March DisneyBound Challenge 2018 outfit summary

It's obvious that this year has been slow for me in terms of blog writing. Only one post in three whole months! However, I must highlight that I've been a little busy planning a new project that you'll likely discover soon enough. But, I really didn't want March to go by unnoticed because of the wonderful experience in which I took part during the last 31 days.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you've probably already noticed that every single day of March I have posted a Disney-inspired outfit portraying a Disney character, item or park. What you may not know is that every year the fabulous Leslie Kay promotes the March DisneyBound Challenge from her well-known @TheDisneybound Instagram account and her DisneyBound Tumblr. Following the hashtag #DisneyBoundChallenge you will find quite a fashionable flood of Disney-inspired ensembles from hundreds of Disney fans from all around the world.

The trick about the DisneyBound Challenge -it is a challenge, after all- is that you must follow a pre-determined theme for each day of the month. This year some of the topics included movies like The Little Mermaid, A Wrinkle in Time, and Cinderella; characters like princes, sidekicks and villains; and even some other themes like rule breakers, 90s styles and park attractions.

According to @TheDisneybound, this year's challenge doubled the amount of Instagram posts using #DisneyboundChallenge, going from less than 14,000 images before the challenge started to an overwhelming post count of almost 29,000. This implies there's a flowing river of Disney-inspired outfits to admire and take inspiration from. What I liked the most about this challenge was seeing all the different styles, combinations and creative views within the Disney community. Everyone comes together, free to use their imagination and express their personality, thanks to a conjoined love and admiration for the happiest place on Earth and everything around it.

In the photos above you can see my 31 bounds for the month. It was so fun to participate in this year's #DisneyboundChallenge, but it was also a daring task to keep up with the challenge every day. I'm also really glad about taking the decision of changing my backdrops after the first four DisneyBounds that I posted. The extra effort of finding locations was really worth it! Feel free to visit my Instagram account @edu_and_joy to check out all my March bounds and some older Disney outfits from past months.

Remember to follow me on social media to get all my new posts! 

Disneybound summary: August & September

New month, new Disneybound summary! I've combined August & September's Disney-inspired outfits into one cool post, showcasing bounds from four different animated films plus one iconic treat. Every single bound has been a new and exciting challenge, where I dare myself to put together the most fashionable and creative combinations. Now, let's talk about each ensemble.

Wendy

Have you noticed how most Disney princesses and some other characters tend to wear pastel colors? I'm completely in love with these color hues, but I scarcely have any pastel garments in my closet. Wendy is a great example of an iconic baby blue base, and I was lucky enough to have this old Zara dress in my closet. To make it a little bit more romantic I added my favorite cream cardigan from Doll Me Up. Finally, I accessorized the outfit with blue ribbons for the waistband and hair, silver star earrings and a thimble necklace... all winks to icons present in the film.

Note to self: sew more clothes in pastel fabrics.

Pongo & Perdita

Seeing as this doggy couple has a similar look between Pongo & Perdita, I decided to create the same aesthetic for both and switch the secondary color from red (Pongo) to blue (Perdita). It was a total win because I had the skirts, ribbons and headbands in both colors, so it felt like the outfits were meant to be. The base is a black & white spotted button-up by Jonathan Z, paired with inherited tennis skirts from Ellesse. I also styled my hair in two high ponytails to simulate dog ears.

Gaston

My, what a guy, that Gaston! This bound came to my mind as soon as I was given the scarlet polo shirt. I've never liked polo shirts, but I knew this one would serve a beautiful purpose for the outfit. Paired with a cropped mustard cardigan tied around the shoulders, and a vintage black skirt with a big silver belt buckle, the appearance it casts is phenomenal. To complete the look, I styled my hair in a high ponytail and a pompadour.

Joy

Joy as Joy. Nothing more to say. Since many years ago I've been dreaming about dying my hair, but I've never decided on finally doing it. That's why I recently purchased some bright-colored wigs to satisfy my whim of having colored locks. Portraying Joy through Disneybound was a perfect opportunity to wear this royal blue wig for the first time. I paired it with a yellow speckled cocktail dress (digitally altered to make it look slightly greener), royal blue eyeshadow and a ball pool ball I just randomly happened to have around my house. Doesn't the glow make the outfit pop?

Strawberry Minnie lollipop

Who says Disneybounding is only about characters? Trying out a new kind of bound was both challenging and thrilling. Truth be told, I'd had that lollipop inside my freezer for about three years, so I decided it was the right moment to experiment with it. This time I wore an old pink striped Zara shirt to recreate the lollipop's swirls, and a pink pencil skirt from French Connection. To top off the ensemble, of course I had to hold the strawberry lollipop itself!

Check out my Instagram account for more Disneybounds and other outfits! 

Disneybound summary: July

We're back with a new late edition of monthly Disneybounds! It seems like I've kept a somewhat steady pace posting at least four Disney-inspired outfits per month (one for each week of the month), though my goal is to increase this kind of post and, at least, double it. Let's see how I do in August!

In the past few weeks I incarnated four different Disney characters through fashion, portraying their personalities with cool and beautiful ensembles put together by yours truly. Belle, Duchess, Jasmine and Minnie Mouse (girl power!) were my characters of choice this time. My favorite one was definitely Belle, whose outfit I tried to match with the live-action movie ensemble. And in case you were wondering: the floral underskirt is actually a tactically-positioned scarf! You can also see me holding a vintage Chip cup from the 90's. The blue ruffled dress I wore is one of my favorite clothes ever (made by Super Dry). I'll make sure to review it later in another blog post.

There's a short story behind the Minnie-inspired skirt that I'm wearing in one of these pictures. During a Disney trip I made with my family years ago, I saw a little girl walking through the park sporting a skirt just like this one. I immediately fell in love with it and proceeded to look for that same skirt in every single park shop and Disney store, but it was nowhere to be found. I can only assume that her mother made it for her, so I decided to make one for myself. I believe it was the first skirt I ever made from scratch, since I was only beginning to get serious with sewing. Since then I've had lots of people complimenting me for it and even asking me to lend it to them.

Duchess was the easiest one to put together, keeping it classy and simple with a white dress, golden accents, and an elegant hair up-do. Contrasting with my previous "The Aristocats" Marie Disneybound, this white dress is more formal and graceful, while Maries's is playful and juvenile. Fun fact: I wore this white dress to my civil wedding! Finally, Jasmine was quite a challenge since apparently, I only own a couple of clothes in teal/turquoise shades. However, they matched perfectly and fit wonderfully with the vintage golden accessories that I was able to borrow from my mother, gather and combine with the outfit. I was especially impressed with how the shirt looked with the belt. It has been my most popular Disneybound so far, and I'd even add that it's one of the best-looking of all!

If you haven't already, follow me on Instagram @edu_and_joy to keep track of my Disneybounds, sewing projects and other adventures. See you later! 

Lighten up your day with Disney's "As told by Emoji"

As a Disney lover, I am a faithful reader of their weekly newsletters. Within a couple of them, I have recently spotted a relatively new set of short videos called "As told by Disney Emoji"... and they're truly a must-see for any Disney fans.

It's no secret that Disney animated movies (naming classics like Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and so many others) are memorable, loveable and fantastic masterpieces, but these synthesized emoji stories are really capturing the attention of millions of YouTube viewers that slowly grow in number and hunger for more Disney emoji stories.

The video series focuses in reimagining scenes, characters, props and any other important elements from several Walt Disney Pictures movies following the style of smartphone chats, and showcasing them as a short film. The clever use of emoji-looking characters and icons, which also interact with some of the smartphone's apps and functionalities (ex: contacts and maps), are the perfect combination to develop a trendy short version of the Disney classics.

You can find the "As told by Emoji" playlist within Disney's YouTube channel, currently including 10 emoji animations about the following movies: Aladdin, Frozen, Frozen Fever, Tangled, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Zootopia, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Cinderella, and their latest addition, Beauty and the Beast.

The first installment was launched on February 2015, with more of them making their way until now. The Lion King and Winnie the Pooh are the next ones in line to be launched by Disney Interactive Studios, who produces these incredible videos.

If you love this series as much as I do, you can jump right into the emoji fun by downloading the Disney Emoji Blitz! game from either app store, or from their webpage.