i happened to want to attend a fairy tale line dance party two weeks ago... when alice in wonderland wandered around my mind ever since i first knew about the party. it also made me wonder if there is such a thing as a alice in wonderland costume out there?
after some research, not only did i find some alice costumes, but also found out loads of interesting stuff about where the story comes from.
the animated film alice in wonderland that i was watching made it's premier way back in 1951 and was produced by walt disney but the original story comes from the book alice's adventures in wonderland which was written way back in 1865 by an english author called charles lutwidge dodgson under the pseudonym lewis carroll.
the book is basically about a girl named alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantastic world populated by creatures that have human like features.
many of the main characters of alice in wonderland and through the looking-glass, a book written later by lewis carroll have made their way into popular culture and thus there are also many fancy dress costumes based on alice in wonderland and through the looking-glass.
in some more detail, the main characters and where you can find the costumes are listed below:
alice in wonderland costumes
the character of alice often said to be based on alice liddell, a child friend of dodgson's. but dodgson himself said many times that his 'little heroine' was not based on any real child, but was entirely fictional. alice in the books is a logical girl, even pedantic, especially with humpty dumpty in the second book. according to through the looking-glass, she is seven and a half years old. alice in wonderland takes place on may 4th, alice liddell's birthday. through the looking glass takes place on november 4th, her half-birthday and alice even says that she is "seven-and-a-half - exactly."
alice is often shown wearing a pale blue knee-length dress with a white pinafore overtop, although the dress originally was yellow in the nursery aAlice", the first coloured version of alice's adventures in wonderland, that you can find in many alice in wonderland costumes. her blonde hair is held back with a wide black ribbon, and because of this they are now commonly called "alice bands".
the one that i wore was specially tailor-made for me by an aunt back in hometown. i was there about two weeks before the party. none of the local tailors willing to sew the dress. then i remembered that my aunt is the one whom i know that is really good in sewing. trust me people, i just showed her this pic and what an amazing job she did! i, as her niece of course was really proud wearing the dress that day... ツ
the white rabbit costume
the white rabbit appears at the very beginning of the book alice's adventures in wonderland, he wears a waistcoat, and mutters "oh dear! oh dear! i shall be too late!" alice eventually follows him down the rabbit hole into wonderland. the rabbit shows up again towards the end of the book, as a herald-like servant of the king and queen of hearts.
there are many white rabbit costumes and fancy dress outfits on the web and many even have waist coats, even the rabbit from playboy has a waistcoat and many can be used if you cannot find a "real" white rabbit costume.
the queen of hearts costume
the queen of hearts in alice and wonderland is a foul-tempered monarch, that carroll himself pictured as "a blind fury", she is quick to pass death sentences at the slightest offence. her most famous line in the book and one which she repeats often, is "off with their heads!"
the queen of hearts costumes are some of the best looking fancy dress outfits i have ever seen, even if you are not planning on a alice in wonderland theme, you could use these costumes just to be a queen of whatever!
the king of hearts
the king of hearts, when compared to the queen of hearts, is pretty moderate in the wonderland government. for example, when the queen, who enjoys ordering people to be beheaded, attempts to have alice executed because she was unable to answer who is lying down in front of her, the king of hearts reminds the queen that she is only a child.
other characters in alice and wonderland include and some of them shouldn't be too difficult to find generic costumes:
- the mouse
- the dodo
- the lory
- the eaglet
- the duck
- bill the lizard
- the caterpillar
- the duchess
- the cheshire cat
- the hatter
- the march hare
- the dormouse
- the knave of hearts
- the gryphon
- the mock turtle
although tweedledee, tweedledum, humpty dumpty, and the jabberwock are often thought to be characters in alice in wonderland, they actually come from through the looking-glass, but are sometimes included in film versions of the book.
anyway i hope that if you are looking for fancy dress costumes from alice in wonderland, i have in some way made the task easier as well as filled you in on a few facts from the story!
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