My name is Jenna, and I am a Disney-holic. I love all things Disney; the fairytale romances (although the reality can be somewhat disappointing), the culmination of good overcoming evil, and of course, the pretty dresses, jewels and shoes that every little girl wants to dress up in! Aurora (AKA. Sleeping Beauty) was always my favourite Princess – she made peasant chic look good, and could even work pink AND blue; which is not always easy!
In stumbling across this article, I was immediately floored by the creativity and vision of artist, Claire Hummel. Claire grew up watching Disney films (like me) and is obsessed with costumes. She was inspired to re-design Disney characters in their ‘correct’ historical dress after meeting her sisters’ friends in a tailor shop. Two years after her first drawing, Claire has now drawn 14 Disney characters in historically accurate dress (85-90% accurate, as she does take some ‘creative liberties’). You can see all of her drawings here.
In true Historical Honey style, I have chosen my Top 5 Disney Drawings to share with you:
1. Aurora (Obviously, she’s my favourite!)
Now, if you are anything like me…you will appreciate this version more – I was always a fan of the pink version! When describing this re-design, Claire points out that Prince Philip specifically states “this is the 14th Century”. But Aurora’s actual dress is a little bemusing; with the shape being more 1950’s than the 1450’s. Nonetheless, Claire evidently soldiered on and after some dedicated research, ended up with this remarkable design, which I would be caught dead in! Loving the slash fur neckline.
2. Belle
Now Belle comes in a very close second – mostly because Marie Antoinette is perhaps my favourite woman in history! Claire has redesigned Belle’s famous gold dress in the style of 1770’s French Court fashion – so many bows!
I would love to dress up in this kind of dress (with a ship in my hair perhaps), and rub shoulders with Marie, the Duchess du Polignac and the Princess de Lamballe. Loving the panniers…the wider the better in my opinion! Could have done with one or two feathers perhaps?
3. Megara
Megara; a very underrated woman in Disney film history. Feisty, but sensitive at heart, all she really needed was a buff guy like Hercules to sweep her of her feet. And he would have had a very easy time of it she were dressed in this get-up…so flimsy, so naturalistic (aside from the colour) and elegant. Mind you, the headdress looks hefty, band she had a tonne of hair!
4. Tiana
Forget ‘The Great Gatsby’, Tiana is the ‘Green Gatsby’ in this flirty and fun re-design! Claire, like myself, openly admits that Tiana is not her favourite princess…but why not inject a bit of sparkle into the ‘standard princess dress’ that Tiana actually wears, and in Claire’s words’ “drag it kicking and screaming back into the 20’s”! Ps. What an amazing headdress!
5. Ariel
And last, but by no means least, Ariel. Claire mentions that The Little Mermaid is hard to place in history, and so she finally settled on an 1890’s evening gown. With big beautiful hair and massive sleeves, one could argue it’s all slightly reminiscent of the 1980’s?
But it would be Ariel if Claire didn’t finish it off with a bouquet of seaweed, et voila!
Bonus Round:
A particular mention has to go to Jasmine. I mean…look at those shoes – Divine!
Historical Honey 2013 ©
