Disney Deinfluencing: The $20 Park Fashion Challenge

Do you dress like a different person in Disney parks? I know I do!

This is kinda embarrassing, but it’s true: I am deeply self-conscious in real life. While I do take pleasure in dressing reasonably well when I go out, I try to avoid wearing anything too eye-catching. I admire flamboyance in others, but I don’t have the constitution for it myself.

And I KNOW – I KNOW no one is actually paying any attention to me whatsoever. Rationally I know this. Irrationally, my soul cringes at the idea that I might be observed. 🤪

THE MAGIC OF DRESSING FOR DISNEY

Yet something weird happens to my brain chemistry when I go to Walt Disney World (or any Disney park but I go to WDW most often). My mindset unconsciously shifts. To me, WDW is kind of like New York City. This means two important things: firstly, nobody knows me here. No one has any expectations of me. I am free to present myself in any fashion I like and I will field zero commentary about it.

Secondarily, people dress all kinds of ways at WDW. It is a true sartorial melting pot. I’ve seen people who look like they just walked off the streets of Harajuku; out of a religious compound; out of a goth convention or tattoo convention or the ’40s or ’70s or ’90s. Unless you’re dressed inappropriately (and some people do brush up close to it), anything goes. Just a normal day in the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Ooh, and one more thing: my trip buddies are all super hot people who ALSO get a kick out dressing for Disney. Sometimes we coordinate! I initially felt a lil’ stiff in my shiny Jollywood Nights dress, but Becky was also wearing a fancy gown and our united front helped me get out of my head. So you could argue Disney fashion is a bonding exercise as much as anything else. 🥰

DISNEY SETS MY FASHION FREE (BUT NOT MY WALLET)

Thanks to these factors, I am flooded with a confidence I feel just about nowhere else except on Disney property. I am ready to try new shapes, textures, and combinations. Let’s accessorize, experiment, add glitter. I am honestly never more careful in my outfit planning than when I’m packing for the parks.

However – and this is where the Disney deinfluencing comes in – the pursuit of Disney fashion perfection can drag you into a consumerist mindset. We all want something fresh and new for each trip, especially if we plan to post to Instagram. Yet no matter how big your house, your closet space will always shrink to nothing eventually. And wouldn’t it be better to spend your discretionary income on dinner in Epcot than another clothing item you’ll only wear once?

To that end, I would like to issue a challenge to all my Disney fashion mavens: can you fill your suitcase next trip on $20 alone?

TWENTY BUCKS? IN THIS ECONOMY???

Okay, yes, in today’s economy, $20 is not a heckuva lot. But you are clever, and I am clever, and my Instagram followers are clever. I crowdsourced ideas for park outfits that DON’T break the bank, and here’s what we came up with!

But wait – first, my usual deinfluencing disclaimer. Roll the tape!

In a world where Disney and its collaborators have a new line of merch out every day, I think it behooves us to take a step back from the onslaught and consider the wider implications. Is this latest and greatest thing a good value for your money? Something you’ll really use? How long will it last? Do you have a place to put it? Do you actually want it?

These may seem like stupid questions, but modern marketing and pervasive advertising through social media influencers can sweep you up in hype. Next thing you know, the site is processing your credit card information before your brain has had a chance to process what’s happened. Even if the monetary expenditure doesn’t worry you, your living space is finite and the environmental impact is more than zero.

I’m not here to try to tell you NOT to buy things EVER; that’s no fun. Instead, I hope to encourage everyone (including me!) to make their purchases thoughtfully, without succumbing to tactics like scarcity marketing that encourage impulsive spending and compulsive hoarding. The goal is to avoid buyer’s remorse, whatever that looks like for you.

All right, enough of that. Time to dive into the fun bit. How can you make your Disney wardrobe feel brand new while keeping brand new stuff to a minimum?

HOW TO ZHUZH UP YOUR DISNEY PACKING LIST FOR FREE

Let’s start with the obvious: shop your closet first (and perhaps the closet of a friend with a generous loaner policy). Pull things out that you haven’t considered before and think about how you could style them for Disney glory. I once wore Mickey pajamas to the Wine & Dine Half after party!

It might help if you switch from a straight ahead Disney theme and pivot to

Disneybounding. If you’re not familiar, Disneybounding is when you do NOT dress as a Disney character, but rather dress to evoke that character. For example, if you’re bounding as Snow White, you could wear a yellow skirt, blue top, and red hair ribbon. Bonus points for an apple bag or pin.

With me so far? Good, because when you’re sourcing from your closet for a Disneybound, pull out EVERYTHING that might qualify. If it’s remotely in the right color family or adjacent to the theme, toss it into a pile and sort through. You might be surprised by new combinations.

Speaking of which, do you own any Disneylike patterns? For example, while your polka dot dress might not be from Disney, polka dots in almost any color have become synonymous with Minnie Mouse. Slap some coordinating ears on your head and you’re all ready to fit in. Likewise, a tiger print tee paired with orange, black, or white accessories is extremely Tigger-coded.

Or maybe you can

Dress to the park theme as opposed to a Disney theme. This may feel like a contradiction, but your leopard print dress and butterfly hair clips would be fab for Disney’s Animal Kingdom even if nothing about them scream Disney. A crown with a flouncy dress or snazzy sport jacket will be right at home in the Magic Kingdom. Do you have any shirts from a country in Epcot? And for a touch of Old Hollywood, I like to wear movie-themed outfits to the Studios.

runDisney trip? Wear your race shirts. When you look at your included race shirt as a styling opportunity, you’ll be less inclined to drop money at the expo merch booths. Bring scissors and you can even cut them up on the fly. I’ve seen people slash them into tees, tanks, crops, and more.

OKAY, YOU CAN SPEND A LITTLE MONEY

I did say you had $20 to spend – but how to maximize that money?

Shop secondhand. Poshmark, eBay, Vinted, online and in-person thrift stores are all fantastic places to find gently used pieces for a steal. You’ll want to keep your expectations to a minimum – even secondhand items can be pricy – but with persistence and creativity you can find some real gems. I’ve even found things I thought about buying full price secondhand for a steal!

Accessorize. Minnie ears ain’t cheap and Disney bags are even less so – but an accessory is often much more versatile than any single piece of clothing. Challenge yourself to build multiple park day outfits around a single accessory and see how you can change it up around a central statement piece. Plus accessories frequently go on sale on the Disney Store site, including those vaunted Minnie ears, Loungefly bags, hats, and more. I got my Haunted Mansion ears on Black Friday for $15! Etsy is also a great place to check for accessories like headbands and bandanas – Disney hair bows can often be had for a song.

And speaking of Etsy…

Make your own Disney merch. Got a plain tee that could use some new life? Grab an iron-on patch and make something custom! Anything goes: iron a Disney patch onto the pocket of your jeans, a hoodie and sweatpants, a baseball cap, or backpack. Or if you’re artistic yourself, paint a Disney portrait with some fabric paint! That one will even work on shoes.

Get glittery. My new favorite trend lately is glitter face tattoos! So far I’ve only used the generic kind, but I know there are lots of small shops doing Disney-themed face tattoos with themes suitable for park days, runDisney, and more. It’s an easy, cost-effective way to add a little something extra. And don’t be scared – in my experience they wash off real easy.

ONE LITTLE SPARK OF INSPIRATION

Walt Disney World is a place for creativity and play, a magical 47 square miles in which to let your imagination loose. Your park wardrobe should be no different – and the possibilities are endless. Who wants to look exactly like everybody else? Think outside the blind box and save yourself a little money in the process.

Prefer to add to your Disney closet in perpetuity? No one can stop you! Remember, there is no exact perfect consumption set point for everyone. What you can afford, what you have space for, what you can use, and what brings you unadulterated joy is entirely personal to you. There is admittedly the environmental impact, but I think we can mostly blame corporations for that. My goal here is only to encourage you to take just a moment to think before you buy. You might discover that thing you think you need isn’t nearly as interesting as the thing you can make out of what you have already.

This concludes my latest Disney Deinfluencing post. I have a few more planned, but if you have a particular topic you’d like me to cover, please let me know via the communication channel of your choice!

Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!