Fairy Tale Fashions -- guest post from Sarah Cross, author of Tear You Apart

Today's first guest post of the day comes from author Sarah Cross, who's been 'round these parts before (and whose books, Kill Me Softly and Tear You Apart, are a) some of my favorite covers of recent memory and b) high up on the list of books on my own shelves that need to be read soon!); today she joins us for our second fashion-y post of FTF (on Thursdays we talk fashion. ~_^), with a look at how you can rock fairy tale fashions in your own life!Check it out below, and then chat with us in the comments!

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You don't have to be a fairy-tale character to dress like one--and I'm not suggesting you don glass slippers or a donkey-skin cloak when you go out. Whether you want to add a few fairy-tale accessories to your wardrobe or dress like a modern princess, there are plenty of ways to make your fairy-tale obsession wearable. Here are a few of my picks. And if you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments!

DisneyBound

DisneyBounding is when you wear an outfit inspired by a Disney character or setting. For example: green pants, a purple tank top, and shell earrings could represent mermaid Ariel. It's a way to dress as your favorite character in the Disney parks without violating their no-costumes-for-adults rule, but you can DisneyBound wherever and whenever, and be as stealthy or obvious about it as you like.

Leslie Kay, the creator of the DisneyBound tumblr, posts original outfits and photos of DisneyBounders in action. Checking out her posts is a great way to get inspired if you're interested in
putting together a modern version of a Disney character's trademark look. There's no reason why you can't dress like Belle, Gaston, or the Beast every day. One of my favorite DisneyBounds is this Disney Princess vintage prom court by theladydamfino and friends.

Pinup Girl Clothing

Last year I decided to buy a Snow White-themed dress in honor of my Snow White retelling Tear You Apart. I figured I'd go with something apple print, because what else was I going to find, right? Then I stumbled across Pinup Girl Clothing's Fairytale Fantasy collection and found a print featuring poison apples, poison combs, a breath-stealing corset, the huntsman's dagger, cute Snow White faces and wicked witches. In other words: the Snow White dress of my dreams.

Do you like castles? Snow White? Peter Pan? Mermaids? Alice in Wonderland? In-house designer Micheline Pitt and illustrator Stephanie Buscema have created some of the coolest fairy-tale prints I've ever seen.

Cakeworthy

Cakeworthy specializes in T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and tanks with Disney quotes and subtle fairy tale references. Pose the eternal question with their "For who could ever learn to love a Beast?" T-shirt, or show your love for Cinderella with their pumpkin carriage play on the Coach logo.

Loungefly

Looking for a Disney-themed purse, backpack, or wallet? Ariel, Snow White, Tinker Bell, Alice in Wonderland, and Elsa and Anna are all here. Loungefly is constantly releasing new designs and discontinuing old ones, so grab your favorites before they disappear--like that really cute Belle purse I neglected to buy! (So sad.)

Modcloth

Check out the "fairytales" section for an ever-changing assortment of ethereal dresses, Alice and
Oz-themed items, and unicorn-everything (even shoes). Some of my current favorites include this frog prince purse and this "Once Upon a Time" necklace.

Coco and Duckie

If you need more fairy-tale jewelry in your life, this Texas boutique has some super cute, unique pieces based on Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, and Pinocchio. The "Down the Rabbit Hole" earrings are adorable, and the Snow White silhouette earrings are totally on my wishlist.

Magical Ribbons

Add some fairy-tale flair to your hair with bows and headbands from Magical Ribbons--or have any of the designs made into a bow tie instead. Bows range from elaborate, like the "Painting the Roses Red" bow, to the basic red bow headband that mimics Snow White's signature look. I'm partial to some of the villain designs, like "Maleficent" and "Seductive Seawitch" (which reminds me of Ursula's Vanessa disguise in The Little Mermaid).

Movie Tie-ins

Any time a new Disney fairy-tale movie comes out, there are guaranteed to be clothing and makeup collections that go along with it. Cinderella and Maleficent inspired M.A.C. makeup collaborations, and 2017's Beauty and the Beast movie will probably get one, too. (And it will probably sell out in a
matter of minutes. Damned limited collections!) As I write this, Kohl's Cinderella by Lauren Conrad collection is still available, and so is Hot Topic's Cinderella collection.

Lolita

If you want to dial the princessness up to eleven, Lolita brands do fairy-tale prints from time to time. Like this Disney Snow White collection from Baby the Stars Shine Bright, or Infanta's Snow White series. Haenuli currently has some Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid designs in their online store. You can see more fairy-tale Lolita gorgeousness at my fairy tale tumblr under the lolita tag.

Okay, fairy-tale fashion fans: what am I forgetting? Do you have any favorites we should know about?

~ Sarah

About Sarah's most recent book:

Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross
Get It | Add It
Fantasy / Fairy Tale Retelling, 384 pages
Published January 27th 2015 by EgmontUSA

If you want to live happily ever after, first you have to stay alive.

Viv knows there’s no escaping her fairy-tale curse. One day her beautiful stepmother will feed her a poison apple or convince her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Henley, to hunt her down and cut out her heart before she breaks his. In the city of Beau Rivage, some princesses are destined to be prey.

But then Viv receives an invitation to the exclusive club where the Twelve Dancing Princesses twirl away their nights. There she meets Jasper, an underworld prince who seems to have everything—but what he really wants is her. He vows to save her from her dark fate if she’ll join him and be his queen.

All Viv has to do is tear herself away from the huntsman boy who still holds her heart. Then she might live to see if happily ever after is a promise the prince can keep. But is life as an underworld queen worth sacrificing the true love that might kill her?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sarah Cross is the author of the fairy tale novels Kill Me Softly and Tear You Apart, the superhero novel Dull Boy, and the Wolverine comic "The Adamantium Diaries." She’s inspired by all kinds of art and illustration and curates a fairy tale art/fashion/books blog called Fairy Tale Mood (fairytalemood.tumblr.com). You can visit her online at www.sarahcross.com.

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