Medieval Aurora

So, after a long, looong hiatus, here's my third Historically Accurate Disney Princess. This is Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty in a 1470s Burgundian style gown of sapphire-blue velvet and a brocade underskirt. It took a while to figure what era best suited this character aesthetically and conceptually, but I think this is the best. Even though Phillip in the movie states that it was the 14th century, there is nothing-- and I mean nothing-- 14th century about the costumes worn by any the characters. The movie's a gigantic mishmash of eras (which works fine for the movie) but it's kind of tricky for this sort of exercise.

Anyway, Aurora's off-the-shoulder collar, tight girded gown and long, very tight sleeves can only be found, out of the entire medieval era, in the late 15th century-- more specifically, in the last gasp of Burgundian fashion in the 1470s-80s-- so I went with that. I used these illuminations here and here for reference. (The brocade pattern came from this picture here.)

As for her hair, maidens back then frequently wore their hair loose-- it was also the accepted tradition at betrothals and weddings (not to mention coronations if you were a royal). You can see some of this in this depiction of a betrothal from Les Tres Riches Heures from the early 15th century. As for Aurora's crown, it's somewhere between the crown worn by Anne of Bohemia and the smaller crowns favored by Isabella of Castile.

My original preparatory sketch from April 2011 can be seen here. [link] As you can see, I pretty much stuck with my original concept, except I made her crown more ornate.

So there you go! More Disney princesses (or heroines, really) to follow.