We all buy clothes, but no two people shop the same. It can be a social experience, and a deeply personal one; at times, it can be impulsive and entertaining, at others, purpose-driven, a chore. Where do you shop? When do you shop? How do you decide what you need, how much to spend and what’s “you”? These are some of the questions we’re putting to prominent figures in our column “How I Shop.”

You might have already fallen in love with Nicola Coughlan on “Derry Girls” (or, perhaps, on “The Great British Baking Show: Holidays” special starring the “Derry Girls” cast), but many are being introduced to the Irish actor as Penelope Featherington (and…) on the highly-anticipated, much-talked-about Shondaland series “Bridgerton.” Since the latter dropped on Netflix on Dec. 25, she’s been promoting it pretty much non-stop — from home, of course, as the U.K. and Ireland are in lockdown. That hasn’t discouraged Coughlan and her stylist from pulling all the stops when it came to her wardrobe, though.

Even as press days and premieres went virtual, Coughlan has continued documenting her many, many outfits for the socially-distant TV appearances, photo shoots and Zoom events she’s been “attending” on her Instagram. Some of the most memorable ones represent a who’s-who of the design scene across the pond: a #fashiontheology-embroidered Simone Rocha shirtdress for a junket, a J.W. Anderson runway look for “The Graham Norton Show,” a golden Klements gown for a Refinery29 shoot. In conversation, she’s proud to talk about a designer’s roots in the U.K. and Ireland (Rocha, Jonathan Anderson, Orlagh McCloskey and Henrietta Rix of Rixo).

She’s equally excited to put the spotlight on the ones you might not know yet: Recently, she and her ‘Bridgerton’ cast mates did a photoshoot for Netflix U.K. in partnership with the British Fashion Council (BFC), where they wore pieces designed by BFC Scholars inspired by modern-day gossip columns.

“They all had the same brief and they all took it really, really differently,” Coughlan tells me over — what else? — Zoom. “The designer that I worked with, his name is Edward Mendoza. He’s a print designer, so he designed these really graphic prints that were ‘Real Housewives of Regency,’ a burn book, Twitter birds and stuff like that. They were just so cool.”
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