The Belle Blues

The Disney film Beauty and the Beast came out when I was in first or second grade. I was in love with it.

I loved The Little Mermaid because she had red hair (this was really important to the only red hair girl on her street/in her school/at her church), but Belle was smart and read books and liked libraries! This was big for me. I was a book nerd young, and it was important to have other book nerds to look up to.

When I had my first communion in 1993, my mother informed me that she would not be making me a dress like she did my sister four years ago. I was supposed to use the dress my mother had created into existence and had bled into as she handstitched a yard of lace on to. I was told that I could choose to do something to the dress. She would make it look like something that I would like as well and not just be wearing a hand-me-down.

I pondered this a good while. It was important. I needed to look good. This was for God. And if I had learned anything from my mother about God at this point in my life (age 6), it was that God didn't like it when you wore ugly and casual clothes to church. That was not okay.

After much thought, I choose to have my dress look like Belle's--at least on the bottom. My mom gathered the top layer with little rosettes to expose the under petticoats. I thought it was the most awesome dress ever. It was white, of course, but it was also so much like Belle's. I twirled in it and pranced about. I loved it.

But, remember dear readers, I was 6.

This came out a few days ago:




Though not all those dresses are horrible. It still begs the question, why? Why would a grown woman want to dress up in a Little Mermaid inspired dress? Why

Sure dress up is fun, and if there is any day you are allowed to wear crazy dress-up clothes, it is your wedding. But seriously? Disney Princess wedding gowns? And they don't even really look like the Princesses. If I was going to go all Ariel I would either be in the Princess-Di inspired large sleeve mess or a shell bra and a hard to wear fin skirt.

If you're gonna do it, do it. Don't just fall to Disney-branded consumerism. Have a dress that changes colors! Invite little people to your wedding to sing cheery songs! Get some birds to help you get dressed! Be that princess!