Superficial standards for beauty are fickle beasts to follow – they come and go, change and go out-of-style, caring nothing for humanity. I prefer appreciating the more meaningful qualities. When it comes to princesses, Belle from Disney’s 1991 animated fairytale movie, has the spunk, self-confidence, intelligence, love of learning, independent spirit, concern for family, and loving heart enough to be beautiful in more ways than the frivolous! Now that I’m older, the tale of “Beauty and the Beast” seems weirder to me than when I was little, yet Belle is still “my” princess nonetheless. The fact she loves to read, has brown hair and eyes (both like me), and is of a different breed of Disney “royalty” always has resonated with me. Goodness, my parents bought me the special “New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast” comic books, the dolls, and handheld game when I was a child because I couldn’t get enough of Belle’s story!
Thus, her iconic golden yellow dress was the first creation I made for my “Pandemic Princess” series. My mom had sewed me a version of that dress for a beauty pageant when I was little. This time around, Belle’s ball dress was my birthday present to myself in 2019, and it became the catalyst to all the rest of the Disney outfits which have followed since. My birthday is always my day to feel like a princess, anyway, so being able to wear this gloriously swishy, glamorous dress was a dream come true! As I just had my special day come around again, I thought it appropriate to post this particular dress now.
This is also my most recognizable ‘copy’, where you can easily see my inspiration. Yet, as I have said in my flagship announcement for the series (posted here), many of my princess inspired are channeled through the lens of the year the movie was released. In this case, I found a pattern from circa 1991 which had a similar silhouette, neckline, and shoulder details to Belle’s dress, with just my kind of interesting tweak to the style. I always have to take an original interpretation to be happy and this is why I call this my “Modern Beauty” dress!
THE FACTS:
FABRIC: the exterior is an all rayon twill, with the body lined in an all-cotton, and the sleeves lined in a golden tan polyester; several layers of pre-ruffled sheer golden organza become the attached petticoat to the dress’ lining
PATTERN: McCall’s #5999, year 1992
NOTIONS: one 22” invisible zipper and lots of thread, with a bit of embroidery floss for some hand stitching
TIME TO COMPLETE: This took about 25 to 30 hours to make and was finished August 1, 2019.
THE INSIDES: all raw edges are covered up by the full body lining
TOTAL COST: Each yard of the rayon twill fabric was on closeout for $6 through Hobby Lobby, and the cotton was the basic broadcloth from JoAnn Fabrics. The ruffled chiffon was a remnant on clearance from JoAnn Fabrics for $10 at one yard. Altogether, this dress cost me about $50.
First off, you have no idea how I fussed over finding the right golden color to create this dress! When searched for a “golden” color, I found tones of beige, yellow, and orange. Even then, one cannot trust the accuracy of what a computer screen is showing you will receive. What I see in Belle’s dress is primarily a very orange toned yellow, though, one that will go with beige tones well. My rayon twill outer fabric was originally (on its own) much brighter than I wanted. However, the fact is was semi-sheer gave me the opportunity to turn the shade into just what I was looking for by having the lining be darker. The true color as it turned out was hard to capture in photos…whether I’m in full sun or the shade changes the tone. Yes, I know I am a perfectionist but I think it pays off in the end.
As this is a princess seamed dress, it is not only appropriate in theme but also a very big fabric hog. The pattern needed much more than the 3 yards of both the rayon and its lining that I had on hand, but I was feeling cheap and didn’t want to buy anymore. A midi length dress was my ideal, as it is less formal but still elegant. I trimmed down the width of the flare to the skirt from the hips to accommodate my shorter yardage yet still keep the length. Even still, the skirt is so very full, making the dress quite heavy, and I’m glad there isn’t any more than 3 yards to each layer. Yes, that means there are six yards in total, not counting the yard of double layered ruffled trimming to the hem, whew!
As much as I like an open shouldered look, I reconciled myself to something more sensible for my version of Belle’s hallmark gown. A dress this substantial that is also strapless sounded like a nightmare to turn out successful unless I added a fully structured bodice much like what was done to couture gowns in the era of the 1950s. This is a 90’s dress that – though well shaped to my body and fancy, too – I intended to be wearable by being effortless and casual. A structured body would counter that.
Neither did I want to do the ‘’work” and once a sewing project becomes drudgery to me, it is no longer enjoyable, and that completely defeats the intended purpose of my sewing, especially when it comes to fun princess outfits. The hem ruffles are added to the lining to eliminate the need to wear a crinoline yet still softly shape the skirt…easy, right? Along this vein, the shoulder straps were added to support the heavy dress without needing an internal structured bodice. I can pop this dress on then zip it up without any specialty lingerie, fussy closures, or restrictive shaping needed. I was wanting a princess dress for modern times, and I kept it that way. There’s no use to even making this dress at all if I’m not the one ecstatic about it!
Of course, I still have the dropped, off-the shoulder sleeves, just like the inspiration gown. Of course, if I was to get technical, Belle didn’t really have sleeves – just a shoulder drape that is part of an extended neckline decoration which to me looks like a home décor sash. My dress’ sleeves are so much cuter and easier to wear than I already expected. They are joined under the arm only up to the nearest princess seam and merely float over my arm. I absolutely love this feature although it does fool me into thinking that the sleeves are going to fall off! (Silly me, I forget they are attached.) It made for some interesting sewing that I haven’t done before, that’s for certain. In the future, if I want a ‘closer to the original’ kind of cosplay piece, it would be easy to add to my dress some sort of shoulder/neckline drape (as well as skirt draping) like what was on Belle’s gown.
As I couldn’t bear to just plainly top-stitch down the sweetheart neckline or leave it blank, I did some simple decorative hand-stitching across the front. I made a stitch that calls to mind some sort of chain because I was thinking about how weird it was the way Belle transformed her captivity under the Beast. We tend to forget that she was a ‘prisoner’, in one way or another, for most of the movie. Belle had many good qualities, but her honest regard for her life situations wasn’t one of them. Just one small touch in the details of my dress alludes to my current adult outlook on the animated film.
There are several significant pairings with my outfit which help me fully immerse myself into Belle’s world. The most important of any accessory is the red roses I’ve included. The real roses I am holding were part of a dozen which were gifted to me as a birthday present from my Aunt on my mom’s side. The necklace rose is a memento piece from my Grandmother on my dad’s side. My mirror – like my roses – might not be magic, but still special. The mirror is part of a sterling silver dresser set (including comb and brush) that I received from my parents as a present when a young girl. Yet, it was my background setting which is what really helped me feel totally in character for these pictures. It is an old abandoned stone church that has been shored up and overtaken by ivy but left to become a now popular photo location in the city. It completely reminds me of the stately but derelict atmosphere of the Beast’s castle.
I hope you too can relate to my Belle inspiration here because I know “Beauty and the Beast” is one of the most popular fairytales and has received many other iterations other than through Disney. The original story is even more enchanting than any Hollywood version, though. Nevertheless, it is great to relive a childhood memory in a tactile way, especially when it’s a good memory. So far, this is not my most worn princess creation, but it might be my favorite just because of the treat that it is and the way I interpreted it. I wish for such a euphoric garment on everybody…especially on their birthdays!
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