.
Thank you Ms. B. Being an historical fiction author and having engaged in the research of the period to create authenticity I appreciate your thoughtful redesign of these book covers. Watching you sketch was very soothing. Well done.
I love all of these!! And this is playing into a recent idea I wanted of smutty period romance, but with correct clothing layers (and decent consent acknowledgment…)
"... another petticoat my dear? How many does that make? What's this little fellow called? A bum roll? [Giggle] all right.... and this frightening contraption? A crinoline... I've seen less substantial cages for wild beasts! What sailor taught you this knot for your corset laces? It's impossible to undo...
Edit: I sort of like this as a wedding night scene...
I've actually been thinking about writing some historical romance that is both queer and historically accurate. No clue where to start but it seems like fun :) And if I ever do, and it becomes something suitable for publishing, I'm asking Bernadette is she'd design the cover. (As a comission ofc)
If you think of sexiness as anticipation, sorta like burlesque, then more layers can be more erotic!
The Simpsons had a "1900 house reality show" episode years ago that winked at the undergarments issue.
I only picked up one "romance" novel once long ago, and it was all horrific abuse, so consent in a romance novel would be lovely.
@@myladycasagrande863 That's something I'd definitely read!
Sending this to my mom immediately! She writes historical fiction that is barely fiction, more family history in novel form and self-publishing so yay for having control over our covers! But the amount of arguments we had that, no, no one will care if the building on the cover (which was literally the building the characters lived in irl) now has a tiled roof even though it had a thatched roof at the time. She doesn't belive me that 100% historical accuracy isn't the norm for most book covers.
Is there a way I could check out your mom's books? I'm interested if possible!! :)
If you look up Helga Harter, her books should show up 😊 sadly, they are only available in German, sorry! But I'm super excited that you're interested
@@weaverofbrokenthreads Thank you so much!! Well, if that's the case, it's perfect timing to practice my german! ahahaha 😆
@@Izzy-uh9wp nice! The newest one (called Dorfschulrose) also has a ton of history hidden within the personal story so you can get two birds with one stone: practicing your language and accidentally learning some German history as well
@@weaverofbrokenthreads That sounds awesome!! :D I love history so I'm in for a treat hehe
Thank you for clarifying Scottish history on tartans! We Scots appreciate it!
I may be biased (I am, most definitely, entirely biased), but I personally find your covers even more alluring and attractive than the originals -- that same sort of bated-breath feeling as when the love interests brush hands and quickly retract with a gasp. It's so much more exciting when the pretense of being "put together" is challenged, like how the Scottish man's shirt was actually very conservative, until you open up the front. Oof. Period wear will always carry the most drama. I hope this made sense I just woke up hehe
You should definitely do more of these. this was extremely pleasurable to watch and I can think of so many authors and cover artists who still need...covering.
nice pun
I love how not only are you a expert seamstress. But also SHE PAINTS 🙃 is there a limit to how talented you are?
Can we also give a special shout out to how absolutely amazing Bernadette's outfit is in this video? So classy! The burgundy coat and white turtleneck is absolutely adorable.
To be honest I MUCH prefer the historically accurate book covers then the "fantasy" book covers 😍 And I feel like most people who read these types of books would probably feel the same way because you can find romance novels all over the place but if you're specifically going after historical set ones you probably like history at least to some degree 🤷🏻♀️
Cover designer: Great historical cover! 💃🏻
Bernadette: Hold my spectacles.
I love this. I tried to read a historical romance novel recently, and simply couldn’t get over how deeply in shambles the main character’s reputation would have been by chapter 3 (no escort when youre going out with an unrelated man? Allowing him to help you out of the carriage by grabbing YOUR WAIST???)
Probably most of the people, who write these stories didn't do any research too, so in a sense it is right to give inaccurate books inaccurate covers. :D
You need to find some Georgette Heyer books! The first queen of historical romance.
@@lenabreijer1311 I haven't read her books in a long time, but they seemed to have much more emphasis on actual history than recent ones do.
@@barbarak2836 she did a lot of research. She also wrote non fiction history. She also wrote murder mysteries set in her own time which are delightful period pieces in their own way.
@@lenabreijer1311 Are all her books written under the name Georgette Heyer? I would be very interested in reading them. I didn't realize she wrote things other than historical fiction.
I would watch you redesign every historical romance cover. Beautiful art, and entertaining commentary!
I know you have and will always make the effort to be inclusive, but I'm still and always will be deeply thankful.
Painting folds and billows of purple striped and tartan fabric: Respect!
The redrawings of the first red Regency dress, the Bess of Hardwick Venus, and the purple striped one were especially choice.