As much as I love some of the newer interpretations of Snow White, the outfits aren’t exactly period correct. Deviant Art Member Shoomlah thought that with a little research, and some time paid attention to detail, he could outfit the Disney Princesses in the period specific attire. I think he did a great job.
5/18/2011 Update: Shoomlah Added Cinderella and Pocahontas to his series. I’ve collected them here.
Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Oh, Pocahontas. Really not one of my favourite Disney films, but it posed an interesting challenge. Note that this is the Disney character, not the historical figure, so while I tried to make the outfit accurate to 17th century Powhatan clothing she is, most definitely, not a 12-year-old. It’s my happy middle ground when drawing a historical version of an inaccurate portrayal of a historical person. That’s a mouthful.
My one big cheat on this was her necklace- the shell necklace should in theory be a deep purple (turquoise is a much more Southwestern commodity), but you lose so much of the Pocahontas visual identity without the splash of teal around her neck.
Cinderella
Cinderella
I went with the mid 1860′s for Cinderella’s dress, the transitory period where the cage crinoline takes on a more elliptical shape and moves towards the back. Not that it accounts for Lady Tremaine’s sweet 1890′s getup, but it’s also not unheard of to see it worn alongside Anastasia and Drizella’s early bustle dresses. It’s also worth noting that it was made by a fairy godmother, so it make sense that her tastes would be a little behind the times.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Belle
Beauty and the Beast has always hovered hesitantly in the late 18th century (especially in the earlier concept art), so I redid Belle’s gold dress to match 1770′s French court fashion.
- Claire, who knows above-the-elbow gloves weren’t really in fashion until the early 1800′s but is running with it anyway.
Jasmine (Aladdin)
Jasmine
Let’s be frank- Aladdin is hardly an exercise in historical accuracy. Combine that with Claire knowing veeeery little about historical* Middle Eastern clothing before starting on Jasmine, and you’ve got yourself a few days of research before digging into this thing.
It took some effort to track down some midriff-baring outfits but BY GEORGE I DID, thank you Persian fashion plates. I now know what sirwal are called (besides Hammer pants), and that Persian women wore some pretty sweet little jackets that I wish I owned.
Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
Ariel
The Little Mermaid is hard to place from a time period standpoint- Grimsby’s wearing a Georgian getup, Ariel’s pink dress with the slashed sleeves subscribes to several eras from the Renaissance to the 1840′s, Eric is… Eric.
I went with Ariel’s wedding dress as a starting point since those gigantic leg-o-mutton sleeves (so embarrassingly popular in eighties wedding fashion) were a great starting point for an 1890′s evening gown. It’s also not unfeasible that Eric’s cropped tailcoat could be from the same era, so I’m sticking with my choice.
Snow White
Snow White
Unlike the aforementioned Little Mermaid, Snow White’s time period is pretty easy to pinpoint in 16th century Germany. Not that the film is accurate, but the clues are there- I took a wide swath from about 1500-1530 to come up with something that still maintained the spirit of the original design.
Fantastic work Shoomlah! Here’s hoping you keep up the great work and I’ll be adding some other Disney Princesses to the collection soon.
