From Snow White’s cherry-red lipstick to the balloon sleeves on Ariel’s wedding gown, every Disney princess reflects the trends of their debut era, even though many of them take place during some nebulous history period.
Snow White’s look was based on models from Vogue, Woman’s Own, and Modern Home magazines, Simplicity sewing patterns, and Sears catalogs. The movie was released in 1937.
Cinderella’s look was based on models from Ladies’ Home Journal and Better Living magazines, Sears catalogs, and ‘everyday life’ photo archives from The Library Of Congress. The movie was released in 1950.
Aurora’s look was based on a mix of Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and Good Housekeeping magazines from the 1960’s, and Woman’s Own, Woman’s Weekly, and My Home magazines from the 1940’s. I also used 1940’s Simplicity sewing patterns, and late 1950’s Sears and Lane Bryant catalogues. Sleeping Beauty was released in 1959 and got mixed reviews and lackluster sales.
Ariel’s look was based on models from Elle and Vogue magazines, and characters from Golden Girls, Designing Women, and Full House tv shows. The Little Mermaid was released in 1989.
Belle’s look was based on models from Rolling Stone and National Enquirer magazines, and characters from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Friends, and Twin Peaks tv shows. Beauty And The Beast was released in 1991.
Jasmine’s look was based off of promotional pictures of The Pussycat Dolls, Destiny’s Child, and Spice Girls outfits, and also of celebrities Teri Hatcher and Alia Shawkat from the 90’s. Aladdin was released in 1992.
Pocahontas’ look was based off of Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters clothing from the late 90’s, and also loose pieces found under the tag ‘boho’ and ‘hippie’ on modern sites such as Etsy and Ebay. Pocahontas was released in 1995.
Mulan’s look was based off of models from Sinorama, International Screen, 小姐與太太, and STREET magazines from the late 90’s, as well as characters from movies Chungking Express and Days Of Being Wild. Mulan was released in 1998.
Tiana’s look was based off of GQ, Esquire, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar magazines from the 2000’s. The Princess And The Frog was released in 2009.
Rapunzel’s look was based on characters from Hardcore Pawn and Worst Cooks In America tv shows, as well as movies The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Easy A, Scott Pilgrim VS The World, and Love, Simon. Tangled was released in 2010.
Anna’s look was based on various real-time fashion looks under the tags ‘grunge’, ‘flannel’, and ‘tomboy’ in various social media timelines. Frozen was released in 2013, and Frozen 2 in 2019.
Elsa’s look was based on red carpet and metgala outfits, as well as Orthodox Scandinavian Christian fabric embroidery from Scandinavia.
Moana's look was based off of various real-time fashion looks under the tags 'athleisure' and 'fitspo'. Moana came out 2016.
Fascinating stuff, thanks! :-)
...."Jasmine has an English name"
You mean this English name? The Persian name that got Anglicized? The name my Iranian-American representative has (Yassamin)? That English name?
If you're going to criticize Aladdin, there's plenty to say without making shit up.
