What Color is Cinderella’s Dress?
I have watched, listened to and loved Disney’s Cinderella since I was too little to remember.
I have always thought her beautiful ball gown, in which she wooed the prince, was white.
Crystal white, to be exact.
I couldn’t have told you the fabric that I thought it was made of when I was young, but now I think it’s tulle. Iridescent tulle with tiny inlaid sparkling beads. For those of you who don’t know what “tulle” is, here’s a photo of a vintage tulle wedding dress:
Lately, though, I’ve been noticing that every visual representation I’ve seen of Cinderella has her ball gown blue.
It doesn’t matter if it’s an actual dress (Exhibit A: left) for an adult, child or doll. It’s always blue satin. (Yuck.)
Another example is the classic Cinderella bust shot (Exhibit B: below):
And finally, there’s the movie poster/coloring book Cinderella with the birds, the palace, and so on…(Exhibit C: left).
What I don’t understand is why Disney (and everyone else, apparently) thinks her dress was blue.
Maybe it’s because Fairy Godmother looks at the color of her eyes (blue) and selects a dress to suit them; I can only assume that people thought that meant the dress was blue.
I’ve watched the movie a lot lately (Jane loves it, of course), and I still think it’s white.
Let me show you. 
Exhibit D shows Cinderella showing off her ball gown to the onlooking little birds. Notice that everything in the image has a blue cast, including the little birds, their clothes, and the birdbath (gray in the daytime).
The reason they’re all cast slightly blue is because it’s nighttime in FantasyLand, and even there night makes all things appear slightly off their true color. Darkness is funny that way.
For further proof, check out Exhibits E and F. 
Exhibit E shows Cinderella and Prince Charming dancing in the moonlight. Again, everything has a faint blue shimmer due to the late hour.
Exhibit F shows Cinderella and Charming on the bridge. We know from a previous sighting that Charming’s fancy official uniform is pristine white:
Look at the comparison between the Cinderella and the Prince. Hmmm. No real difference. (except that possibly the skirt of Cinderella’s gown seems faintly bluer; I always chalked it up to the sheer nature of the skirt.)
That said, I rest my case.
So what do YOU think? White or blue?
Filed under: General, Catbird, Random Thoughts on May 31st, 2006
Your case is well-made and you’ve got me convinced. White it is!
I agree with you, and now that you’ve brought it up, I’m kind of mad how wrong they have it. Obviously, her fairy godmother knew - what else would go with glass slippers except iridescent white? Even the shoes in the pic you have are blue! How wrong can they be?
Good call.
PS Do you like Ever After?
I agree and think it’s white. I think in the last 2 pictures the slight blue color is a reflection of the moonlight or something like that. If everything around her is blue then the dress will reflect that. So I’m sticking with you and saying it was white, just like you described?
Ever After is a great movie.
Yeah it’s white, definitely white… definitely… definitely…yeah.
I think it’s just another example of Disney trying to brainwash us all and take over the world.
I think its a magical dress, so sometimes its blue and sometimes its white, made to change colors just as Cinderella herself changed!
It’s white no doubt. There is a hint of blue in the movie but thats just the moonlight affect. Though I really like the the idea of magical dress. Or maybe it’s that heat sensitive material. Remember those shirts. I had a purple(cool hot)/pink(when hot) one (eesh! hey it was the 80s[oh I did lots of parenthesis just for you cathy]).
Cathy,
I have to be the lone disagreer…I am positive it is blue. I have always thought blue. Funny post.
I always thought it was blue too, as a kid I thought it was especially beautiful because blue was my favourite colour.
Hey Cathy! My mom told me to read your blog because I am the resident Cinderella expert. :] Her dress is white in the movie. It’s blue in all pictures you see her in. And the dress she wears at Disney World is white. I think people just have it mixed up. Oh and I love that Jane loves Cinderella cause I do to. I got the 2 disc special edition dvd for Christmas last year. But hey, I’m just like Marcia, I’m never gonna grow up. Talk to you later!
Amber
Its the DaIsny Code
well, being in the paint/design industry for a while compels me to vote it must be “moonlight white” for the benjamin moore whites collection. . . .there are more “whites” in the world than blogs!
What color was the decoration in the ball. Was it persian blue and gold?
I love the dress you got on it’s really gorges and all but keep it for real that is a ugly dress. another color like pink and white.
I think it is actualy a light silvery grey with bright white acsents. and I don’t think it is tule because it seems heavier then tule when she twirls. As for why they have it blue in the photos I think this was to 1 make it look better in print(especialy on a white background) and 2 to differ it from the weding dress at the end.
It’s been a bother to my mind for some time, because I was talking to a friend of mine, and discussing a dress that I was planning on making for a formal for my college. and I always thought it was blue, because of the pictures outside of the movie, but then i looked at it and realized that it’s true, it’s just because of the night time theme that everything is a blueish tint.
However, I’m not completely convinced that it’s tule on the skirt. It shimmers yes, but tule is light, and airy, and see-through. her dress isn’t see-through.
Excellent point, Heather, about the see-through nature of tulle. Tulle dresses generally have an underlayer of the same color, though, so it wouldn’t be completely see-through now would it?
I have always thought it was a silver dress, with some blue undertones. And, of course, sparkley!
I have to go with the first lady (with Exhibit A through F) I’ve lived in the mountains way up and she has proven her dress is blue which is true fact. And Disney masterfully done this. I will extend and explain further… during the daylight under natureal lighting of the sun is the true colour of the dress. In which she had proved using the pictures shown. Has anyone been outside midnight up in the mountains when there’s a full moon (which you are actually the closest to the moon??)
[Exhibit F] there not only is the light from the moon but as well a light from somewhere else. There are no shadows in the picture…the moon is behind her, and a light in the front of them. (possible a street light which changes the colouring as well) this appears to make the dress appear white but reality it is still blue, there is also light casting off the water as well as we should also realise this too.
Look at Exhibit E: In that picture there is only light from the moon. This proves that this is the only light in the evening (midnight/ full moon) notice her dress still blue and not white? and there is shadows from which only the moon is pressent no other lighting.
Exibit D remember it’s before midnight…and there’s again refflection below her -water which would cast of two lightings 1) from the moon and the casting of the moon’s light bouncing off of the water. causing again her dress to be abit white. which still falls for what i have written for Exhibit F.
As for the lady who written (with the exibits etc) she is 100% correct the dress is blue!
Test this yourself take a white piece of satin and a blue piece of satin on a full moon at midnight you’ll see for yourself. I’ve gone for many walks at midnight in the mountains in the forest as to that’s where I lived (rockey mountains) and it’s sooo beautiful and colours look so different at night.
is it possible that Disney had put Cinderella in a white dress because that could have been her dress that she had gotten married in?
see here:
…Disney’s official sites etc:
http://www.magicalmountain.net/emporiumDetail.asp?inventoryID=617&Disneyana=true
remember: when Cinderella was created back then tradition was virgins wore a white wedding dress the dday they gotten married unlike today. and I don’t think I’d wear the same dress for a ball, and at my wedding.
With the shoes. She wore glass slippers for the ball and at her wedding. She had showen the mise her dress with her every day slippers why wear glass slippers and possible getting them dirty/ chipped before going to a special occation? At least that’s what I’d do, think Cinderella was smart in that way as well.
Her dress is clearly white in the movie. I just don’t get why Disney decided to change it to blue.
They def just changed it for some reason. It’s always been a mystery to me.
Well I agree that the dress is either crystaline white or a light silver. But I don’t think it is tulle. I think it is organza over satin. And the accents (false panniers and puff-sleaves) are organza with out a satin under layer. Organza is a little heavier and has a shimmery look to it.
What I want to know is why they changed her hair from strawberry-blond/light auburn to corn yellow blonde.
I think that the old Cinderella looked a lot like Judy Garland. The new one doesn’t at all
THANK YOU!!! It is because of this dress color mix up that Sleeping Beauty (my fav) is wearing pink. ew pink, a yucky color. Her dress it Blue!
My friend in Disney says the two can’t both have blue dresses so SB must wear pink. and white isn’t colorful enough. humph…