#historically inspired disney princesses

[artist-ellen]

Maleficent

It’s been a long time coming but it feels so good to finally redesign these iconic villains! Maleficent was a little bit of a challenge… and yet very little changed. And I know, I know, I didn’t keep her horns…. But I was really struggling to draw the pointy medieval headdresses so I went with this one instead. There are historically inspired costumers that have come before me for Maleficent in a houppeland so the content is out there if you're interested!

I am the artist!!! Don’t repost without permission & credit! Thank you! Come visit me over on: https://instagram.com/ellen.artistic

[skitchdoods]

Queen Aurora The Gentle, Aubepointe 1492

Aubepointine fashion in the late 15th century saw the rise in the use of ornamental metalworks juxtaposed with the increasing popularity of woolen-silk, a highly sought-after material developed by the Silk Empire two centuries prior, for use in court fashion.

The period of decadence that closely preceded her rise to power was known for elaborate metallic contraptions that served little actual purpose and excessive spending of metals that were not renewed and recycled had almost caused both an ecologic and an economic collapse of the great kingdom that so heavily relied on treaties with the Faefolk of Duboishire.

Although the Found Queen was known to wear simple silhouettes with delicate floral embroidery throughout her reign, her most famous gown was the Somber Briar Dress of 1492, an example of the fashions popularized during her father’s, Prince Erwin III, reign.

She wore said gown just moments before the enactment of Maleficent’s curse of La Sommeil D’mort. It was described to be made from custom double-lined woolen-silk that was dyed with winter roses and everblues and treated with ground titter stones that gave the dress a pinkish sheen in certain angles of light. It was then trimmed with wool that had undergone a special treatment known of the Westernlands, making it look like fur. The copper-gold over-stays and matching choker necklace and bracelets were noted to be crafted in the form of the writhing noctus briars held as a symbol of the House of Canthus and, in retrospect, the choking feeling of sobering captivity Queen Aurora had largely disambiguated in her memoirs at the time.

To this day, replicas and homages to the dress is common place in the Day of the Great Awakening, held every year in Aubepointe since 1493. It is a highly controversial dress with many citing how such statement of fashion should not be at the expense of the Great Queen’s horrid early memories of court. Moreover, such era of fashion excess had caused the greatest tension between the citizens of Aubepointe and the Faefolk of Duboishire. Many argue that her later regalia of looser gowns in vibrant greens and pastel rose, after her Restoration of the Duboishire Lands and Settlement with the Faefolk, should be what must represent the commemoration in light of Queen Aurora’s impact to the long-lasting peace between Fae and Man to this day.

[shavonnesart]

remembering that post about how the description of Snow White’s features sounds like a vampire...yeah

inspired by Claire Hummel's design ✨🍎

[adrianasunderworld]

Do you think you could talk a little more about White Ash? I really like this school you created especially Cristaleria

Sure!

Admittedly I have not fully figured out the dorm situation, like names, crest, etc. But so far the thought I've had is each dorm is based/inspired by a Disney Fairy. So Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Tinkerbell, The Blue Fairy, etc.

The school was founded centuries ago by the Fairy Godmother, who is Clara aka Headmage Cristalerías grandmother. She passed the title and her wand to Clara when she was ready to finally retire almost 200 years ago, Clara has been Headmage ever since. The school was founded to give girls from any social status an education. Most arcane academies at the time mostly taught children of the elite, and we know the Fairy Godmother would not stand for that. So she founded The White Ash Institute. There isn't much to the name other than White-in reference to Snow White. Ash being another word for Cinder, as in Cinderella.

While Night Raven College selection is, for the most part, the dark mirror seeking out students with magic potential and sending a coffin and carriage for them. The Fairy Godmothers wand does much the same. A few weeks before the school year starts, Clara casts a spell with the wand to seek out the next round of first year students. "By my command, find every eligible maiden in this land" The wand seeks girls with magic who would be good potential students, and a pair of glass slippers is left on the girls doorstep with a letter of acceptance/invitation to attend the school. There is no faking entry or stealing someone's letter. The glass slipper is meant to only fit the girl it was intended for. Even if they're the same size, the shoe is magic and will not let anyone else put it on no matter what. The slippers are part of the ceremonial outfit and must be worn at orientation. (don't worry they're quite comfortable and it's pretty much impossible to trip in them.) A carriage is always sent to collect students who accept admission. While the dark mirror can be used as a portal, White Ash has magic pumpkin carriage's that take you wherever you want to go.

The school is not on the Isle of Sages, but it is across the bay from it. as the three closest arcane academies, NRC, RSA, and WAI have a few traditional events held every year. Including the famous Midnight Ball. White Ash usually hosts this event, it's a giant masquerade ball. In the spirit of the famous princess that inspired it, the idea is to not know who your dance partners are. That is until it ends at midnight. There is a spell over the castle to keep your mask on until the stroke of twelve where the spell is lifted and you may reveal yourself. Or leave and keep the mystery alive.

NRC has historic apple trees, while White Ash has a famous pumpkin patch on school grounds. It's very popular in the fall. The school hosts carriage rides and everything. While NRC has many ghosts to work as staff, White Ash hires pixies that do such things like cook, clean, and keep the grounds. There is also a great deal of mice that scurry around school grounds to assist students. Like showing them where to find library books or deliver messages. And of course, report back to Headmage Cristalería if something is afoot. The safety of her students is, after all, her upmost priority.

[marciabrady]

Do you think the people who hate on the princesses, especially Ariel and the originals, are aware of the history? Like, Snow White was the first full length animated film. Her impacted on the film industry cannot be overstated. Cinderella made Disney some much needed money after the war years left them not doing so well. There was talk of Disney leaving animation behind altogether before The Little Mermaid started the Disney Renaissance. And that's not even mentioning the cultural impact these films and princesses have had. Sure there are things about them that didn't age well, but I can say the same about tv and movies that are a lot more recent than these films.

I think, even if those people did know about the history, they have it in their heads that anything old is bad. There's so many people I've met that have point blank told me that they just assume any woman that was born before the 1960s was weak/lacked substance and character and strength, etc, and I just think people paint the original princesses with that brush. I actually think the original three, plus Ariel, are the strongest role models for anyone- man or woman- but a lot of people just dismiss them as being the same character, despite the fact that the "contemporary" princesses are much more monolithic in their characterizations, design, and voice acting. But, to answer your question, I don't think it matters the cultural or historical impact these princesses had and continue to have to these specific types of people you're talking about, because those people are just going along with what pop culture is trying to sell us right now and old out, new in is the mentality. I also think something that contributes to this bias is people want to believe that our generation is more important than it actually is and that we're progressing (which we are, in some ways, but we're regressing in others) and that we're so much greater than previous generations, there's no reason to look back and nothing is of value from the past aside from stealing the styles and artistic inspirations from it.

[theliterarywolf]

I dunno if this means anything, BUT, it's your fault I'm thinking about it so you get to hear my unhinged two-cents:

I get why people object to Orientalism both in a historical context and when it shows up in the modern day but like... on the other hand, the aesthetic and art is always SO FREAKING COOL that I kind of love it anyway...

It's like... If you had a piece of media that's touting historical/cultural accuracy in it's setting and character-design and the final product is fetishy and wrong, I can understand calling it out.

Hell, that was one of the major issues with Raya and the Last Dragon: Disney kept touting 'the first Southeast Asian Disney Princess' and how they were 'taking inspiration from Thailand and Singapore' But when the final film came out, you had a bunch of SEAsians going 'What the actual fuck is this, Disney?'

When I see a game about sentient baked goods in a fantasy setting that sometimes incorporates modern elements like Disney and KPop, I don't think 'Hm, yes, they promised me historical and cultural accuracy and their failing of that has resulted in Orientalism!!'

[a-room-of-my-own]

i'm far from wanting to defend corsets but apart from being """badly fitted""" (aka mostly not the right size), corsets in hollywood are just badly worn which likely makes them 400% more uncomfortable than they would normally be. i think the amount of times i've watched a period piece where actresses wore shifts under their corsets could be counted on one hand. and it's without counting the sometimes upside down corsets (or the tight lacing which you've mentioned and was actually not that huge of a thing generally)...

and then there's ridiculous historically -and fashionally- nonsensical choices like bridgerton's full length corsets when at the time of empire waist dresses, corsets barely reached the women's natural since there's absolutely no point in waist emphasizing undergarments if you basically wear a sack lmao

Oh yes this is an entirely different subject, and I find it interesting that many productions fail to get the hair, clothing and language right, but they always, always make the actresses wear corsets. Typically, Bridgerton gets nothing right.

But during the Regency (1er Empire in France) women did wear corsets, though a lighter version, and fashion allowed for undergarments that were close to a modern bra. But if you look at historical engravings, you'll see that women's breasts were on the same level as their armpits, and it's not because the artists didn't know anatomy but because it was the desired silhouette. To achieve that, you need a corset to lift the breast and separate it.

So you have the light version of the left, and the rigid version on the right, that was certainly worn during formal events. In the middle you'll see there is a rigid piece of wood to lift and separate the breast and force the body into a straight posture - like an antique column, the antiquity was all the rage at the time and these dresses were inspired by that. Below you'll see what it looked like from behind, these corsets could also be put on and fitted without help.

So of course it's less constricting than what women would wear just a few years later (though you still have to walk around with a plank compressing your stomach) starting with crinoline dresses

Yikes.

Usually the inspiration for "princess" dresses in for example Disney adaptations

[mangora]

Noah, Scott and Ella

Noah:

•Kitty introduces him to visual novels. He’s never really been into them before and prefers fighting games, but I think some would grow on him, like Ace Attorney or Policenauts (he still thinks dating sims are stupid)

•He runs cold, which is why he’s dressed in so many layers. I also headcanon that he’s autistic and hyposensitive touch-wise. He likes the feeling of all the layers, it’s like a big hug all the time.

•He reads a lot and has a huge range of genres he likes. Nonfiction is a big one, but he also loves fantasy novels and satires/allegories. I feel like he has a soft spot for the Lord of the Rings series.

•He uses 3-in-1 shampoo. Hot take, I know, but I feel like he’d find things like extensive skincare or hair routines ridiculous and hardly impactful enough to justify.

•He and Cody play chess together and it pisses Noah off because Cody is actually better at it than him.

Scott:

•I think he’s had at least a small crush on half the cast (namely Dawn, B, Dakota, Mike, and Zoey) and he just had such a horrid time accepting that that he decided to hate them and eliminate them. Pansexual king I suppose

•He watched a lot of Jerry Springer growing up

•He and Albertha (his sister mentioned in All Stars) are really close but they bicker a lot because they’re both little shits. They hang out a lot on their farm because their parents suck. They also shoplift from local stores together, and shoot beer cans with slingshots or whatever. Tangent but Albertha loves the pigs they raise on their farm, she’s an absolute queen

•He was on his high school wrestling team. It was the one thing he excelled in. He intimidated a lot of people into helping him cheat to keep his grades high enough to stay on. He was basically the captain

•He collects animal bones and teeth and such. He really envies Dawn and Mike & Mal & Manitoba who have way better collections than him.

Ella:

•She has a sibling who’s goth and doesn’t get on with their whole family’s Disney/theatre thing. They all get along pretty well though. They have a real Ever After High kid/Monster High kid dichotomy going.

•She owns a lot of succulents and small fruit plants. They’re her pride and joy, and she has names for all of them

•She’s really into history, specifically medieval, royal, and European history. She loves drawing historically accurate fairy tale costumes.

•She’s a doll collector, and so is her sibling. Her parents are both figurine and playbill collectors.

•After the show, she and Sammy & Jasmine become really good friends on the new Playa Des Losers. Sammy and Jasmine make her realize that Sugar was manipulating her and bullying her, and inspire her to stand up to her. She also defends Sammy against Amy. Unrelated but I have an AU idea where Ella is a princess and Sammy is a peasant girl who runs away and pretends to be a knight in order to save her. I kinda wanna write a fic for it honestly.

[scottkeenanillustration]

Historical Disney Portraits: Cinderella

My second historical Disney character is Cinderella. I guessed that the movie was set sometime in Victorian France and once again a video by Mina Le on Youtube helped narrow it down in her video to the mid 1800s. I looked at portrait paintings of European Victorian royalty as a starting point for my illustration beginning with portraits of Queen Victoria, but my main inspiration came from paintings of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Princess Dagmar of Denmark and Alexandra of Denmark. I wanted to capture the look of a Victorian painting so used more darker colours in the background rather than the more colourful palette of the film, but I did want to keep the original movie colours for Cinderella. I’m still working on another one of these and am hoping to do more, I think Disney villains would be a fun series to do. 

Scott Keenan, 2021

[dearestdandelion]

So... Me and @flosimo come up with the idea of disney princess inspired artwork for Jaskier. I choose Belle from Beauty and the Beast just because i think it would work well together. But it might also because of the beauty and the beast au fics I've read.

I tried to make mine as close to the au as possible but also semi historically accurate especially his court wear.≧ω≦

Check out her artwork! <here>

[artist-ellen]

The Evil Queen

The unnamed villain of the first Disney animated movie, Snow White. She was a really fun challenge to redesign as I wanted to keep aspects of her silhouette and colour palette while referencing real fashion from the fairytale’s historical setting. Sadly for me it was in fashion for a number of decades in Germany to wear “Cranach” style gowns (named after the artist) which don’t have long trailing sleeves. If anything the animated movie has the Evil Queen in really classically medieval fashion, think pre-Tudor & pre-Italian renaissance. So in a little bit of a humorous twist the best reference image I found around the right decades for the Evil Queen was the portrait of Anne of Cleves. So while I took a Lot of liberties if it is feeling familiar… that would be why. Her makeup and what not isn’t very historical but generally my goal is to have recognizable characters with their historical twist… and yes I went way too hard on the details. I had way too much fun.

I am the artist!!! Don’t repost without permission & credit! Thank you! Come visit me over on: https://instagram.com/ellen.artistic

[loltaku-braindead]

Cinderella girlboss is bad and I think they should make her ND instead of "independent"

Maybe it's my own personal bias as an ND person but I liked Cinderella as a kid because I found her to be naive and kind and weird like me and every adaptation tries to destroy this and the movies get worse. Also Hollywood doesn't have a clue how to adapt queerness on screen. Anyway, here are a few reasons why Cinderella should be adapted to be on the spectrum:

- the step family is always portrayed to be assholes in the most cartoonish way, bullying an orphan girl because she is prettier than them. The abuse would make so much more sense if they had a shop and she would make clients run away by stimming or she would show signs of ADHD by not following orders or literal thinking/bluntness. Like she could say stuff like "I like your big nose" to her sister not realizing people don't like big noses on women and the sister could "attack back". It's a much more realistic instance of bullying and abuse and people might actually question their biases. It's also a huge source of fun that autistic people can enjoy too if done well (e.g. think Onion's autistic reporter Michael Fawn)

- she might be cleaning the house because she desperately needs order and the family didn't bother to tell her she doesn't need to do that. They could even kind of regret it but rationalize it with her "being useful in some way"; another hit to the audience that never thought much about the insanity of autistic inspiration stories

- her talking to animals could be adapted to be "hyper-empathy" as many autistic women are like this and have encyclopedic knowledge on animals; she can sing with perfect pitch to them because she can tell the animals enjoy her voice while others don't see it. This would "girlboss" her in a more fun way than making her a streamstress that's somehow judged for trade (highly historically inaccurate). You can have a musical that feels cohesive with reality and it's not just another musical.

- the relationship with the prince would make sense, as ND people form relationships very fast with one another as we communicate differently. Have them talk about hyperfixations instead of falling for looks. This gives us the ability to make the prince interesting in a myriad of ways, you can have him refusing to go to war because it would be a sensory overload and you can have him mask very well to then drop the mask in private. Maybe the prince made all the princesses run away and they make an insider ball because it's the only possible way for them to have their son married. It would be funny and not offensive to have him completely oblivious to all the flirty social cues.

- Ella could refuse to come to the ball because she doesn't like parties or it doesn't fit her routine. Secretly she wants to go but she doesn't want to embarrass her sisters. Because they don't expect her to go they don't notice her being there or assume it's someone else. Even if they notice her, they will pretend they don't know her as in this version the step family is not evil but rather "desperately wants to be normal".

- a nonbinary fairy god-parent could be attracted to help Ella because she understands how it is to be misunderstood, you can have them meet Ella before and have Ella not question the lack of gender. This sounds better than the good old "oh you are good, they are bad, this is why I give you a night out". The costume choice would also be fun cause Ella could complain about the materials and fit, much better than whatever "yass queen" scene they made

- Ella leaves the ball because she experiences sensory overload. Goes home to feel safe. The prince gives a ridiculously clear description of her looks and voice and this is why they find her. When they meet he can test her with unusual questions or echolalia and the step family is okay with not marrying the weird prince

- in the Disney look it seems like Cinderella has "noise cancelling headphones", of course this could be something she made to hear better and the ball dress could be adapted to fit them

Of course, I'm not petitioning for an autistic disney princess, as I'm working with already existent material that's used horribly every year anyway. I really think Cinderella fits the bill for ND representations more than other Disney princesses (maaaybe also Snow White). The 2010's girlboss craze could be turn into it's head (as people are sick of it) to show complex characters on the skeleton of old stories by looking into mental health, aesthetics, neurodivergence, life philosophy and use of humor that's more than "random". Right now they are losing money by the minute making vaguely poc stars sing about their strong persona and are throwing themes of vulnerability, abuse, social inequality and life purpose found in the original stories right in the bin. They are trying so hard to be feminist they become sexist. Maybe explore themes outside of feminism in women and you'll wake up with better feminist representation when you don't stare so much on the "woman" part of the character and you let the rest shine on it's own

[cityoftheangelllls]

Entry 4 in my historical Disney Princess series: Eilonwy from The Black Cauldron!

I know Eilonwy is not part of the official Princess lineup, but The Black Cauldron is very dear to me, and I love Eilonwy’s character, so I just had to do her. Her time period was difficult to figure out, but I ended up going with early medieval Wales, since the Chronicles of Prydain series has a ton of inspiration from Welsh lore and mythology. We have very little, if any, extant sources that tell what people wore during the earlier Dark Ages, all we really know is that clothes were pretty straightforward and simple and that women wore pretty much the same things as men. I gave Eilonwy the standard medieval Gaelic garments, the leine (over tunic) and brat (cloak).

[wigs-and-wonder]

Doll/Craft Resolution, Part 12/12: December2022

Well, here we are:

My ‘resolution list’ for this year included making at least one doll outfit each month, focusing on rounding out my historical girl’s collections so that ALL of my dolls would at least be closer to having the 6 outfits I’d planned for them. (Though, admittedly, not all of the outfits will be historical outfits. Quite a few ‘collections’ will be a blend of modern outfits and historical ones, and some will lean more one way than another.)

And, I did it! Despite projects that took longer than anticipated and gifts to make that took priority, I made 12 outfits, 24 dragons, and 216 candles—more on that later, for now, let’s just look at what December resulted in:

First up, I wanted to make Elizabeth a Cinderella-inspired modern outfit, something like those illustrations from 2017-2018 of ‘Disney princesses in modern style’. See, when I first got my Elizabeth at the thrift store, she had her shift and gown, but only one of her shoes, so this was an outfit I’d wanted to do for her from the start as a little joke/nod.

The top is Flossie Potter’s Peasant Blouse crop-top pattern in a light blue knit, and the skirt is the Harper Skirt Pattern with added lace trim at the bottom. The idea with the fabrics is to nod to both her ballgown look (white in the movie, marketed as blue), AND her original outfit with the brown and the white apron. Final piece is a black choker-with-pendant to nod to the headband and earrings from her ballgown look.

But enough talking, here’s Elizabeth showing off her new outfit:

Also this year, along with 1 doll outfit each month, I’m trying to make enough crochet projects to (hopefully) sell at a craft fair or some such towards late fall. I’ve decided to make 2 dragons and 18 ‘wizard’ candles a month just to start feeling things out. Here are Stone and Loam, along with their matching candles!

[crymeariveronceagain]

do you have any children book recommendations?

i was that kids who would get a whole stack of books from the library and finnish them in three days, but i stopped reading a few years ago, it wasn’t by choice, i still bought books and wanted to read, but couldn’t. (long story)

but now that i’m trying to read again most of the books that i own are YA and Adult WW2 historical fiction (i was a agnsty 16 year old history buff what can i say)…but i want to read something more wholesome and less realistic, if you know what i mean.

i’m really picky when it comes to YA books, but with childrens books as long as it’s found family, or mystery, or has a narrator with a sassy personality, i will read it.

i’ve always liked kid’s books better and it’s not like they won’t rip your heart out, on that note can you give me a heads up if someone dies (i was traumatized by Fig Pudding when i was 11, and read the last pages of every book because of it)

both the Lunar chronicles and Percy jackson are on my to read list, but the size of the books scare me a bit and i need to ease back into reading a little slower than that

OHKAY YES QUEEN IM ON IT.

Alright, a great and easy book series, super romantic, super sweet, aimed at like, 12-15 year olds, is Wide Awake Princess by E. D. Baker, or the Frog Princess series by her, or honestly anything by her. Fairy-Tale Matchmaker, Fairy Wings, A Question of Magic. All of it. 10/10. It's all so wholesome and cute but with good world building and magic, fun time periods cross overs between series, and all with a touch of angst, and The Frog Princess inspired Disney's The Princess and The Frog. So like.

The False Prince, by Jennifer A. Nelson. Not entirely a Kids book, leaning more towards YA in my opinion, but it's a fairytale written by a woman with the intended audience being middle grade boys.... so it's jam packed with adventure, intrigue, mystery, a bit of death and danger, politics, and a nice side of romance to swirl around in a whisky glass on a dark night. It's really hecking good, and even though I never read the sequels, I did realize exactly how much I want to be able to roll a coin over my fingers.

Anything by Shannon Hale. Yes, you want to read it. 10/10. Even her Ever After High books are good. I love this woman with my whole heart.

Roald Dahl's children's books. These books were my entire sense of humor as a kid, and you will enjoy them if you like laughing. All the nasty characters get what's coming to them, and all the magic is amazing. I recommend starting with something like The Twits(there's a very deserved death at the end, but it's hilarious and exactly the ending the Twits deserve.), or George's Marvelous Medecine(also has some death, but once again, you don't care about someone nasty dying from totally deserved consequences). My top three books of his are Matilda, The Twits, and Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator(the sequel to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, which you should read first, even if you've seen all the movie versions).

Frindle, by Andrew Clements. Prepare to laugh. That's all i can say about this one. Comedic gold, satisfying ending.

Pretty Much Anything by Gail Carson Levine, but especially her Princess Tales, which are amazing retellings of classic fairy tales that you will enjoy every minute of.

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell. I wrote angst fanfiction for the post-canon of this book. It'll never be posted. It's an odd retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

You Don't Know My Name, by Kristen Orlando. Fast paced, action packed, slightly terrifying book about being a teenage spy. More on the YA side, but I remember reading this book in a sort of awe. It was really good. There was quite a bit of death, probably of the violent kind, but it wasn't the main character, and it's a spy novel. Like, of course everyone she loves is gonna die. That's how the world works! I think there's another book out now. Absolutely awesome angsty pick.

Loki's Wolves, Odin's Ravens, and Thor's Serpent, by Kelley Armstrong. Basically a Percy Jackson but Norse Mythology and this time with the gods sort of manifesting themselves in children who now have to fight and battle the Ragnarök thing going down. They're all totally going to be stable by the end of this. At least one minor character death, and a girl turns into a fish a couple times. But there's a sweetheart of an angst werewolf!!! So!!!

Harriet The Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh. Remember your spy phase? So does Harriet. She documented it, and might be needing to learn a lesson about personal privacy and being respectful of others.

Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink. You will cry. That's all I'm saying. I don't think there's any major character death, but if there is I apologize. It's the older sister vibes for me, not even gonna lie to you. Caddie is a whole entire creature and I love her.

Socks, by Beverely Cleary. If you like cats, read this book, it will make you cry in a happy-sad way.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, by Jessica Day George. Definitely leaning towards more YA, and yet still has a children's book vibe to it. BUT IF THIS BOOK AIN'T AMAZING IDK WHAT IS READ IT IT IS SO GOOD IADASJDLKHDGLKAHDFLKJDFLHSDF I DONT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY 1000000/10 IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL I HAVE READ THSI BOOK SO MANY TIMES AND I HAVE LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT EVERY TIME I NEED TO BUY THIS B O O K.

[morethanaloveinterest]

A Vaguely Underwhelmed Look at the Costumes in Beauty and the Beast

Belle may not have the most costumes (quantity) of the princesses, but she definitely has one of the most iconic dress there is. Read more below.

This is it, the staple of her wardrobe. Does she have more than one blue dress? Does she wear another white dress under it? Who knows - but it is the go-to outfit for anything that comes up. Shopping in town, avoiding that dudebro who won't leave her alone, adding a cloak to go to an enchanted castle in the rain to save her boyfriend, it does everything.

Female Representation: 10/10 I can't speak to the historical accuracy, but as a costume for all ages, it's perfect. The silhouette is pretty timeless and, while it may be figure-hugging, it does not emphasize Belle's maturity (in contrast to the similar outfits worn by the bimbettes). You could lower the score because of the apron, but I think this is more a class signifier (other peasants in the town have them regardless of gender) than it is an implication that she should be doing work. We don't see her do any actual work in it anyway, so it just seems practical.

Practicality: 10/10 As I said above, it is extremely practical and takes her through the majority of events in the story. The sleeves are long but can be rolled up easily. The skirt is multi-layered but never seems to get in the way. There's a reason our pragmatic protagonist wears it all the time. 

This is one of the dresses Belle wears while she is in the castle. Specifically, it is when the Beast presents the library to her. Since it is green, this might signal the new beginning (like spring) to their relationship, since after this they get along quite well.

Female Representation: 10/10 This is clearly a fancier dress than her standard blue one. It fits the common idea (at least in the Western sense) of a princess, with the tapered waist and puffed sleeves. This is her second most revealing dress, but it does not emphasize any of her assets over her a character.

Practicality: 9/10 Presumably a bit less practical, though we can only guess what the material is made out of. Still, it works quite well for her indoor adventures in a castle. The sleeves would be warm but unlikely to get in her way, for example.

This is the other dress Belle wears while at the Beast's castle. She wears it to play in the snow and then removes the cloak to have dinner with the Beast afterward. Since Belle brought nothing with her, it is presumably from the enchanted wardrobe. It is obviously the dress of someone who was not a peasant, what with its fur cloak, fancy trim, and bright color (though blue would not really have been a peasant color either). It is also, importantly, worn during her budding romance with the Beast and the color reflects that.

Female Representation: 10/10 Again, like above, it is a great dress to be a costume for all ages. It is more feminine and fancier than her other dress without degrading her previous choice. Her current role, which she expects to last the rest of her life, is to live in an enchanted castle and she is starting to dress the part.

Practicality: 9/10 Perhaps less practical than her first ensemble, but obviously more suited to the snow. The dress is longer and the cloak appears warmer (if only because of the fur). The sleeves are shorter, but the decorations on them wouldn't get in the way, so I think it's still pretty great.

Here it is, the reason the Disney Princess brand puts them all in ball gowns. And maybe even the reason the Princess brand exists as a concept. The design of the dress was intended to make the dancing scene as beautiful and awe-inspiring as possible. While she was not the first princess to dance with her prince, the animation of the scene definitely went up a level. And the color is a HUGE part of that. Gold stands out against all of the background, while the other ladies tended to be complemented by the rest of the room instead of wearing something that pops out of the screen. It's iconic.

Female Representation: 10/10 I'm just going to give it a perfect score as well because it's so lovely. It is a bit more revealing than the other dresses but I would put it in the category of "adult woman dressing up" more than inviting us to objectify her in any way. We also see her through the eyes of the Beast, who is quite smitten, of course.

Practicality: 9/10 I mean, it is a ball gown - so perhaps less practical. Presumably it has a hoop skirt which could make going through doorways difficult. But overall it is perfect for the spectacle, which is the purpose after all.

For more of my thoughts about female characters, find me on Youtube 

Belle video out now!