How many characters can you name that are as iconic as Alice from Alice in Wonderland? You might not realize it, but her depictions have been heavily influenced by the original illustrations by John Tenniel. Still, we have other famous Alices, including the 1951 Disney animated film and the live-action Tim Burton films. But how much are they similar or different from the original? Keep reading to find out more about the history of Alice in Wonderland costumes!
1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
[Source: John Tenniel/Wikipedia.com]
John Tenniel was the original illustrator for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. From the very beginning, we see Alice wearing a mid-length dress with an apron, and tights with black-strapped shoes. Even with the absence of color, the key elements for her design, even as we know them today, are present. That just goes to show how iconic her original depiction by Tenniel was! The character by Lewill Caroll was loosely based on Alice Liddell, and in some adaptations, she is named Alice Liddell.
2. Alice in Wonderland (1903)
[Source: Hepworth Picture Plays/IMDb]
The first film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland was a British silent film created in 1903. Only one known copy exists, which was partially restored by the British Film Institute. As you can see, Alice looks quite similar to Tenniel's drawings, including a dress with an apron, her hair pulled back, and black shoes with straps and tights worn underneath. The movie itself is significant as it used early special effects techniques to show Alice shrinking and growing to an enormous size. How do you think they did it?
3. Alice in Wonderland (1915)
[Source: Eskay Harris Feature Films Co./IMDb]
It didn't take long to get another Alice in Wonderland film, this time in 1915. Again we see Alice dressed in a costume that's similar to the illustration by John Tenniel, although with some embellishments. Her dress has extra trim and ruffles at the hem, and the apron has a ruffled edge as well. While the movie wasn't necessarily a ground-breaking addition, it was the first to introduce portions of Into the Looking Glass combined with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
4. Alice in Wonderland (1933)
[Source: Paramount Pictures/IMDb]
There were several smaller productions of Alice in Wonderland, but we hit a milestone in 1933! It marked the first time that a major Hollywood production of Alice in Wonderland was made. The movie had an all-star cast and the backing of major film producer Paramount Pictures. As you can see the costumes were phenomenal, including Alice's dress and apron. (It has pockets!) Alice is also wearing a bow on a headband, an addition that you will see in more costumes to come.
5. Disney's Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[Source: Walt Disney Productions/IMDb]
Did you know that Disney's first feature-length film was going to be an Alice production before it was dropped to make Snow White? Actress Mary Pickford was originally going to be a live-action Alice in an animated world drawn by Walt Disney. However, the project was scrapped after news about Paramount Picture's Alice in Wonderland film in the 1930s. Alice in Wonderland was finally revisited and released in 1951 after years of development and setbacks. You can still see John Tenniel's influence in Alice's iconic design, this time with a black hair bow.
6. Alice in Wonderland (1966)
[Source: BBC/IMDb]
A few Alice in Wonderland films have attempted to avoid the Tenniel character designs, including this BBC television play from 1966. The costumes in this production are all based on historical Victorian dress, as you can see here with Alice's dress design and Victorian boots. Behind-the-scenes photos indicate that Alice's dress was blue, but a slightly darker and duller color than classic Alice depictions.
7. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)
[Source: Josef Shaftel Productions/IMDb]
We see yet another classic depiction of Alice in the 1973 musical film production Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This British movie drew heavily from Tenniel's artwork for many of the character designs. While Alice herself had a very classic costume, her apron had a few pink accents that set it apart from other Alices. The movie won Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design awards at the British Academy Film Awards!
8. Fushigi no Kuni no Alice (1983-1984)
[Source: Nippon Animation/Apollo Films/IMDb]
Alice in Wonderland became a Japanese and German collaborative anime series in 1983, which ran for 52 episodes and concluded in 1984. While many elements of Alice's design are similar to other popular depictions of the character, she wore a red dress in the anime and had the addition of a red hat. It might seem strange now, but some early colorized versions of Lewis Carroll's books depicted Alice wearing a yellow dress or a red dress before blue became her iconic color.
9. Alice in Wonderland (1985)
[Source: Irwin Allen Productions/Columbia Pictures Television/IMDb]
In this 1985 two-part TV musical film, Alice's dress is also red, while other elements of her costume remain faithful to typical Alice costumes. Her dress still has a Peter Pan collar with an apron on top, and she also wears white tights with black strapped shoes. Her outfit also includes a matching red hair bow tied into her blond hair. This TV movie notably had quite a few stars in it, including Ringo Starr as the Mock Turtle and Carol Channing as the White Queen.
10. Alice (1988)
[Source: Film Four International/Condor Films/IMDb]
Alice in Wonderland has always had its bizarre moments, and director Jan Švankmajer really dug into its strange qualities with his surrealist dark fantasy film. Alice is a combination of live-action and stop-motion animation, which resulted in a dark yet artistically distinct film. Alice wears a pink dress with ruffles and lace, but no apron at all. She also wears long white socks instead of tights, but her costume still keeps the black strapped shoes. These changes in her costume design make her a little less recognizable as an Alice, but it's not a complete departure.
11. Adventures in Wonderland (1992-1993)
[Source: Betty Productions/Walt Disney Television/IMDb]
Out of every Alice in Wonderland-themed production, Disney's Adventures in Wonderland TV series has some of the most original outfits for our title character. She wears overalls, denim vests and jackets, and occasionally a blue dress. This makes sense because Alice can walk through her looking glass into Wonderland whenever she wants. Her wardrobe is still largely blue in color, so she can be recognized as Alice. But more often than not, she's wearing regular clothing.
 
12. Alice in Wonderland (1999)
[Source: Hallmark Entertainment/Babelsberg International Film Produktion/Collider]
In 1999, Hallmark made a made-for-TV movie adaptation of Alice in Wonderland with a stacked celebrity cast. (It included Christopher Lloyd, Gene Wilder, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Short, and Ben Kingsley!) The first color illustrations from 1890 did actually feature Alice in a yellow dress, but most TV and movie productions used her blue or red dress versions. This 1999 movie was unique for using a yellow dress, and Alice also had black-and-white striped stockings that matched the black accents on her dress and apron. It also went on to win four Emmys for makeup, costume design, special effects, and music composition. This hidden gem is definitely worth a watch!
13. American McGee's Alice (2000)
[Source: Rogue Entertainment/Electronic Arts/Fandom.com]
Alice in Wonderland lends itself well to dark retellings, including the American McGee Alice video game from 2000. The story actually takes place after the Alice in Wonderland stories, with Alice Liddell recovering in Rutledge Asylum after a tragic house fire leaves her in a catatonic state. Wonderland exists in her mind, and you play as Alice exploring the recesses of Wonderland, trying to regain her sanity. For the most part, Alice keeps her blue dress and white apron aesthetic, with the addition of the symbols for Eris and Jupiter on her apron pockets.
14. Alice (2009)
[Source: Reunion Pictures/Alice Productions/Studio Eight Productions/RHI Entertainment/IMDb]
The SyFy channel created a modern reimaging of Alice in Wonderland as part of a TV miniseries in 2009. The world of Wonderland is nearly 150 years older, and the current Queen of Hearts is a reigning tyrant. (Okay, so the queen may not have changed much!) And Alice and a band of rebels fight to restore order in the kingdom. In this modern retelling, Alice also wears a blue dress, which is distinctly different from Tenniel's drawings. It has a modern cut and no apron, and she wears brown tights with brown boots, often with an overcoat.
15. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
[Source: Walt Disney Pictures/Roth Films/The Zanuck Company/Team Todd/IMDb]
Another famous Alice in Wonderland movie that strayed from Tenniel's drawings is Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. The movie's premise is a continuation of Lewis Carroll's, featuring an older Alice returning to Wonderland. Her outfits are much more adult, leaving behind the Peter Pan collar and apron. (At one point, Alice even wears a full suit of armor!) Due to its enormous success, this movie is also credited with helping to start the animation-to-live-action movie trend.
16. Alice: Madness Returns (2011)
[Source: Spicy Horse/Electronic Arts/Fandom.com]
Alice: Madness Returns is a sequel to American McGee's Alice. Alice Liddell is now living at an orphanage for mentally traumatized orphans, and she still struggles with PTSD. She returns to Wonderland once again to confront her past. In Wonderland, she wears an outfit similar to the one from the first game, but we also see her a lot in this striped dress with an apron while she's in the real world. Alice also has a lot of dresses to collect that reflect the different domains she enters or characters she has encountered.
17. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013-2014)
[Source: ABC Studios/Kitisis/Horowitz/IMDb]
Popular television series Once Upon a Time had an Alice-themed spinoff, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Like the original series, there are two worlds where the stories are told. The real-world setting is Victorian England, although there is some crossover with the fictional Maine town of Storybrooke. They also go on fantastic adventures in Wonderland. Alice wears several different outfits in the series, from Victorian and historical-inspired outfits to her fantasy Wonderland outfit consisting of a light purple dress with a darker purple vest worn over it. For the most part, the series does its best to avoid popular renditions of Alice's costume. The series only lasted for one season before it was dropped.
18. Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
[Source: Walt Disney Pictures/Roth Films/Team Todd/Tim Burton Productions/IMDb]
As we saw with the first installment, Tim Burton's Sequel to Alice in Wonderland is unafraid to branch out and make entirely different costumes. One of Alice's main costumes, as seen here, features an ornate collar over a purple top with orange and floral accents and a mismatched yellow and green striped skirt. It's entirely unlike anything we have seen Alice wear so far, but it fits such a colorful nonsense world as Wonderland.
19. Alice's Wonderland Bakery (2022-2024)
[Source: Disney Television Animation/IMDb]
After so many Alice in Wonderland productions themed for an older audience, Disney scaled it back with Alice's Wonderland Bakery for Disney Junior. This Alice is actually the great-granddaughter of the original Alice, and she's a promising young baker. She wears a blue dress with double-breasted buttons like a chef's uniform, with an apron around her waist. She also has Cheshire cat-striped and colored sleeves and leggings, with a matching pair of blue, pink, and white sneakers.
We hope you enjoyed reading about the evolution of Alice in Wonderland costumes! Have you read Lewis Carroll's original stories? How many of these adaptations have you seen? Do you have other favorites that we missed? Let us know in the comments! Also, don't forget to check out our Alice in Wonderland costumes so you can create your own memories.