Disney Princesses Redesigned With Historically Accurate Outfits
Californian native and world-renowned video game artist Claire Hummel has created a unique series on historically accurate Disney princesses that transport you to the historical area where they're based. In this series, you'll see princesses downing their attire from the years they are inspired. Mulan sports plausible historical textiles and Hanfu, while Elsa wears two different dresses from the 1830s-40s. These designs will make you want an actual historically accurate movie adaptation of some Disney princesses.
Claire is a well-rounded artist who also dabbles in video game design at the company Valve. She has credits on games like Half-Life: Alyx, Fable Legends, Bioshock Infinite, and many other Xbox games. To see someone well versed in art on many different platforms is a true testament to her intense amount of skill in the arts. The more you venture down her catalog of art, the more you'll fall in love with her work. Scroll down below to view her beautiful Disney Princess adaptations and make sure to check out more of her work!
More info: Instagram | Twitter | DeviantArt | Youtube
#1 Megara (Hercules)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “So fantastically simple to research, just put her in a simple doric chiton and spent most of my time researching fabric colours and patterns to see what I could get away with. It kinda looks like she killed Hercules and took his helmet? I’m okay with that.”
#2 Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "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. PLUS Ariel with Gibson girl hair? COME ON IT IS AWESOME.
I'm still not sure if I'd try to squeeze her pink dress in the same time period or if I'd just throw up my hands and draw it with a hoop skirt, but we'll see."
#3 Tiana (The Princess and The Frog)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “Most of the dresses in Princess and the Frog do have some historical basis (lots of dropped waists and slinky chemises), so I thought it would be fun to tackle Tiana’s magic-kiss-swamp-frog-something gown during the climax of the film. It’s the one dress that’s clearly meant to just be a standalone “princess” dress, but I liked the idea of a challenge and decided to drag it kicking and screaming back into the 20’s.
I based the dress on Lanvin’s robes de style, which were- unlike the flapper dresses most people associate with the Jazz Age- fitted in the bodice with a wide, panniered skirt. The robe de style was considered a relatively conservative dress choice so you probably wouldn’t have seen a hem hiked up this high, but COME ON HOW OFTEN DO I GET TO DRAW THEIR LEGS. Not often enough, I’ll tell you that.”
#4 Rapunzel (Tangled)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “I adore Tangled for many reasons, but historical accuracy isn’t one of them. It’s actually the first Disney film that feels entirely set in its own fantasy world, with no real ties to any particular time period or setting- unless you count that ever-forgiving time period of ‘Ren Faire’.
I drew up concepts for both the 16th century (the slashed sleeves) and 18th (Keane’s initial inspiration), but in the interest of choosing a time period I hadn’t touched yet I ended up going with the late Regency. There are a ton of gowns circa 1820 that have those inimitably princessy sleeves, and those palace guards aren’t fooling anyone.”
#5 Maid Marion (Robin Hood)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “A lot of people have been asking about Maid Marian, so I figured I might as well give her a shot- a bit tougher when you’re looking at clothing on anthropomorphic animals, of course, but there are still a couple of details that point to the 15th century- the cut of the dress, the ears disguised as a horned hennin headdress, the bag sleeves, etc. I still tried to maintain the relatively simple silhouette of Marian’s dress, just with added period details- making it more of a houppelande by design, and resolving the v-shaped neckline to show the kirtle underneath.
Also really wanted to hide some foxglove motifs in the lining of the gown- it’s subtle, but I think it really ties the whole design together.”
#6 Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “I’ve wanted Maleficent to be the first villain in the series for a while now, ever since I made the mental leap between Maleficent’s horns and 15th century horned hennins. The time period works out pretty well, actually, since I wanted her to look a little more dated than Aurora’s 1480’s getup- both houppelandes and horned hennins were all the rage during the early- to mid-1400’s, and they make for pretty good analogues to her official costuming. Sexy stuff.”
#7 Elsa (Frozen)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "Frozen is purportedly set in the 1830's-40's, but I've been obsessed with finding a style that could marry her coronation gown with her ice gown more seamlessly; the open robes you see during the Regency era, including those being worn by Scandinavian royalty at the time, seemed a particularly apt analog for her... weird underarm-cape. Thing. You also see her mom wearing something very similar for something like ten years, so it's not a huge stretch to think it could be a popular look in Arendelle. THAT'S MY EXCUSE.
I initially designed this for her coronation, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to explore how that same silhouette might work with her ice gown as well. Someday, theoretically, I would love to do a more literally iced-up version of her gown, but I figured the alternate colour way would be a nice middle ground to strike."
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Claire is a well-rounded artist who also dabbles in video game design at the company Valve. She has credits on games like Half-Life: Alyx, Fable Legends, Bioshock Infinite, and many other Xbox games. To see someone well versed in art on many different platforms is a true testament to her intense amount of skill in the arts. The more you venture down her catalog of art, the more you'll fall in love with her work. Scroll down below to view her beautiful Disney Princess adaptations and make sure to check out more of her work!
More info: Instagram | Twitter | DeviantArt | Youtube
#1 Megara (Hercules)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “So fantastically simple to research, just put her in a simple doric chiton and spent most of my time researching fabric colours and patterns to see what I could get away with. It kinda looks like she killed Hercules and took his helmet? I’m okay with that.”
#2 Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "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. PLUS Ariel with Gibson girl hair? COME ON IT IS AWESOME.
I'm still not sure if I'd try to squeeze her pink dress in the same time period or if I'd just throw up my hands and draw it with a hoop skirt, but we'll see."
#3 Tiana (The Princess and The Frog)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “Most of the dresses in Princess and the Frog do have some historical basis (lots of dropped waists and slinky chemises), so I thought it would be fun to tackle Tiana’s magic-kiss-swamp-frog-something gown during the climax of the film. It’s the one dress that’s clearly meant to just be a standalone “princess” dress, but I liked the idea of a challenge and decided to drag it kicking and screaming back into the 20’s.
I based the dress on Lanvin’s robes de style, which were- unlike the flapper dresses most people associate with the Jazz Age- fitted in the bodice with a wide, panniered skirt. The robe de style was considered a relatively conservative dress choice so you probably wouldn’t have seen a hem hiked up this high, but COME ON HOW OFTEN DO I GET TO DRAW THEIR LEGS. Not often enough, I’ll tell you that.”
#4 Rapunzel (Tangled)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “I adore Tangled for many reasons, but historical accuracy isn’t one of them. It’s actually the first Disney film that feels entirely set in its own fantasy world, with no real ties to any particular time period or setting- unless you count that ever-forgiving time period of ‘Ren Faire’.
I drew up concepts for both the 16th century (the slashed sleeves) and 18th (Keane’s initial inspiration), but in the interest of choosing a time period I hadn’t touched yet I ended up going with the late Regency. There are a ton of gowns circa 1820 that have those inimitably princessy sleeves, and those palace guards aren’t fooling anyone.”
#5 Maid Marion (Robin Hood)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “A lot of people have been asking about Maid Marian, so I figured I might as well give her a shot- a bit tougher when you’re looking at clothing on anthropomorphic animals, of course, but there are still a couple of details that point to the 15th century- the cut of the dress, the ears disguised as a horned hennin headdress, the bag sleeves, etc. I still tried to maintain the relatively simple silhouette of Marian’s dress, just with added period details- making it more of a houppelande by design, and resolving the v-shaped neckline to show the kirtle underneath.
Also really wanted to hide some foxglove motifs in the lining of the gown- it’s subtle, but I think it really ties the whole design together.”
#6 Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “I’ve wanted Maleficent to be the first villain in the series for a while now, ever since I made the mental leap between Maleficent’s horns and 15th century horned hennins. The time period works out pretty well, actually, since I wanted her to look a little more dated than Aurora’s 1480’s getup- both houppelandes and horned hennins were all the rage during the early- to mid-1400’s, and they make for pretty good analogues to her official costuming. Sexy stuff.”
#7 Elsa (Frozen)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "Frozen is purportedly set in the 1830's-40's, but I've been obsessed with finding a style that could marry her coronation gown with her ice gown more seamlessly; the open robes you see during the Regency era, including those being worn by Scandinavian royalty at the time, seemed a particularly apt analog for her... weird underarm-cape. Thing. You also see her mom wearing something very similar for something like ten years, so it's not a huge stretch to think it could be a popular look in Arendelle. THAT'S MY EXCUSE.
I initially designed this for her coronation, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to explore how that same silhouette might work with her ice gown as well. Someday, theoretically, I would love to do a more literally iced-up version of her gown, but I figured the alternate colour way would be a nice middle ground to strike."
