Fashion Inspiration: Walt Disney’s Princess Tiana
The newest Walt Disney Princess, Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, may not be a character we grew up idolizing, but just because she’s new doesn’t mean we can’t be inspired by her. Not only is this princess hard working, committed, and intelligent, but she also has a really great fashion sense.
Like the previous articles in this series, the purpose of this article is to use a childhood idol as inspiration for outfits that you can actually pull off as a college student. All it takes is a little creativity! For more Disney-inspired looks, check out the articles on Walt Disney’s Snow White, Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Walt Disney’s Cinderella, and Walt Disney’s Princess Jasmine.
Princess Tiana’s Story
Tiana is a waitress during the Jazz Age in New Orleans who dreams of someday owning a restaurant. She believes that anything is possible as long as you work hard, so she works constantly and saves up enough money to put a down payment on the perfect building to house “Tiana’s Place.”
Meanwhile, the city of New Orleans is buzzing with the news that the handsome Prince Naveen of Maldonia has arrived. Recently cut off from his parents’ money, the prince is looking for a rich Southern Belle to marry. Tiana’s friend, Charlotte, is the daughter of one of the richest men in the city. She is intrigued with the idea of marrying a prince, so she invites him to her Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball.
Before Prince Naveen arrives at the ball, the evil voodoo witch doctor, Dr. Facilier, tricks the prince and his butler into believing he can make their dreams of money and power come true. Instead, he changes the butler’s body into Prince Naveen’s body, and transforms Prince Naveen into a frog.
The butler attends the ball, pretending to be Prince Naveen, hoping to marry Charlotte and split the money with Dr. Facilier, while Tiana gets the unfortunate news that someone has outbid her on her restaurant. The true Prince Naveen, in frog form, stumbles upon Tiana, who is wearing a blue dress and a tiara. He thinks that being kissed by a princess will turn him human again. Assuming she is a Princess, he convinces Tiana to kiss him by promising to give her enough money to cover the cost of her restaurant. When she finally agrees to kiss him, instead of turning him human, she turns into a frog!
They escape to the bayou, where they meet an alligator with dreams of playing jazz music and a firefly who is in love with a star. Their new friends help them find the Voodoo Queen of the Bayou, who tells them that Naveen must be kissed by Charlotte, who is the Princess of Mardi Gras, before midnight. The two frogs, Tiana and Naveen, learn a lot from each other through this journey, and they end up falling in love.
They rush back to the city, and after defeating the menacing Dr. Facilier, Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen so the frogs can be human again. Unfortunately, it’s past midnight and the kiss has no effect. They decide not to let being frogs bother them, so they make the best of it and get married. When they kiss at the wedding, they turn into humans again because Tiana is now a true princess. The two open Tiana’s dream restaurant and live happily ever after.
1. Tiana the Waitress
Just because Tiana works two jobs, it doesn’t mean she looks like a mess. She makes her yellow work dress look very put-together by adding an adorable cloche hat and green jacket.
To help you emulate her look, I chose a yellow sundress and paired it with a short-sleeved cardigan and straw hat with 1920s flare. Finally, the addition of pretty oxfords and a layered necklace will have you looking chic well into fall.
Hat- Tilly’s, Necklace- Wet Seal, Dress- Urban Outfitters, Sweater- Old Navy, Shoes- Steve Madden
2. Daydreams of “Tiana’s Place”
Tiana is very passionate about her goal of owning a restaurant, and she often daydreams of walking around her restaurant in a swanky dress, socializing with her customers.
To recreate this look, I used a beaded drop-waist dress, Mary Jane pumps, and, of course, a strand of pearls. Overall, the look really gives off a fabulous 1920s vibe.
Necklace- Dorothy Perkins, Clutch- French Connection, Dress- Miss Selfridge, Headband- Forever 21, Shoes- Amazon.com
3. The Big Kiss
At the Mardi Gras Ball, Tiana spills a tray of beignets, ruining her outfit, so she changes into one of Charlote’s ball gowns, a gorgeous blue dress with an open back. Finally, she accessorizes with a tiara.
For a modern outfit inspired by Tiana’s blue dress, I chose a light blue mini dress with an open back. Instead of including a tiara, which would be impractical and a little costume-y, I chose a bib necklace that mimics the shape of her tiara in a more subtle way.
Necklace- Jules B, Shoes- Endless, Dress- ASOS
4. The Happy Ending
When Tiana kisses Prince Naveen at their wedding, she transforms back into a human wearing a gorgeous green dress.
For this look, I chose a less formal green dress with pleats, and accessorized with tiny frog earrings (since she was a frog for the majority of the movie) and a gold headband and purple ring to allude to the colors of Mardi Gras.
Headband- Amazon.com, Ring- Avalaya, Dress- Nicole Miller, Earrings- Betsey Johnson, Shoes- Miss Selfridge
Thoughts?
Are you inspired by Princess Tiana’s looks? Which Disney characters would you be interested in seeing posts about in the future? I want to know what you think, so be sure to leave your thoughts in a comment!
Posted on on July 28, 2010 / Filed Under: Inspiration / Tags: Disney, Featured, Inspiration, Inspired by, Princess, The Princess And The Frog, Tiana
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Jen
I love these princess-inspired posts so much. I think Tiana was quite a challenge and you did a great job with her looks (that green dress in the final outfit? LOVE!) I hope this series continues, I’m dying to see what you can come up with from Belle!
Julia
Awesome looks yet again! I love how you used a bib necklace to substitute for the tiara.
Can’t wait for Mulan :D
Noelle
I would love to see Belle, Wendy, and Alice!
Monica
Princess and the frog is one of my favorite princesses because I love Jazz and the cartoon is full of it. I love the outfits you put together.
Lilly
I really really like the first and last outfits!
meg
I love these outfits! Especially the first one; I’ve been fairly enamored with cloche hats the past few months. Great job… though I can’t help hinting that I would love to see Belle next.
Elle
Great job with this one, I loved the last outfit! that dress is gorgeous.
Isabel
I totally second Mulan!
These outfits are fantastic. I would honestly wear all of them, especially the first one. The cloche is just so adorable and I’m a sucker for oxfords!
Chelsea - University of Oklahoma
You captured this perfectly!!! Ahhh I especially love the first outfit! Do Mulan lol…or Belle, or Wendy! Oh wait actually I think Wendy wears the same pajamas the whole movie haha. Great job Calli!
Mai
Nice job! Love the looks, especially the second one.
Sandra
You don’t know how much I love you for doing this post. Princess Tiana is one of my favorite princesses. I love how she made her “happily ever after” happen instead of waiting for some handsome prince to save her (Looking at you Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella).
Great outfits!
Brittanie
Yes!!!! I’m so happy u did princess Tiana. I didn’t think you would do her so soon since she’s so new but i love it. The first outfit is my fave and i love the green lil frog earrings in the last!! The colors are really light(which i’m not used to) but im gonna try some brighter colors cus this is great.
Emily
ANYTHING FROM PETER PAN!!!
Larissa
Not only is The Princess and the Frog one of my favourite Disney movies, but this is the first time I’ve felt this feature was 100% wearable. Although I’ve consistently adored the series, this perfectly emulated Tiana’s style while creating regular-life-appropraite outfits. Okay, maybe #2 would need a specific occasion (or some toning down), but I loved it anyway.
Alexandra
l.o.v.e.d. this movie. these outfits are lovely! especially the color palette on the first one.
Rin
Once again, I think you did a fantastic job! Princess Tiana has a fabulous wardrobe to begin with and it was just begging to be an inspiration!!!
Do Mulan next! And Pocahontas!
Anna
Beautiful as always. The frog earring and purple ring are gorgeous! And I really really love that white outfit, it’s so swanky and so perfect for the movie theme.
D
OMG Tiana definitely wasn’t one of my favorite princesses but I LOVED these looks!!!
I support the petition of looks inspired on Mulan :D
Tiffany
Amazing!!!! Probably my favorite yet! And I love all the dresses – especially the last one. Great job!! :) Hope to see Mulan soon :)
Leslie
Great post! I love the first outfit!
lo
First and last are my favorites! I think this is the first post in a long time where I loved every last outfit!
jen
these are all perfect. i would love to see belle or how about giselle from enchanted?
Maggie
Wooooow I loved these! I literally just finished watching the movie for the first time and came over to this sight to see if there were any new posts. And what do you know, a fashion inspiration about Tiana! Amazing!
Rebecca
Thank you for featuring Tiana!!! Your version of the green dress outfit is awesome!!
Sarah
I’m obsessed with these Disney posts! Keep ‘em coming!
Morgan
Your take on Tiana’s waitress outfit is SO adorable! I’ve been trying to find new ways to wear my Oxfords, and that would be so cute. I also have to have the purple ring in the last outfit! This is great. Please do Belle next!!!!
hyejin
I absolutely LOVE your disney series! I’m a huge fan of disney itself, so of course i love reading about how i can dress like the characters!!
I’d love to see Belle, and Mulan, Giselle, Pocahontas, and Esmeralda also??
Keep it up!! =)
Anne
I really love the third outfit very pretty. Can you please do Giselle or Belle next pleaseeeeee?
Lisa
LOVE the second outfit.
Jacque
LOVE LOVE LOVE! I love tiana and you did a great job recreating her looks!! I’m amazed actually! I think Pocahontas is a good one..even though she only wore one outfit, so it would be a challenge…or Mulan! It’d be interesting to see how you could translate her whole asian military look into something a modern girl could wear
bethany.
i am so glad you included tiana! awesome outfits! i am loving this feature =)
Kelly
belle from beauty and the beast please! :)
Yvonne
I love how you can pull real life pieces from an animated movie! Love all the looks. Keep it up!
Silver
love love love this! =]
greatttt job!!! these posts never disappoint!
Bri19
Love this movie and its even better now that there’s a post on how to dress like Princess Tiana. Good job Cali!
Amanda
I’d love to see Anastasia! Even though she’s not technically a “Disney” princess, she had a movie!
Millie
Amazing. The 1920s outfit inspired by her dream is flawless.
Alex
Belle please! :)
Alison
I love the outfits (especially the 2nd one).
I would love to see an outfit inspired by Belle, since she’s my favorite Disney princess.
Kristen
Love the outfits..I have never seen this movie though =(. I know it is a little outlandish but I think you should do a classy take on Cruella de Vil! Something different than the typical princess!
Rena
Love the post! Would love to see looks for Mulan, Pocahontas, and Rapunzel!!!!
Brooklyn
Love love LOVE these Disney posts! Who hasn’t always wanted to be a princess? lol All of these outfits are super cute and would be so much fun to wear. Would love to see Belle or Mulan. Great job!
Jennifer
I absolutely love the first outfit!!!
Sari
So, this is kind of amazing. I mean, that’s obvious because of all the other rave comments! But I love this movie and I love the ’20s and I love your interpretations! Outfit #2 is a bit much, but on their own those pieces are great. Just awesome.
As for future posts, I’d like to see Pocahontas, Tiger Lily, Wendy, Mulan, and of course the rest of the typical princesses. I know some of the characters only wear one outfit throughout their movies, so maybe you could have a combo post? Just a thought! I always look forward to these.
ELLEN
love second outfit!
PETER PAN + BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
Evelina
Ohmigosh! I love the first and second outfits! They’re great! :) The green dress is gorgeous as well.
My favorite disney princess is belle *hinthint*, with tiana being a close second, haha. :D
Ariel
I’m gonna be sad once we’re out of Disney girls to cover, because these posts are awesome! You really did justice to the 20s era and Tiana’s fabulous style. :D The first outfit is my favorite.
jen
Okay, I’m going to say it because no one else will..why does the black princess have money problems?
Anyway, great post idea and great outfits.
- white girl (in case you think i’m black and making it a race issue)
Laura
Can you do Alice in Wonderland? I think she only wears one outfit, so I’ll second Sari’s vote for doing princesses/major characters that only have one main outfit.
Wendy, Tiger Lily, Mulan, Alice…
Great post!!!
Breanna
I love love love this series! And the outfits… I would definitely wear the second one, those shoes are awesome.
Also, jen: Cinderella had money problems as well ;) Please don’t search for suspicious things in Disney movies, if you do too much, you will find some for sure, even if they aren’t there.
Mel
I adore this series. Like… ADORE. I don’t know what you would do for Pocahontas (you should incorporate the weeping willow somehow ;P), but I like.
Though my one complaint is that for some of this stuff to be on a college fashion website, it sure is expensive. :( Because I ADORE the shoes in outfits 2 and 3 but I refuse to pay $70 or $158 for them. Because I’m POOR. :D
jen
Actually Breanna, it isn’t that hard to find racism within Disney movies.
http://www.cracked.com/article_15677_9-most-racist-disney-characters.html
tiana $$__& wut it do
!!!GURL TIANA IS ME IM BACK AND IM SO PROWD OF YOU FOR POSTIN WHAT I REQUESTED I FEEL LIEK A SPESHAL FAN BECAUSE U ACTUALLY LISTEN U MADE MY DAY CALLI FROM LSU THANKS!!!
Shelly
Love this!! The last outfit interprets her dress perfectly! Especially the accessories!
Could you please do Mulan next? Pretty, pretty please
:)
Jenelle
Super cute! I finally saw this movie for the first time a couple of weeks ago and loved it. This is an excellent fashion interpretation of Princess Tiana
Arlie
I love these! Belle please! :)
Breanna
@ jen: As I said, if you dig deep enough and take it to pieces, you will find it for sure. But is it what you have learned while watching Disney movies as a child? Because I really haven’t even noticed anything like that when I was 6 or 12. Now it seems princess Tiana can’t be poor because shes african-american and this means she should be portrayed either as rich aristocrat or the movie is racist. This is a bit of a paranoia to me, not to mention that the whole thing is set in 20′s and how the world worked by that time can’t be changed. Tiana is a main character afterall and she’s a pretty cool one. Not to mention she marries a prince and his parents are nothing but happy and they don’t say a word about him making a misalliance. It’s unrealistic, but only grumpy grownups can see it.
Eot please :)
Priya
This post is soo cute!! I love all the disney inspired posts you’ve done :) Do the snow queen next please?
karina
ok i know this is a girl post but a peter pan inspired look for girls would b totally fabulous!!
Mariana
I don’t know if you have seen these movies, but I’d love to see Esmeralda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame or Jenny from Oliver and Company!
Also, love these outfits! Nice
Kelly
this is my favorite of these so far. would ABSOLUTELY wear all of these! awesome!
Jennifer
I would love love love to see Mulan, Pocahontas, Belle and all the original princesses before the other newer ones!
I was disappointed to see that Tiana was done before the older princesses but once I saw the outfits, I was in love! :]
I loved what you’ve put together for the other princesses like Snow White and Cinderella! :]
Update soon<3
Stephanie
I love all of your posts. I’ve been sharing them with all of my friends and family too! Its great to see ways that our childhood fashion inspirations can still inspire our fashion choices today! I would love to see Belle, Mulan, and Anastasia (even though she’s 20th Century and not Disney).
Jasmine
I LOVE these outfits. I think the thing I liked best was that you were able to take some of her more extravagant dresses and find a way to have outfits that can be worn out and about everyday.
Christy
i love the princess series! i would love to see belle and (i know it isn’t disney, but) maybe anatasia?
Maranda
I absolutely love the Disney posts! I think some awesome ones would be Pocahontas and Mulan. If college fashion got into other characters besides princesses, I think Cruela De Vil from 101 dalmations would be challenging and also it would be kind of funny to see some of the talking objects in Beauty and the Beast come to life, like the feather duster and the dresser. Just a thought:)
Ashton
This is Amazing! I would definitely wear the first two looks in the drop of a hat! The yellow dress is a tad bit plain for my taste, I would pair it with this summer yellow dress instead:
http://www.poetrie.com/clothing/sunnyside-up-dress.html
BreaD
Suuuuuper excited to see this post! Love it allllll. Mulan next!! Mulan Next!!! (please :) )
Elodie
I love princess Tiana, she’s a recent character, but an amazing one ! and the fact she’s a black princess is just great, it shows how open-minded the disney’s producers are .
the blue dress you chose for ‘the big kiss’ is really beautiful …
Michh
Gorgeous outfits! I can see myself wearing all of these at different events. So beautiful!
gracesabrina
You are a genius!!!!!
I love all of the disney posts
A few request for the next are:
Alice from Alice in Wonderland
Tinkerbelle from Peter Pan
Kida from Atlantis
and Giselle from Enchanted
Briana
Hey! I really enjoyed this post and every other post about Disney fashion inspiration… I would really love to see a series on Disney villains — Facilier, the Shadow Man; Ursula, all of them!
Megara
I totally love your Disney princess inspired outfits! Could you do a Rapunzel one now that she’s the newest princess? :)
Christie
NANI from Lilo & Stitch
please :xoxo
Meley
Please do Kida from Atlantis!
Melz
Please do Kida from Atlantis.