Lovers + Friends dress (c/o REVOLVE)
Jimmy Choo flats (similar)
Madewell rings
Leah Alexandra ring
La Vie Parisienne earrings (similar)
If I were a Disney princess – if we all just suspend our disbelief for a minute and pretend it’s possible that my life might suddenly turn into a hand-drawn cartoon – I would be Belle. Every Buzzfeed and BoredPanda quiz about Disney princesses says so. (And yes, I have done them all, because I have extraordinary procrastination skills.) I adored Princess Aurora as a toddler, but in adulthood, I have realised that she does absolutely nothing other than frolick with a few forest animals (which, I admit, has a certain appeal.) She doesn’t even speak in the second half of the movie.
But Belle. Belle lives in a charming town in rural France. She has bad luck with men, it’s true – first, there are the unwelcome advances from local lothario Gaston (who proudly sings, “Yes, it’s true, I excel at expectorating!) and after that, she moves in with a beast. But he does have a castle. And that library.
When we visited Chateau Sainte-Sabine, I felt a bit like Belle. Granted, there was no beast in the castle. And I did have to bring my own reading material. But the beautiful French countryside setting, complete with sweet little deer wandering outside, had a wonderful fairytale quality to it. And the immaculate decor really did feel fit for a princess, Disney or otherwise. (I briefly considered furnishing our new home in the same style, but decided the Louis XVI style would probably look a bit out of place in a building constructed in 1965.)
Funnily enough, despite my love of princess Aurora and, later, Belle, I wasn’t the kind of little girl who dreamed of being a princess. I did dream of having a princess’ wardrobe, it’s true, but not of living like one. I know many other girls did. In fact, I vividly recall a day in junior high when we were asked to share our goals – I understood the question to be career-related and probably said I wanted to be a writer. At least half of my female classmates responded that they wanted to marry a rich man. Disney movies probably had a hand in making some of them think that was a reasonable goal to set, unfortunately. But despite their overt sexism, I do love them. If you were a Disney princess, which one would you be?
Love your shoes!
Liv
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In complete seriousness I also wanted to be Malificent. Seriously, my mom thought it was super weird but I was totally fascinated with her from the first time I saw Sleeping Beauty. I feel like maybe that says disturbing things about childhood me. And you look every inch like a modern Belle in these gorgeous photos – I swear, your photos always have a perfect, dreamy quality to them.
Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines
This is so amazing! I love Belle, too 🙂 You look so beautiful.
I never wanted to be a princess either, and I could never, ever relate to friends who wanted to marry rich as a life goal. (That was, and remains, just yucky to me.) My daughter loves Disney princesses (she’s 3 after all), which sometimes worries me, but I have to say that I’m happy she, too, most relates to Belle. She’s a bad ass. And you look beautiful in that dress. I also adore your hair like that.
This post screams princess – just look at that beautiful decor!! I want it too!! As for which princess I’d like to be?! Oh my goodness, pressures on… something to ponder over our next Skype chat, perhaps?! 😉 Growing up, we didn’t have Disney in Europe, so I was pretty oblivious. But I love the idea of living a royal / princess life. It sounds so glam, or it does in my mind any way + LOVE that dress paired with your beautiful flats. Stunning!! xo
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Cee, you look absolutely exquisite. I love your hair, outfit and shoes. The setting is superb. My favorite is Belle as well. I love books. That’s why I costumed like her last Halloween, plus the new movie was coming out. That first picture was as pretty as a portrait 😀 You have so much grace!
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This is too funny – I just did the Buzz Feed quiz, and I got Belle as well! I think I was expecting to get Pocahontas for some reason! Have you seen the live-action movie? I was not expecting to leave the cinema with LeFou as my favourite character, but… XD
Gorgeous dress, gorgeous castle setting! And I love the inclusion of macaroons!
I can see liking Belle the most, as she was one of the more independent princesses. She didn’t want to be saved by a prince, and really, she was a prisoner, who then ended up saving the prince. I imagine that after the end credits rolled Belle was like ‘well your great, and the library is great, but it’s time for me to go travel the world’ I mean, for a price, what did the beast even do aside from having the castle, it’s not like he ruled anything, right?
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