Disneybounding: Part 2, Colorblocking and Closet Shopping

This week we have another post from our Disneybounding expert – Mother Of Figments. If you’re new to “bounding,” you can check out her first post here.

I’ve had a few people come up to me and say, “I’d love to Disneybound, but it seems like so much work/so expensive/so costumey” to which I say “It really doesn’t have to be.” While some Disneybounders that I’ve seen tend to go fairly literal with their outfits, often purchased from specialty shops on Etsy, Unique Vintage (they embrace Disneybounding with verve), or are handmade, I usually tend to be more on the abstract side of things.  It’s fun, and oftentimes more budget-friendly, to collect fun accessories which can be added to an outfit to bring out the Character aspect.

I will be the first to admit that I love clothes and I love collecting clothes.  I am not the type of person who has a Capsule Wardrobe or finds shopping and putting outfits together a chore.  That said, I’m also very aware not to break the bank. As a result, a lot of my closet has been purchased at a discount or second-hand. I think that Bounding can still be done easily and well with a Capsule Wardrobe and accessories (Pins are my favorite go-to’s with Bounding).

The easiest, and most cost-effective method is Colorblocking.  When I think of Colorblocking a Disney character, two really come to mind immediately:  Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse. For Pooh, all that is needed is a red top and a gold/beige/yellow bottom.  Just putting the two together instantly tells me ‘Winnie the Pooh’. Finding a Pooh or honeypot or balloon pin just adds a little bit of that finishing touch.  All Mickey Mouse needs is a black shirt and red bottoms. Yellow shoes would be great, but aren’t needed, ditto a pair of Mickey Ears or a Mickey pin. 

Do you have a lot of black and purple in your wardrobe?  There’s Malifecent or Ursula! Black and Red? Mickey or Jafar.  Blue and White? Donald or Elsa or Alice in Wonderland. 

One personal example of Colorblocking is one that I’ve worn a couple of times to work.  I purchased this sweater on discount from Hot Topic because I thought it was pretty awesome.  At some point, I realized that I had these green pants that were purchased at Target. Put the two together and it’s Ariel.  (Pardon the cat. Nougat insisted.)

Another method that I like to use is to take articles of clothing and find Disney Inspiration.  Sometimes I’ll look through my closet or go shopping and realize ‘Wow, this is the perfect thing to represent Character Y.  I just need a couple of accessories.’ Color tends to play the main factor in this, but the details also do as well. A good example was the picture that I used in my first article when I wore the black and white polka-dotted dress and red petticoat for Dapper Days.  That dress had been sitting in my closet for a couple of years and had only been worn to one audition thus far. The red petticoat was found on sale and the yellow sandals were well-worn and well-loved. I realized the colors that I had were Mickey’s (or Minnie’s) colors.  I added in a vintage Mickey marionette necklace that my mom had given me and it was complete. 

A more recent example that includes a purchase (albeit a thrifty one) is for Cinderella.

I saw this dress online for an incredible price (Lindy Bop USA has great sales) and purchased it, knowing that we would be going to The Edison (a 1920s steampunk themed restaurant and bar) for this February Trip to Disney World.  The color and silver sparkle reminded me of Cinderella. Shortly after the dress arrived, I remembered that I had these silvery, crystal flats. (This could also work for Elsa in her Frozen 2 outfit.  Check out the trailer!)

Sometimes, we find things that are just to perfect or find that something needs to be Handmade/Altered. This is often where the lines blur between Bounding and Cosplay. These do tend to be a little more ‘costumey’ by virtue of the fact that someone put a lot of work into this outfit and wearing it outside of the Disney parks or a Convention might be less common.  

An example below is my Bound for Joy from Inside Out:

I was rather lucky in that someone already did the work for me and painted this yellow dress with Joy’s starburst pattern and sold it second-hand on Poshmark – I was just looking for a yellow skater dress or romper.  She obviously wore it as a costume as it came with a blue pixie-cut wig. I didn’t want to wear a wig around the parks so I found yarn and made myself a beanie to represent Joy’s blue hair. 

It’s certainly possible to spend more on Disneybounding and to purchase or make items specifically for that purpose.  An example of this would be my Steampunk Figment outfit which coincided with the trip where I discovered Disneybounding.  This outfit was compiled specifically for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (where adults can wear costumes!). The blouse and horns were purchased off of Etsy and the corset, which inspired the whole thing, was purchased from Zulily.  The wings and dragon-scale gauntlets were handmade. The skirt was part of a costume that I had made ten years earlier and the shorts underneath and stockings were some that I had already owned. I think I bought the shoes specifically for the event, but they were horrible.

If you want to look for something specific, there are many Etsy shops that enable bounding with shirts bearing actual patterns of character clothes, insignias, or quotes.  Just recently, I couldn’t resist a t-shirt with a quote from Rumple/Mr. Gold from Once upon A Time.  Paired with black shorts and gold makeup, I’d be happy to call it a Disneybound. Disney itself has created clothing items to assist with Bounding since it’s become so very popular.  Hot Topic, Torrid, and The Disney Store itself have all created lines of clothing meant for the everyday Disneybound and some are more obvious than others. That said, even my mom liked the Snow White sweater that I purchased with an embroidered apple and poison apple on the collar. 

Sometimes favorite characters may require a little more searching and funds, but part of the fun for me is finding the accessories that just make the outfit.  I started pin trading at the parks and collecting enamel pins sold there and discovered that these pins can add that little bit of Disney Magic to an outfit. On Christmas Day I wore an ‘All I Want For Christmas Is Halloween’ t-shirt from Unique Vintage, a black cardigan, and a Zero (Nightmare Before Christmas) pin.  All of a sudden, I have a Disneybound!  I recently purchased some Disney-like Bird pins from the local artist Holy Crow (find them at LadiesCon) that can be used for Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Cinderella bounds to add that extra little touch.  

It’s often easier and certainly more budget-friendly to look in one’s closet and see what you have to match a character because there are a lot of Disney characters out there and something can be found for nearly every color combination.  Add a special accessory or two and Bibbidi-bobbity-boo, you have a Disneybound!