Disney Princesses: Artists Reimagines in Historical Costumes

Artist Claire Hummel grew up watching Disney films and is a little obsessed with costumes. Last weekend she attended LA's annual Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball dressed in elaborate, hand sewn "rococo punk" attire and this week she's headed to Comic Con San Diego. Her twin fascinations merged after her sister got a job as a costumed interpreter. "My sister Emily, who runs the amazing blog Arrested Westeros, was working at Colonial Williamsburg and whenever I'd meet her friends in the tailor shop I'd think about what Belle would actually be wearing were she properly dressed for the era," she explained to Yahoo! Shine. "This eventually culminated in my historical Belle illustration, and it quickly snowballed into an ongoing project for me." After two years, she has drawn 14 Disney Princesses and recently, female villains, in more historically accurate dresses and has no plans of stopping. She says she's taken some creative liberties with the style. "These are for fun…they're not diagrams," but Hummel estimates the outfits are about 85-90% accurate. She encourages fans to cosplay (short for "costume play," when enthusiasts meticulously dress up as their favorite characters) her designs and says she'll be keeping an eye out for them at Comic Con. You can see all of her drawings at deviantart.com. -- Sarah B. Weir, Senior Writer