Disney Princesses Redesigned With Historically Accurate Outfits
#8 Jasmine (Aladdin)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "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.
OH ALSO I DREW A KITTY"
#9 Pocahontas
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "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 (yes, one-shouldered dresses and split skirts existed, YE GADS) 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.
...And not the belabor the point, but she learns English by way of MAGIC? Come on, Disney, even Tarzan had the sense to do a heavy-handed language montage."
#10 Belle (Beauty & the Beast)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "I can't explain it, but reinterpreting Disney princess outfits through a more historically accurate lens really, really appeals to me. 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."
#11 Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “So Prince Philip does specifically and emphatically say “this is the 14th century!” at some point during the film, but Philip’s an idiot (a handsome, handsome idiot) and I, never afraid to ignore source material, ignored him.
Oddly enough Philip’s clothing is a better point of reference than Aurora’s (since the hourglass, off-the-shoulder cut of her dress is straight out of the 1950’s), and there are far more examples of his get-up from the 1460’s onward than in the 14th century. I went with my gut and ended up with something around 1485- a little later than one might expect, but it’s such a (beautifully) stylized film that all bets are off.”
#12 Cinderella
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "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.
I couldn't settle on a visual motif for the details in this one- shoes, pumpkins, mice- so I just gave her some stripes and gothic lace to make up for it. OH ALSO I drew her losing her right shoe instead of her left and only recently realized it. Whoops."
#13 Snow White
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: "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."
#14 Mulan
via: Claire Hummel
Comment from Artist: “Sooooo Mulan. It’s not that I didn’t want to do Mulan (she’s fantastic so far as the Disney “princesses” go), but pinning down her time period stopped being fun and rapidly became a headache- you have the original legend taking place in the Wei Dynasty, the Huns as an actual threat during the Western Han Dynasty, the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty, the hanfu fashion setting it earlier AGHGHGhjffjhfghgjhkh
On that note, I’ll be the first to admit that this piece isn’t tying Mulan down to a particular period, rather putting her in plausible historical textiles and hanfu. When I was asking around for references most of the stuff sent my way were from Chinese period films or other modern recreations, so I just threw up my hands and decided to have fun with it.
It’s based on Mulan’s finale/epilogue costume at the end of the film; she never seemed at home in either the matchmaker costume or the armor, so this seemed like the best “Mulan has come into her own” middle ground.”
