ouatrunway

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As a bigger-busted woman, I find the "leave the top few buttons undone and pop a cami underneath" fit on Nikki Deloach very relatable!

This Brown dress coat with embroidery flowers on is worn on Anastasia Griffith as Princess Abigail in Once Upon a Time: What Happened to Frederick (2012) and many years later worn on Nikki Deloach as Goldy in Curious Caterer: Foiled Plans (2024)

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I would say that I'm decently good at spotting reused costumes in different productions. I LOVE a good period drama - mainly Austen adaptations - and I definitely recognise when a particularly cute hat or Spencer jackets gets reused.

BUT never in a million years would I have noticed that these two armour pieces are the same - lol.

This dark black Silver armour is worn two times in Once Upon a Time in Season 2 (2012) in promotional photo shoot, First on Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan and later worn on Josh Dallas as Prince Charming

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Bailee Madison first wore this pretty pink coat as Young Snow White in the 2012 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 first season episode 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒚.   The coat was reworked for use again in 2014 in the 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑰𝒏 𝑾𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 episode 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅…, where it appeared on Amelia Wilkinson as Alice’s Daughter.   The fur on the sleeves and the collar has been switched, and the trim has also been removed and replaced to give the costume a different look.   Which way do you prefer this coat? Comment below or on our website: Bit.ly/VicEd258  

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This costume has been used twice on the television show 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆. It was first seen in the 2013 episode 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒏 on Rachel Shelley as Milah. It was used again in the 2015 episode 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎, where Joana Metrass wore it as Queen Guinevere.   See more at Bit.ly/SciFi041      

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Often a television show will recycle their wardrobe on other characters as the seasons progress. This example comes from the television show 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆, in which a white floral dress was used in 2011 in the first season episode entitled 𝑺𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔. Ginnifer Goodwin wore it as Mary Margaret Blanchard. The second time the dress was used was by Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan in the 2012 second season episode 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒆.   Visit our website to see more costumes from Once Upon a Time: Bit.ly/PostEd100      

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Do you think in honor of the series finale could you post your top 10 favorite costumes?

Oooh - an excellent question!

People who’ve been following this blog for a while have probably noticed a distinct lack of updates over the last year - and for that I am truly sorry! The main problem was that I just didn’t really like season 6, which obviously killed my enthusiasm for recapping the costumes.

BUT - I have carried on watching the show and I actually REALLY ENJOYED season 7. I enjoyed it WAY MORE than I thought I would and I am obviously very sad that this will be the last season EVER.

So I will definitely get around to rewatching seasons 6 and 7, and recapping all the costumes. And it’s messages like this that remind me that people still love the show, and particularly the costumes, and encourage me to finish what I started on this blog.

And THEN - once I’ve caught up on all the costumes that I still haven’t covered on this blog - I will start making top 10 lists. I’ll do a top 10 favourite costumes, and a top 10 LEAST favourite costumes (which tend to get more notes - people seem to really enjoy gawking over the weirder costume creations). I’ll probably then do top 10 costumes for several of the main characters. 

I could maybe try to orchestrate some sort of poll to ascertain people’s favourite costumes? And then make a “viewer’s choice” top ten? I’m not sure how I could do that - it would require some pretty epic computational system. But I’ll think about it!

So... you asked a very straightforward question and then I’ve just blabbered on for an age. So apologies for that! But I wanted to give people a little update on why this blog has gone so quiet - as well as answer your excellent question.

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I thought this outfit looked similar but I couldn’t quite place it! Really interesting to learn where it came from.

And lovely costume analysis in general.

Drizella, hunting for magic

This is a really interesting costume for a couple reasons. First, it was not made for this show—it was worn by Kristen Stewart in Snow White and the Huntsman. Second, it’s a good visual indicator of how this is not the same enchanted forest.

I have talked at some length about how consistency in the costuming of the EF Prime gave the impression of a society that created all of these fashions. Belle and Snow and Eva all had the same court gown. Women’s riding clothes had similar styles. Three different kings wore long robes. On top of that, collars and sleeves and other smaller elements repeated across many costumes, creating a visual language that said these people were all from the same society.

So let’s look at how this one differs. We have seen those slashed sleeves before, but not in that style. These are longer and less puffy than what we saw in the first EF. The square neckline is not something we’ve seen a lot, nor is the low, wide back neck. We’ve seen this kirtle-and-smock combination before, most notably on Merida, but this linen smock features much more prominently than we’ve seen before. The color palette is more subdued than we came to expect from the original EF too.

This is a really lovely costume. I encourage you to take a closer look at the first picture, which shows some subtle but stunning detail on the bodice. I’m also impressed by the weathering shown in the bottom pictures. That skirt has seen some mud.

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Have you seen the 7th season yet the costumes are very interesting and I would love to see your thoughts on the season 7 costumes

Thanks for sending in your question! People have probably noticed that this blog has gone a bit quiet (well... very quiet). That’s because I didn’t really enjoy the last series (series 6) which means I wasn’t really motivated to watch through the episodes again to take screenshots.

BUT I have been watching series 7 and I’m actually kind of loving it so far. I really didn’t expect to like it as much as I do!! I’m really liking the characters and the rebooting of the story actually makes sense.

AND I’m loving the costumes - Regina wore an outfit in the last episode that actually made me audibly gasp! So I am feeling motivation to start posting to this blog again. I’m going to have to catch up on the series 6 outfits first (because I am a completionist like that) but then I’ll be moving on to the series 7 stuff.

It might take me a little while - my December is crazy packed - but you’ll hopefully be seeing new content by the new year!!

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I can't wait until you do Season 6. I think you might like some of the new Evil Queen outfits.

Yes! I have seen the first few episodes of Season 6 but I’m REALLY behind on the new episodes. I promised my best friend I wouldn’t watch them without her and then she went travelling for several months (how inconsiderate!) - but I’m going to start making posts of the episodes I HAVE seen asap. My life NEEDS more Evil Queen outfits!

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This post showcasing Charming’s hair made me smile at the end of what has been a pretty dismal day for me.

#our Prince Farming’s hairvolution

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Series 5 Costume Index

I’ve put together an index for all the costumes I have from series 5. It can be found here. 

The series 1 index can be found here, the series 2 index can be found here, the series 3 index here and the series 4 index here. This should make it easier to find a particular costume. Yay!

How are people enjoying the new series? I haven’t watched a single episode yet because I promised my best friend I wouldn’t. It’s so hard not being able to watch! I hope she appreciates the sacrifice I’m making in the name of friendship.

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Ugh - this costume. The ‘first draft of a novel’ analogy is very appropriate.

The Best and Worst of Once, According to Mel

Some of you asked why this wasn’t on the list for ridiculous headwear. It’s partly because if I listed every ridiculous thing Regina’s worn on her head we’d be here all day, but also because I knew we’d be seeing this costume on this list.

I generally refer to this costume as the dead bird cape, but I’m told by someone who saw it (I think it was @shinewithalltheuntold) that in person it looks like fishing lures. Either way, it says queen, right?

I almost feel bad talking about this one; it’s clear they had no money and no clear vision. The costume in context with later ones actually reminds me of a first draft of a novel, like an early scene no longer fitting with the rest because of how the rest developed during writing. It has some of the hallmarks of later EQ costumes. The pants, the boots, the shoulders, the neckline, the train—all are reminiscent of others, but they’re not quite like the others. The shoulders aren’t sculpted, but formed by the collar (which ripples in the back—not sure if that’s intentional or a fit problem). The neckline is built with layers, but the shape is different. And then, leaving aside my irrational hatred of the dead bird layer, the train lacks the refinement of later costumes, especially the unfinished edges of some layers.

Add to it the styling—chunky jewelry, the doily on her forehead, the top ponytail—and you end up with a costume that’s wearing Lana instead of the other way around.

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Comparisons: Frozen

The Frozen story arc definitely had the most literal interpretations of the film costumes. I think Anna’s dress from the end of the film is actually my absolute favourite outfit - with all those soft green colours - so it was nice to see Anna wear something similar in ouat (even though it’s only briefly in the first episode of the series).

And doesn’t Kristoff look snuggly?

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Comparisons: Fairies

The fairies of ouat definitely have a ... distinct style. The Blue Fairy obviously looks completely crazy and, as I’ve stated numerous times before, I really don’t look the weird tentacle-tutu. And Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother wears a crazy hodge-podge outfit with far too many accessories (although this is very early on in the series before the costume department really comes into its own).

But Tinkerbell is adorable - her dress is both reminiscent of the film outfit while also looking unique and creative. She is just the cutest thing and I wish she would appear in my flat and encourage me to pursue my dreams and find my soulmate.

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Comparisons: Villains

We’ve done the villainesses - now let’s take a look at their gentlemanly counterparts.

There are a lot of significant differences with several of these characters e.g. Hook’s outfit is far less colourful and flamboyant in ouat (Hook should definitely wear more pirate hats though) and Eduardo obviously decided to go for snappy suits rather than togas for Hades.

But Gaston looks very similar! With that red coat over a tan waistcoat. I think he looks very dapper in both the film and ouat. I mean he’s obviously a douchebag but I can still appreciate his excellent choice in outerwear.

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Comparisons: Men

I’ve done the princes, now to cover the non-princely men.

For the most part, the men have received significant upgrades between their film and ouat counterparts. Merlin has gone from spindly and grey old man to the beautiful Elliot Knight. And the oddly proportioned Mad Hatter has been upgraded to the chiselled Sebastian Stan. And both characters have beautifully detailed and textured outfits that far surpass the simple outfits worn by their animated characters.

The Huntsman’s outfit looks fairly similar between the film and ouat, which I’d never really noticed until I saw these pictures next to each other. And the dwarves’ are relatively similar as well - in both the film and ouat, the dwarves are dressed in a way that is complimentary with each other but still unique to each dwarf.

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Comparisons: Villainesses

Ouat does villains so well! Obviously Ursula looks the most different because she’s not an actual Octopus-woman in ouat but the rest of the villains wear outfits that are actually very close to their film ensembles. Cruella’s outfit is pretty much identical between the film and ouat!

The Evil Queen obviously wears a lot of different and extravagant outfits but her purple dress from the end of season 1 reminds me a lot of the film dress - the purple colour is the same and the big collar is similar as well.

Maleficent’s dress from season 4 is not an exact copy of her film dress but the flared sleeves are a nice call-back to her original outfit, as is the wide, spiked collar and, of course, the horned hat.