Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton in Netflix’s 2020 hit series, “Bridgerton,” known for its sumptuous costume design.
What Is Bridgerton About?
On December 25, 2020, Bridgerton Season One dropped on Netflix. It’s a TV series from Shonda Rhimes and Chris Van Susen that is based on a series of books by Julia Quinn. Season one follows the first book, The Duke and I.
The Bridgertons are a well-known, long-established family at the upper echelons of London society. The eldest daughter of the family, Daphne, is the focus of season one of the show—especially her relationship with Simon Bassett, the Duke of Hastings (hence the title of the first book).
Bridgerton became a massive success soon after its release. In fact, the series was so popular that its costumes and sets inspired a new style known as “Regency-core.”
Be warned: In discussing the costumes, Season 1 plot elements will be spoiled.
This a repost of my own article originally on Hubpages
Silver, Gray or Whitish Disney Outfits, NO Wedding Gown
Cinderella
I’ve done many articles ranking costumes by colors from different types of movies (period, fantasy, etc). And for the most part they were hosted on Hubpages, long story super short, they will we be rolling out here in the near future.
But one type of movie I’ve neglected in those articles was animated movies. So since it’s January and it’s cold and snowy, I thought let’s rank silvery, gray and/or white costumes from Disney Animated Movies that are not Wedding Gowns. In the future we’ll rank non-Disney dresses because there are a lot great opinions out there.
There actually not as many costume in this color palette as one might think but there is enough for a compelling list. Also an old rule I had was one character from one movie but not in this case, only requirements are a female costumes, not a wedding gown, from a Disney Animated Movie and mostly reads as silver, white, or grayish. Mostly cool shades are the name of the game but one be slight.
Six is a concert style musical based on the wives of Henry the VIII. The plot is essentially a competition based on which wife had it the worst with Henry.
The costumes of Six are definitely interesting. They are very structured and artistic. They reference modernity, Tudor fashion, armor, stained glass windows, Tudor architecture as well a lots of symbolism with the show itself. Love them or hate them, the costumes are very unique recognizable to the show.
While Disney Esmeralda is a gold standard for a compelling Halloween costume, Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame does offer some more unexpected costume ideas. They range in complexity from items that may already be in your closet to more elaborate designs.
These are in no order but the last one might be the most scary one of all……
1. Djali
Djali, Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Djali is the best (a Literal GOAT.) One could get a goat costume and add the gold hoop earring or you could do a cute Disneybounding type look with a cute gray outfit, goat ears and the earring, sort like the SNL A Girl’s Halloween skit.
You could also do the same with Achilles and copy his bridle but less people might get it unless you were with a Phoebus.
2 & 3. The Guards
Brute and Oaf Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Often called the Brutish and Oafish Guards, these two are very mean and hostile in the movie. Basically a medieval knight costume and one has a bushy mustache. Could be very fun as a duo.
Bonus points if you do a Patrick Star impression, if you know than you know.
4. The Old Heretic
The Old Heretic Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Old Heretic is a running gag throughout the movie. It’s a fairly easy costume with tattered clothing and a white bread.
Bonus points to those who include some kind of prison prop to the costume like a cage or a pillory.
5. Fire Vision Esmeralda
Esmeralda as a fire demon dancing Hellfire Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
This is a really cool variation of Esmeralda. In “Hellfire” Frollo sees visions of her dancing in the flames. One could do this costume in a few ways like one her costumes but in lightweight fabrics to suggests flames. I love this idea so much.
6. Creepy Hellfire Judge
Frollo singing Hellfire Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
This would be so wonderfully creepy, especially as a group of them with someone dressed up as Frollo. Really this one is pretty simple, it’s dark red hooded cloak with a blacked out face mask. I also love this idea
7. Creepy Statue
Frollo stares at Notre Dame during the Bells of Notre Dame FDisney Hunchback of Notre Dame
The way the statues stare down at Frollo in damning judgment is very chilling indeed. This idea is more conceptual than actually a recognizable part of the movie but you may have fun as a creepy judgment statue.
8. Nightmarish Gargoyle
Another one of Frollo’s hallucination as costume idea. Basically this idea is the hellish, nightmare gargoyle that casts Frollo into a figurative hell. This gargoyle is a nice contrast from the comedy trio.
9. The Torturer
Frollo with Phoebus Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
A bit character to be sure but this guy is scary as he loves what he does. The costume is simple and similar to guards but with a black hood, a whip, spike gauntlets, plus a mustache. Doesn’t have a lot of screen time but he makes an impression as he adds to Frollo’s sick sense of humor.
Worst case scenario everyone thinks you’re a torturer and can’t place your costume from the movie but that can be you’re own little secret.
10. The Church Lady
A Noble Lady, God Help the Outcast Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
This could be a harder costume to make but it could be an interesting costume. She does bare a slight resemblance to Frollo too.
11. Madeline
Madeline, Hunchback of Notre Dame II Disney
Nothing is scarier than a Straight-to-Video Disney sequel, so why not lean-in to it and dress up a Madeline. It’s not too hard a costume as it consists of a light-green skirt and bodice with white sleeves and a short blonde wig. I’m terrified just thinking about the Hunchback II.
Would you dress up as any of these for a costume party?
It’s the culmination of the Spooky Season, Halloween.
The characters of the Magical Adventures of Quasimodo wear a lot of disguises. Heck, in episode eight they have a Halloween-like festival. What are they all wearing this year for “Witches Eve???”
Whose Costume would Win Best Costume?
Quasimodo as Aladdin…maybe?
Quasimodo in costume with Azarof
Not really sure what Quasimodo is dressed up here. The fez makes it look like an Aladdin costume. It’s defiantly a look though.
Esmeralda as a Frightful Old Lady
Esmeralda as an Old Lady
This is the first time that a Quasimodo calls an Esmeralda “ugly.” However that means it’s a convincing costume.
Frollo as The Reaper
Frollo looking Scary
Classic Frollo! If wasn’t for the scythe this could have been a Phantom of the opera costume.
So you likeThe Hunchback of NotreDame enough to dress-up from it for Halloween? However you don’t want to be too on the nose. You also want to be weird, or clever or just not a “character” from the novel.
Well here is a list for you. It is a List of Vaguely Hunchback costume ideas that can be as big and crazy as you want or something more last minute.
Also these don’t have to be strictly for Halloween, any costume party would do.
There are ten costume ideas. There are in no real order.
Enjoy
A Gargoyle
Notre Dame’s Gargoyle
For whatever reason Gargoyles are NOT a popular choice for Halloween and I think that is a darn shame. Not ONLY are the monstrous but they ward off evil spirits. They are also iconic for Hunchback as they a prominent feature of Notre Dame and they are liken to Quasimodo.
A Medieval High Justice
Jehan Frollo, Sir Cedric Hardwicke 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame
A costume basically inspired by Disney Frollo or the 1939 version. You could also do the scepter Priest which is from the book.
Goat
Djali Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
An Animal costume is classic costume choice. Goats also have scary connotations so it works on that level too. If You WANT to make it Book Djali make the horns gold and add some card that spell Phoebus in a pretty script. Disney version add a hoop earring.
Poet Juggler
Gringoire balancing a chair Jetlag version Hunchback of Notre Dame
This one is open to interpretation. Basically inspired by Gringoire. You could opt to make a prop chair to balance in your teeth too. A prop chair would be great at parties.
Printing Press
Richard Harris as Frollo and the Printing Press
A weird and out there pick but also very creative. You will be the only one.
Hennin Princess
Danielle Dumont as Fleur de Lys, 1956 Hunchback of Notre dame
Inspired by Fleur de Lys. You would be free to choose any color and decoration you want so long as you have the headgear. Though you are free to add Fleur de Lys in you want.
A Knight
Phoebus (Norman Kerry) 1923 Hunchback of Notre Dame
Inspired by Phoebus. A basic staple idea although you go with the Burgundian in style. That would require research. Or you a do a Medieval take on a Roman look which is sort of what Disney did. Or you could just be a very shiny Knight as handsome as the sun.
An Alchemist
Frollo (Alain Cuny) practices alchemy, 1956 The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Frollo did practice Alchemy in the book. What would an Alchemist wear????? Up to you. Some wear red jackets with the Flamel cross on the back.
A Stained Glass Window
Notre Dame’s South Rose Window
Yet another Creative weird pick. This one could be very striking and crazy. You could take inspiration from the Notre Dame Rose Windows or some other motif. This is the one I’d most liked to see done.
A Bell
Garou as Quasimodo with a bell
And last but not least, A Bell. You can’t have Hunchback without a Bell. You could go ONE STEP further and be Belle Bell. Do with that as you will.
Which of these ideas would you pick???? I’m Curious.
I’m just going to discuss Jasmine’s and Aladdin’s costumes. The costumes were designed by Michael Wilkinson. He has designed costumes for Sucker Punch, Twilight Breaking Dawn parts 1 & 2, 300 and American Hustle and Batman V Superman.
These costumes are bad. They don’t read as for a major movie with a budget. They look more in keeping with a Disney on Ice show. Let’s just talk about the lack of midriffs. I didn’t think I would miss such an element but the way Jasmine’s costume is cover with a flesh tone fabric over her midriff looks weird. Like she was in an ice show and needed to keep warm or if the actress was extremely modest. Or were they trying to go for a meld of cultural/historical authenticity? Because it would be weird for Disney to start now, with Jasmine’s midriff as a point of contention. It’s just a weird choice. I don’t get it and I hate it.
Also all the details is just more on more with just more. When it’s that much it starts to look cheap. Removing a few details would have help Jasmine’s costume. Like that gold thing down her bodice. What is that? Or the other gold edging on her bodice. Or those circle details that are on the nude part. I hate it.
Her jewelry is also so bad looking. I’m not even sure what the basis for the design was because it wasn’t Jasmine’s jewelry or existed jewelry from the Middle East or even India. It looks really modern to me. Like the got this from a Walmart and made a crown to match. I hate it.
Then there’s Aladdin’s costume and oh boy what is going on here? He’s in a pinstripe shirt with red vest. With striped pants and shoes. Also his pants have a little button at the cuff. What? Why? At least he has his fez. If he didn’t have his red fez I wouldn’t have know it was him. No scratch that, if it wasn’t for the fact that they said it was Aladdin I couldn’t have known it was the same character.
Maybe this is Aladdin’s costume later in the movie, after he meets the Genie and he gets a new outfit and shoes. I don’t know but hate it.
I will say that I don’t hate the textures of the fabrics, which is a weird thing to say but they look nice.
The costumes in Once Upon a Time for these characters were so much better. These one are just confused and tacky. I hate them.
It is bad that I hope maybe they will look better in the context of the movie? I mean they could. Here’s Hoping.
Isabelle Guerin as Esmeralda Roland Petit Notre Dame de Paris
The costumes of the ballet are just so fascinating. First of there are no tutus in this production everything is very streamline and mod which fits the era. Though It was a little early for the trend of mod but we will get to that.
Natalia Osipova as Esmeralda, Roberto Bolle as Quasimodo and Mick Zeni as Frollo, Roland Petit Notre Dame de Paris 2013
The first area of interest is the use of colors and the lack of colors. The principal roles mostly wear neutrals. Quasimodo wears brown, Frollo wears black, Esmeralda wears white with black details in first act and purple in the second and Phoebus wears white with a touch of blue. The corps de ballet are the one who wears the colors. So the principal dancers do stand out.
Yves St Laurent’s design for Phoebus
Yves St Laurent, the fashion designer, designed the costume and said that he was inspired by stained glass windows and also Mondrian. Mondrian was a dutch modernist painter from the early 20th century and was part of the De Stijl movement.
What I find really fascinating is around 1965 Yves St Laurent did a collection that was inspired by Mondrian which really shaped the fashion of the late 60’s. So did his work on Notre Dame de Paris inspired that collection or was it a case of it all just happening at the same time? In an interview Yves St Laurent did site Mondrian as an inspiration for Phoebus’ costume. So did the ballet have an impact on late 1960’s fashion as it help inspired Yves St Laurent? Maybe.
Quasimodo in Roland Petit’s Notre Dame de Paris
Also I should point out that Yves St Laurent also said that Quasimodo’s costume was inspired by frescos. So everything was inspired by cathedral elements which is perfection.
Phoebus and Esmeralda in Roland Petit’s Notre Dame de Paris
Getting back to the costumes Esmeralda and Phoebus’ their costumes have a extra layer that is pulled off to imply nudity during their tryst which is very interesting and surprising. I do love it when costumes are interactive and part of the narrative, like Cinderella’s transforming dress in Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella or even when Christine Daae gets her big skirt put on during Think of me in Phantom.
Natalia Osipova
as Esmeralda & Roberto Bolle as Quasimodo
One aspect that I find slightly puzzling is while I don’t mind Esmeralda in white at the start of the Ballet, as it’s the conscious decision to put the principles in neutral, I don’t get why she wears dark purple in the second act. In a pure sense of the novel Esmeralda wears white while she in Notre Dame but here it’s purple. It’s a pretty shade but the decision is weird. If I were to venture guess I would say that the reason is very simple as that dark purple color is a very prominent color in the stained glass windows especially the South Rose window. Plus Esmeralda does not need to stand out as much as the corps de ballet has less to do with the second act. So maybe it’s not such a weird decision.
Quasimodo and Esmeralda in Roland Petit Notre Dame de Paris Ballet
All in all the costumes are very in keeping with a 1960’s point of view and burgeoning styles of the later parts of the decade. However I love that Yves St Laurent went for his inspiration and combine it with the modern aesthetic of the time to create a real look for this ballet that is wholly unique.
Also is you look up Yves St Laurent you get a pair of earring that fit Esmeralda perfectly. Perfect for Disneybounding if you got the funds.
Disclaimer: I know very little to nothing about Medieval Fashion and even less about the Romani people. Also this post only focuses on Esmeralda and Fleur de Lys’ costumes.
Michelle Newell as Esmeralda The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1977
On first glance Esmeralda’s costume in this version sucks. It looks like something a Juliet would wear. It’s a pink overdress with a high waistline with a dark red and gold embroidered bodice. It’s layered over a chemise with bell sleeves and embroidered armbands. She wears bangles on both wrists and has pink ribbons in her hair. It also seems like she has another gold over layer around the bodice that has some streamer-like detail going done the skirt What is this costume?
Michelle Newell as Esmeralda
Well this could be one the worst contextually Esmeralda costumes or it could be one of the most accurate. Isn’t that a crazy thing to suggest?
Looking at art from the late 1400’s with Romani as the subject matter, they didn’t dress all that dissimilarly from White Europeans. They do seem to be wearing a cloth headdress which is exactly what we see in Caravaggio’s fortune teller painting and in Manfredi’s painting but not in Vouet’s fortune teller painting. What is in all these paintings that is in not in the earlier illustrations is the sari-like drape garment. So it would seem, at least me, that the blanket sari-like wrap was a garment worn by the Romani in the late 1500’s and not in the 1400’s. Could be wrong but given the art available, it points to that notion.
Michelle Newell as Esmeralda
Which bring us back to the 1977 version of Esmeralda and her Juliet-ish costume. A pervasive thought is that Romani were given clothing for fortuning or what not, so Esmeralda COULD have been given this dress in exchange for pleasing some noble for her dancing. Makes a certain level of sense.
Michelle Newell as Esmeralda
Comparing Esmeralda’s costume to Fleur de Lys’ costumes you may notice that Esmeralda’s dress has a different silhouette. Fleur’s costumes are more in keeping with the style of noble women in the 1480’s. The color for Fleur and Esmeralda’s costumes were inspired by the 1956 version of Hunchback; a red tone for Esmeralda and blues for Fleur, someday we’re going to discuss the topic of Esmeralda wearing red again, because I have more to say on that subject.
Hetty Baynes as Fleur de Lys
Since we’re on the topic, all Fleur’s costumes are all very beautiful in this version. She gets the fur trim and the hennin which all things that were in style for a lady of her standing in the 1480’s.
Michelle Newell as Esmeralda
Esmeralda’s costume looks a bit more like the style from the 1450’s which had a higher waist line but was that costume designer Dorothea Wallace’s intent? Was Wallace’s aim to emulate a style from the 1450’s suggesting that Esmeralda was gifted her dress? Or is there something else operating here? Something Groovy???
Dior pattern from 1977
Like every single period movie ever, costume design is more of a reflection of the time in which the movie is made rather than historical accuracy. It’s a truth! In the 1977 version while there is a historical silhouette that looks like Esmeralda’s movie costume, the silhouette was in vogue in the 1970’s especially with long gowns. High-waisted empire waistlines were not super popular in the late 1970’s but you did see it. Also the dull muted pink color of Esmeralda’s dress was in keeping with the muted earth tones that dominated 70’s fashion. Whereas Fleur’s costumes are light and bright in color I.E not as trendy for the decade. See another example here
Michelle Newell as Esmeralda
Does this mean anything? In my non-expert expert opinion, I think this means the costume of Esmeralda is trying to endear the audience to Esmeralda as her costume is aesthetic pleasing to the times and Fleur de Lys’ costumes are not as trendy. Meaning the costumes are showcasing the lovable tragic heroine and the cruel rich bitch.
Michelle Newell as Esmeralda
So while Esmeralda’s costume is a 1970’s take on Medieval style and Fleurs’ costumes are a little bit more in keeping with medieval sensibilities but are the costumes in the 1977 version good? For the most part they are good.As earlier started Fleur de Lys costumes are all lovely but Esmeralda’s costume doesn’t seem correct. This actually could be less of the fault of the costume and more with the casting. Michelle Newell is not a great casting pick for Esmeralda. This costume does showcase a sweeter Esmeralda that had not been seen since 1923 but it just doesn’t really work with the character or the attitude of the actress.
Michelle Newell as Esmeralda
Esmeralda’s costume could have read as more accurate depiction of what a young Romani woman could have worn in the 1480’s, the reality is that her costume was just made with the 1970’s fashion aesthetics in mind.
