Belle’s closet (the historically accurate version)
Hiya! It’s me! Don’t scream. I’m not back from the dead or anything, this blog is very much just an archive (especially since someone took my old url and made it into a game of thrones stan account?? very strange) BUT, however...
Today, March 17th 2019, marks the two year anniversary of BATB, and seeing how it’s a day (and movie) that’s very special to me, and I had some research left over from a post I never made... without further ado, here’s what it might have looked like if Belle had worn historically accurate clothing*, a sister post to this one I made earlier (you can find pictures of her actual clothes there).
Let’s dive in!
Outfit 1:
The first outfit we see Belle in is her blue day dress (and later with her blue/white jacket with birds on it). I don’t need to describe it to you. You’ve seen it. There are actually quite a lot of nods/links to actual contemporary dress at the time! Specifically the neckerchief she wears (then later takes off), which was worn for warmth. The pockets are also accurate! However they would be worn at either side of the hips, underneath the skirts. There are however contemporary paintings where women are displayed as tucking in their skirts for better access to the pockets, á la Belle when she goes riding. Her corset (or stays, as they were actually called) would’ve been worn over her underwear but under her jacket, which would be pinned closed. Her shoes are horribly inaccurate and are actually Emma’s own! Though espadrilles have been dated back as far as 14th century, since Belle’s are actually Emma’s they’re in the modern style. And that pretty much summarises her entire wardrobe. It has the basis of what women actually wore, but is modernised and, well, Disney-fied. See her fabulous bloomers (a favourite of mine, but still about 150 years too early). She’s ahead of her time, as Maurice says. Literally.
What I found would be something like this:
Now, the latter one is more in keeping with her social class and day wear (working class would wear skirts and a jacket instead of a dress), but the former I found kind of works because of the colours and the pattern. The most important part of the outfit are the colours (blue, white, red) and the grid pattern she wears on her pockets and apron. The latter’s skirt, I think, is a little too much for Belle and she’d probably wear a simpler pattern, if any. But it has the apron, and the neckerchief (pinned differently than Belle’s) is somewhat in keeping with the red pattern peeking up from under her corset. Said corset is the most outlandish and inaccurate thing Belle wears, not because it’s a soft corset (more unusual than unseen at the time) but because of its shape. The colours stood out to me because they are so very Belle, if you ask me. The jacket especially I can definitely picture her in, no doubt!
As for her blue bird jacket, that in itself is quite accurate except for the two differing patterns. The jacket, called a Pierrot jacket, would look more like this:
Outfit 2:
Her second outfit is the same except she now wears a different jacket of a darker blue colour as well as her wool cloak and her leather boots. Her boots, I think, work for the time, but they would’ve had a gold buckle instead of the lacing, and with more of a heel. Belle’s are instead more 17th century, I believe. Her cloak fits in with the whole “almost period” style she wears. It’s called a short cloak and would be typically made of wool and worn for warmth during the winters. The floral lining, however, is fictional and it would instead be dyed red for a pop of colour. Instead I found a Pierrot jacket in a darker blue colour, but with the floral pattern Belle’s cloak is lined with. See:
Outfit 3:
She doesn’t change outfit for a few scenes and the next time we see her in something new it’s for the library scene, where she wears her usual day dress style, but with a new floral apron and corset. I actually did manage to find a jacket that fits the style. The pattern is less common for the apron but I did manage to find something like it. Or she could wear this skirt with a similar pattern:
Outfit 4:
The next outfit she wears she has the same floral corset but now with a grey wool skirt and a grey wool knit over her shoulders. Her knit I’m pretty sure could work for the time but I couldn’t find pictures of any and I won’t bother searching far and wide for one. Oops. Skirt explains itself.
Outfit 5:
Next is her dare-I-say iconic red winter outfit. Again the same style of dress, only different colours. Weirdly no neckerchief however. I couldn’t find a jacket or anything in the style Belle wears, but I have no problem imagining her wearing a fancier style of dress now that Garderobe is her stylist of sorts, see below. I did find this cloak that looks almost spot on though!
Or she could wear something like this, which is more in keeping with the animated counterpart:
She’d look amazing in it though!
Outfit 6:
Her outfit at the colonnade is pretty much the same as previously, but with a blue corset and a hairband. She wears the same red cloak. There’s this dark blue floral dress that could work:
Outfit 7:
Finally!!! The iconic yellow/gold dress. Unknown to most, costume designer Jaqueline Durran actually worked with Emma and made a dress that was more historically accurate but Disney rejected the idea and the rest is history and I’m still waiting on the day I get to see Emma in historical dress. You can get a glimpse of the original robe à l’anglaise dress (with stripes) in the concept art. Since it’s a ball gown it’s a lot easier to find examples. Here are some:
Her shoes are quite accurate, except she’d wear socks.
Outfit 8:
Now for her underwear! Lol! Absolutely hilarious that we get to see a Disney princess in her underwear. Now her chemise would have a quarter-sleeve and the gold leaf filigree is pure fantasy. 18th century undergarments were as simple as they could be since no one saw them and they had to be easy to wash. She’d also wear panniers, which were what made the hips so wide. Her stays however could be a bit more fancy if we still want the gold leaf pattern.
Outfit 9:
Last but definitely not least is her stunning celebration gown. Though the print was from a contemporary apron the dress itself is not really accurate for a ball gown. Just like the yellow dress, in concept art we can see what would’ve been an at least somewhat historically accurate dress and (to my GREAT despair) GORGEOUS 18th century hair. Sadly I’ll have to be happy with the quick glimpse we get of Emma in that wig Garderobe puts on her. However, someone pointed out that the dress probably was inspired by this ballerina dress worn by dancer Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo:
But here are what would actually fit the occasion better:
And that about does it! Please note that I am not an expert of any sort on the subject and have it only as a hobby.
*all the clothes I’ve shown are real clothes from the era and not re-enactments or costumes. They’re all sourced from the 1760s-1780s seeing as that’s roughly the time I’ve set the events in, in relation to the costumes, sets, and Gaston returning from the Seven Years War.
If you’re interested in the historical inspiration for the costumes I definitely recommend this article!
Happy 2nd anniversary, BATB!
