DisneyBound Challenge 1: Favorite Princess

I’m participating in two DisneyBound challenges this year, and I’m looking forward to sharing these outfits with you! Olivia Wolfertz of Unpolished Ponderings and I will be putting together two looks—the first is inspired by our favorite Disney princess and the second will be inspired by a villain. A bonus? It’s easy to DisneyBound with chronic illness!

First up: what’s DisneyBounding? It’s a fun way to dress up inspired by the colors and aesthetics of your favorite characters, without going for a full costume.

Olivia and I have had fun collaborating in the past, and we wanted to do another blogging project together. You can read my interview with Olivia, part of my Invisible Illness, Visible Worth project, here. I also had a lot of fun answering Olivia’s questions about creativity and chronic illness in this interview on her blog.

 

So who’s my favorite Disney princess? The answer has always been Ariel! I love fairy tales and the ocean and mermaids. (Exhibit A: see the inspiration behind my blog name.)
I realized I’ve never actually dressed up as Ariel—not for Halloween or anything! I’m excited to finally do an Ariel-inspired look, and maybe a full costume will have to be in my future.

DisneyBounding is an easy way to be creative if you’re dealing with limited energy due to chronic illness. I love dressing up, and this is a low-stress, low-cost way for me to have fun with what I wear, even when I’m dealing with symptoms of fibromyalgia, POTS, ME/CFS and my other chronic conditions.

On to the DisneyBound photos!

 

I decided to switch Ariel’s purple top and green/turquoise tail for a turquoise top and green shrug and purple skirt based on what clothes I already have. One of the great things about DisneyBounding is you can work with the clothes you own vs. going shopping for a costume.

I like how the details on my shrug look like mermaid scales!

I wore these amazing mermaid earrings that I bought from Etsy a few years ago.

 

The outfit could use a hair accessory to top it off, and I was so excited to realize I have a pinkish purple flower hair clip that looks similar to the flower Ariel puts in her hair! Serendipity for the win!

I was originally going to wear beachy sandals for this outfit but went with these black wedges instead. They reminded me of the heels Ariel wears in the village. Plus, I could put my compression socks back on once I got most of the photos. They’re a must for helping my low blood pressure due to POTS.

I like that this outfit didn’t turn out costumey, and the fun bright colors work perfectly for a summery get -together. As much as I love a good costume, I like that DisneyBounding can be more subtle.

Taking photos with props is another easy way to get  creative with DisneyBounding.

 

Check out what princess inspired Olivia’s outfit here!

Stay tuned for my next post, where I will be dressing up in an outfit inspired by a villain!

PS I just joined Instagram and will be sharing more Disneybounds in October! Follow @cassiecreleyblog

 

Any guesses on what villain I will choose?
Which characters would you like to wear outfits inspired by? Anyone else like to DisneyBound with chronic illness as a way to get creative?

Want more Ariel? Check out my altered coloring book art, where I changed a coloring book page to make Ariel a pirate. You can find the coloring book makeovers I gave other Disney princesses too.

Want more costume fun? Check out my tips for throwing a themed VIRTUAL escape room.

For more on chronic illness and fashion, check out: My Criteria For Comfortable Clothes & What I’m Loving Right Now.