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Animated Cinderella Ballgown, part 1

  

    The design for my gown was inspired by both the 1950 original animated film and the 2015 live action film. But mostly, the original gown. Plus a little dash of my own style, especially in the sleeves. I rarely like how her sleeves are done in the Disney Parks. Especially her previous look. Please see below. I'm sorry, but no thanks. This is not a look. (Photo found on Google for reference) The actress and the wig are gorgeous, don't get me wrong.

    I have always loved Cinderella's strawberry blonde hair in the original movie. I liked that her hair color is unique among the Princesses. But in the Parks and on all the merchandise, she has very light yellow-blonde hair. Not the same at all. Now, for this shoot, I didn't have time or the money to buy a brand new wig. I styled a light blonde wig I already owned. I followed a tutorial online for a general idea of how to do an updo. I am not a stylist, and I am not happy with it by any means. but it will have to suffice for now.  In the future, I will absolutely commission a custom wig from a stylist in a movie accurate color. I think a strawberry blonde color would be flattering to my skin tone.


    Similarly, her gown changes color from the movie to the Parks. In the Parks and on merchandise, she is always portrayed in a baby blue dress, with a few silver accents. Which is lovely, but not how it appears in the animated classic. Her ballgown is definitely a silver-blue or even straight up silver, depending on the scene. It changes depending on the lighting. It looks different when she is outside underneath the moon then when she is inside with bright candles everywhere. For my version, I really wanted to stay true to the movie as much as possible. That's not to say I will never make her Parks dress, as it is also pretty, but it isn't a priority right now.

    In an older version of the story, Cinderella plants a tree at the grave of her mother. In her sorrow, she waters it with her tears. every night. Then, the first night of a festival at the palace, she prays for a miracle.  She hears her mother's voice and a silver gown appears and thus she goes to the ball. The second night of the festival, she goes to her mother’s grave again and her mother gives her a gold gown. (If you have seen the movie version of “Into the Woods”, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella wears a gorgeous gold gown. It’s fabulous.)

    It's just such a beautiful thought, her mother still looking after her, even from beyond the grave. So sweet. In a way, I was inspired to make it silver by that version, too. 

    This gown has been in the works for quite some time, but I am very pleased with the final look. I will go into a few more construction details in the next blog post.

Yours in hard work, creativity, and a dash of Pixie Dust


Sarah
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