18th Century Belle: The Concept

I have been interested in historical fashion for many years. I do a lot of sewing, but haven't really delved into the realm of sewing historical dresses before. However, I've been seeing many historical dresses in some of the sewing communities I frequent and it's been inspiring me to try some of my own. One woman is even making an entire 18th century wardrobe of her own this summer. You can follow her progress on the Sewing Magic blog. If all these other seamstresses can make beautiful 18th century costumes, why can't I? The answer, of course, is I can! 

My next question then became what sorts of dresses would I make? I could just make whatever outfits struck my fancy with whatever fabrics I find, but I know myself and I know that having a theme will both help motivate me and limit me so I don't go too overboard and try to make a million different things. My mind was going all over the place with themes I could use but nothing felt quite right. Then one evening when I was lying in bed unable to fall asleep, inspiration hit! I could recreate the wardrobe of my favorite Disney character in an 18th century style.

Art by Maria Elena Naggi from The Art of The Disney Princess

Like any good little book nerd who grew up in the 90s, my favorite Disney princess has always been Belle. Also, she had some really great outfits:

Screencaps from animationscreencaps.com

I just love all those colors! What a great wardrobe. Belle's yellow dress is arguably one of the most icon Disney princess dresses out there and has always been one of my favorites.

Because of my love for Belle, I was very excited to see what Disney did with the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast. The live action Cinderella was wonderful. All of the costumes were breathtaking and Cinderella's dress was amazing. How could Belle's iconic yellow dress be anything but incredible when translated into real life? Well, needless to say, I was rather disappointed:

The outfits in the movie worn by the other characters are all in a wonderful 18th century style, as you can see in the background of the blue dress picture, but Belle's costumes continually disappoint. The yellow dress is the worst offender. It looks like a prom dress rather than the epic 18th century inspired gown that it should be. I know that Emma Watson worked with the designer on her costumes to make a "modern, emancipated" Belle, but I think that was a mistake. Her outfits are only memorable because of how disappointing they were. I was left imagining what could have been if Belle's outfits had been done in a proper 18th century style like the rest of the cast...

Now, instead of just imagining it, I'm going to try and do something about it! My goal is to recreate Belle's animated wardrobe in an 18th century style. I'll start with the four outfits from the original movie, but might also eventually include her dress from The Enchanted Christmas and if I'm really motivated I may try to do an 18th century version of the white floral dress she wears at the end of the live action movie and possibly some of the outfits that Disney has made for the numerous Belle dolls they've had throughout the years. Particularly this cute yellow riding dress since it would give me an excuse to make a riding outfit.

If I get all that done, I may consider making some other pieces like additional jackets and petticoats in coordinating colors to mix and match with the multiple pieces I'll already have. The blue, green, pink, yellow, and white color pallet I'll have going leaves a lot of room for lovely coordinating pieces with different prints. I can just imagine a pretty white jacket with a floral motif that would go nicely with all those different petticoats.

I will try to update this blog with ideas, inspiration, and, of course, final pictures when I get pieces made. If this project goes well I may even consider making wardrobes for some of the other Disney princesses in different historical styles, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself!