Costume Blog Party! (Hosted by Movies Meet Their Match)

Yay! It's time for a party. The best kind of party too, the costumed kind. Being someone who loves to dress up, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do so in honor of Movie Critic's fifth blog anniversary (congrats on five years!)

The goal for this party is to find a recognizable character and write about them. And of course, dress up like them. All of which I enjoy doing.

The character I have chosen for this post is. . .

. . .

. . .

Alice in Wonderland!

If you have been on my blog for any amount of time, you'll know I loved Alice in Wonderland. I've been watching the animated movie since forever (and the Tim Burton one is awesome too).

The animated Disney classic, which came out in 1951, is probably in my top ten Disney movies. I love the way they told the classic story (combining both the book and the sequel, like most movies) and still gave it a strong narrative. I love the artwork, the animation, the colors, and the songs.

Alice in Wonderland has a very special place in my heart. I don't know why I was drawn to this story from an early age. But I was and have been fascinated with it ever since. It's even inspired my own passion project of a trilogy that I've been working on for years.

I think one of things I like best about it is the nonsense and whimsy. Things don't make sense, and yet, it makes perfect sense. Another thing I like, especially about the animated movie, which I think a lot of book retellings gets wrong, is the balance of light and dark.

Alice is a very silly adventure. Talking rabbits wearing waistcoats and never-ending tea parties. But there's also a darkness to it. Creepy forests. Queens threatening to cut off people's heads. Too often YA retellings go for the dark aspect, making everything about Wonderland terrifying.

But to me, there is light in the darkness. The two combine to make a beautiful balance. The silliness is balanced out by seriousness. That's what I've striven to show with my retelling. That even in the darkness, there's a glimmer of light.

But back to Alice. I chose her not only because she's one of my favorite characters, but because her costume is so iconic. The blue dress, white apron and stockings, black shoes and hairband. It's also very easy to put together with simple items in your closet.

To start, find a blue dress. The one I've chosen is darker than the animated one, but it's a good length. It also isn't as poofy, but this dress isn't designed to be worn with a hoop or petticoats.

Next, the white pinafore. I don't actually have a pinafore but I do have this white half apron, and it will work. You don't have to wear the apron, but it's a nice touch. (I ended up pinning the apron in half because it was much longer than the dress.)

I don't have white stockings either, but I'll wear white leggings and black flats. For my hair, I'll wear it down and tie it back with a black ribbon or black headband if you have it.

If you want to add any finishing touches with make-up, a simple everyday look with some mascara and a red colored lip gloss will do the trick.

And there you have it! A simple, DIY Alice costume. It's comfortable and pretty easy to recognize.

What's a story close to your heart? Do you like dressing up? Tell me in the comments.

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