Is it that time of year where you're looking for an awesome costume for all the prestigious Halloween parties you've been invited to? Or maybe you're planning a trip to The Happiest Place on Earth and want to make your trip EVEN MORE MAGICAL? You may have heard the term "DisneyBounding" but aren't quite sure what that means. You want to dress up, but dont want to wear a cheap or uncomfortable costume. Maybe you have a small budget and dont want to spend a ton of money. Maybe you have a really cool husband and he's given you a HUGE budget for costumes. Whatever your situation, DisneyBound is the answer.
Disneybounding is a really fun way to dress up as your favorite Disney characters without having to wear a cheap or uncomfortable costume. What I really love about it is that you can be as extravagant and obvious as you want, or you can go super subtle so only you know how magical your outfit really is.
A couple things that I LOVE about DisneyBounding is that you can literally go as obvious and extravagant as you'd like, OR you can go super subtle so that only you or die-hard Disney fans will recognize. THE IDEAS ARE ENDLESS PEOPLE!
DisneyBounding can also fall under ANY style of fashion out there. Like vintage like me? There's a DisneyBound for that. How about modern fashion? There's definitely a DisneyBound for that. Goth? Yup. Grunge? You betcha. Literally anyone can Disneybound and still feel like they are within their "style" of fashion.
HOWEVER! It does take some practice and here is where I am more than happy to help nudge you in the right direction.
HOW TO DISNEYBOUND LIKE A PRO
Watch the video below or keep reading!
DisneyBound Tip #1
Think in colors
The first thing I always do when styling a specific DisneyBound outfit is consider the colors of the character I۪m working on. Every Disney character has a very specific color palette, so when you see them together, you automatically get Disney vibes.
THEN, I start gathering UNIQUE clothing pieces (skirts, dresses, blouse, trousers, overalls, etc.) in those specific colors.
THE TRICK! Don۪t stress too much about the placement of colors. We want to give off the impression of a character without coming off as too
costume-y.
For example: in the movie, Snow White has a blue bodice, yellow skirt and red accents. For my DisneyBound, I switched it and paired a blue skirt, yellow top and red accents. Not exact, but it's still absolutely recognizable as Snow.
DisneyBound Tip #2
Accessorize
After you۪ve found your base clothing in the colors of your character, it۪s time to accessorize.
Accessories can have a HUGE impact to making your bounding outfit come to life.
I love my Cinderella DisneyBound, but on it۪s own it could be considered just a pretty blue dress. It۪s the accessories that make it recognizable as Cindy.
So here, I added her signature velvet black choker and unique slippers and... BOOM! We instantly get Cinderella vibes.
Tip #3
Consider ALL characters
When deciding on which character you want to Disneybound as, don۪t get stuck thinking you can only do a specific genre of character. You can literally bound AS ANYTHING. I've seen people Bound as animal characters, Disneyland rides/attractions or even different versions of beloved characters.
For example- I found the PERFECT Sally shirt from Nightmare Before Christmas but it was a men۪s shirt. So what did I do?
We switched!
I dressed up as the girl version of Jack Skellington and my hubby dressed up as the male version of Sally. So get creative! There۪s SO many options when you consider a wide variety of characters.
Tip #4
Play the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" Game
As you are styling, play the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes game to give you ideas of what you can add to give your outfit even more character, dimension and TEXTURE.
Consider adding:
- Hats
- Bows
- Scarves
- Jewelry
- Vests
- Knee high socks
- Shoes
- Collars
- Props
Two of my favorite things to add are:
-Subtle jewelry. Make it Minnie is my FAVORITE shop where I got my second star necklace and earrings.
-Collars. I love how feminine a collar makes an outfit look without adding a bunch of BULK. Magnus Clothing Co. is the MASTER at living COLLAR-fully.
Be sure to check them out because these ladies are passionate about what they do, and they do it well. I absolutely adore them both.
Tip #5
Hair and Makeup
Earlier I mentioned how awesome it is that Bounding can be subtle or obvious and one way to do that is through Hair and Makeup.
Hair
You can do your hair exactly like the character you are Bounding as. (High bun for Cinderella, dye it red for Ariel, etc.) Or you can keep it simple and do whatever you want. (Mine was down when I did Cinderella.) Whatever makes you feel magical.
If you want to get more creative with it, GO FOR IT. I personally like to do pin curls for Snow White. Or curly pig tails for Lady from Lady and the Tramp. Sometimes I color my hair, sometimes I wear a wig. I know I keep saying it, but THE OPTIONS ARE ENDLESS!!!
Makeup
If my DisneyBound outfit is already bold and obvious, I like to go with more subtle look on my makeup. (Unless I am going for a more "costume-y" look. . . Then I don't hold back!) _
However- if I have a simpler outfit, I go ALL OUT on my makeup because that will be my focal point.
My friend, Jen from Classy Cozmetics is the QUEEN at character makeup and is a great example of creating extravagant and obvious DisneyBound looks. Seriously, can you even handle her awesomeness?
Good luck with your outfits! Tag me at #StyleMeDisney so I can feature them! And follow me on instagram @hellowhimzy for more tips and tricks!