Discover Top Posts Tagged with #rags

Cinderella's rags in illustrations and paintings – another sample

Some of these designs are more unique than any of the designs in my first post on the subject.

Albert Henry Payne

An unusual medieval take on the Grimms' Cinderella with what seems to be a "fallen princess" look, in a red jacket and cream colored skirt that look as if they were once elegant, and a big gray cloak around her. Another unusual touch is the prominent cross necklace she wears: a reminder of the Grimms' association of religious faith with Cinderella's goodness, as her dying mother makes her promise to always be good and pious" (emphasis mine) and she obeys.

Ann and Janet Graham Johnstone

This looks like another "fallen princess" Cinderella, wearing a dress that was once elegant, but she's most definitely "fallen," as it's covered with patches, the edges of the skirt are frayed, and even the apron is torn.

Anne Anderson

This light brown jacket and skirt look appropriately plain and tattered, though since this illustration shows the stroke of midnight and the outfit is only just changing back from a ballgown, I don't know if the skirt is always that full or not.

Charles Landseer

Well, she looks humble and peasant-like in her gray jacket and cream-colored skirt. But at the same time there's a certain elegance and flirtatious charm to her look, with the red sash and strings on the jacket and the blue ribbons and florette on her cap. And just look at how sly she is, hiding the other slipper behind her back!

Charles Robinson

Now, this is an odd costume. It looks as if she's wearing a long, full-sleeved robe. But then, many Cinderella-type stories (especially of the Donkeyskin variety) have the heroine defined by the strange long coat she wears as a scullery maid.

Diane Goode

A cross between the "peasant girl" and the "ragamuffin" look. It looks as if it was once a standard, solid peasant outfit, but over time it's become tattered and torn.

Edward Burney-Jones

A an appropriately plain, drab, patched gray-green sack of a dress and an apron. The way the skirt is bunched up at the waistline and tied with the apron string is a little odd, but maybe that shows that the dress is an old, ill-fitting one that was made for a woman taller than Cinderella, so she has to tie it up so as not to trip over it.

George Cruikshank

A simple yet effective "peasant girl" look with a dark skirt, apron, bodice, and blouse.

Gustave Doré

Another "peasant girl" type of costume, with a blouse, skirt, bodice, and apron, but this time without any tatters, and the slender fit and the fringe on the bodice add a sense of grace and beauty.

Jean-Antoine Laurent

This one is especially interesting! She's not wearing rags at all, but a decent, respectable dress of the Cavalier era, which is just simpler and plainer than those of her richly dressed stepsisters (who are present in the complete painting). It seems as if this Cinderella's stepfamily at least want to maintain the facade of treating her as a family member.

K. Schellbach

This illustration shows the Grimms' version of Cinderella, but instead of the gray dress the Grimms described, she wears a red peasant dress with a gray apron. She looks humble yet lively and pretty.

Loek Koopmans

Now, here we have pathos. Just a simple, skimpy dark gray dress and a white cap/kerchief that hides most of her hair. You can't even tell at first glance if she's a girl or a boy!

Marcia Brown

A humble yet sweet-looking turquoise dress, apparently in an 18th century style, with an apron and kerchief/cap. She looks a bit like Lily James' Cinderella, though this picture book long predates that movie.

Margaret Tarrant

Here's a simple yet unusual costume! A red medieval bodice over a baggy white dress, with a red hair kerchief that's much too long to be just a kerchief, but doubles as a cloak! It's certainly eye-catching, and it looks poor as it should, but at the same time, it's a little odd.

Oliver Herford

This conservative yet respectable gray jacket and skirt say more "repressed Victorian maiden" than "servant" or "peasant" to me, but at least the white cloth cap looks peasant-like, and the dark gray color is appropriately drab.

Otto Kubel

A classic, poor yet lively "peasant girl" costume in several different eye-catching colors, with the short skirt adding a free-spirited quality to it.

Paul Friedrich Meyerheim

A plain white blouse, tan skirt, and black ribbon in her hair. Simple yet definitely poor-looking.

Richard Redgrave

Another "fallen princess" Cinderella with emphasis on "princess." Much like in Laurent's painting, she's wearing a pretty and respectable 18th century costume, in lively yellow and salmon pink, with only her apron indicating that she works like a servant. The fact that two real servant girls are standing and watching her, both much more plainly dressed than she is, reinforces that although she's mistreated, she's still a daughter of the house, not one of the staff.

Talbot Hughes

A simple yet effective, dark and tattered medieval peasant dress.

Thomas Sully

Another Cinderella wearing a long beige-gray robe, probably inspired by the Grimms' description of her wearing "an old gray smock."

Unknown illustrator

This picture seem influenced by Three Wishes for Cinderella, and the simple brown dress and apron are very similar to what that movie's heroine wears, although the rag tied around her hair is a difference.

Unknown painter

This 19th century painting is clearly inspired by the Grimms' version, and dresses the heroine in an old gray dress, as described in the text – one that used to be elegant, as particularly evidenced by the gold-embroidered border around the skirt, but which has become worn and tattered, and with a darker gray apron added over it.

Valentine Prinsep

An especially girlish and vulnerable-looking Cinderella dressed all in dark colors. Even though her costume is more drab than ragged, some fraying on her petticoat can still be seen, and the black blouse creates a sense of her mourning.

Walter Crane

A classic "peasant girl" costume, with some unique details such as the red shawl and the polka dot apron, and lent dignity by this Cinderella's Junoesque figure and by her intricate braided bun hairstyle.

@therapeuticfairy, @ariel-seagull-wings, @thealmightyemprex, @adarkrainbow, @themousefromfantasyland, @softlytowardthesun, @amalthea9, @storytellergirl, @alwaysright27, @allaboutcinderella, @cinderellasource

#cinderella #fairy tale #clothing #rags #illustrations #paintings #art #comparison