Cinematic Fashion Inspiration: Alice in Wonderland

By Caroline Elizabeth, Women’s Style Editor

The wonderful thing about Director Tim Burton is that he never compromises his imaginative, unique and often dark artistic vision, while creating movie after movie that become blockbusters or blockbuster cult favorites among millions of fans.

I remember the general anticipation surrounding the 2010 Burton movie “Alice In Wonderland”, and it lived up to my expectations in terms of not only how the story was played out, but also the over all design. The Academy Award-wining costumes were created by the talented Costume Designer Colleen Atwood and while I loved them all, I will focus on Alice played by Mia Wasikowska and the costumes she wore.

Alice starts off as a ladylike, proper Victorian girl with beautiful dresses, but I love how her main blue dress is believably transformed throughout the film. When she eats a cake that says “eat me”, she grows in size and her dress becomes ruffly, off-shoulder, and draped. At this point she looks messy in a glamorous way.

When Alice drinks the bottle that says “drink me” and shrinks, she takes some fabric and wraps it around herself to create a strapless outfit with a big flowery bow on the front.

When studying Alice’s different looks in the film for inspiration, I selected a few different options to go with, but all feminine and floaty dresses in various shades of blue. I chose two options for one-shoulder dresses, one with intricate details, and one with loose, billowy sleeves. Adding light pink or brown shoes that are a bit Victorian-inspired with lace or bow embellishments work well with this look. And though Alice is young, you might want to look at heels or wedges to avoid looking too youthful.

To me, pouch-style bags always suggest exploration, and Alice is certainly the adventurous type, so be sure to add one to your outfit. Last, is a clock pendant. Though Alice certainly doesn’t check the time frequently like the White Rabbit, adding this little detail is reminiscent of this part of the story’s theme.