See How My 3 runDisney Princess Costumes Turned Out!

UPDATE:  See how we looked in our costumes at runDisney HERE!  

It is done!  And not unlike the actual training for a half marathon… it was a fair amount of work.  But there’s something quite gratifying about making your own runDisney Princess costume.  A one of a kind, that no one else will be wearing on race day!  It can also save you quite a bit of money (if you’re careful, and don’t go nuts at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn’s).

I was on the hook for three princess running costumes, for the upcoming 2016 runDisney Princess Half weekend.  My 10 year old daughter and I will be running the 5k together on Friday.  And I needed another costume for myself to wear during the Princess Half on Sunday.  So what did we end up with…?

First let me pass along some valuable runDisney tutu making lessons learned.

Making a runDisney Tutu

We opted to make our own runDisney tutus, as they are relatively easy and cheap to create.  There are lots of great DIY running tutu tutorials on how to do this.

But be aware, in the world of tutus… these homemade DIY kind are the STICKY-OUTTY kind.  We started by measuring a strip of elastic the size of our waists, then took to tying tulle strips.  Lots and lots of tulle strips.

By the time my gigantic, yellow tutu was complete, and I slipped it on… I laughed out loud.  It’s fairly mortifying.  That sucker is WIDE.  I will have a significant 5 foot princess berth around me during the 5k.  Embarrassing.  I’m trying to embrace it.  Wear it like you own it, right??

Tulle fabric is cheap, and the plain kind runs anywhere from $1-2 per yard.  We decided to mix it up with half plain tulle, half fancy tulle.

Lesson learned:

SEQUIN tulle is very pretty to mix in with some plain.  We used about a 50/50 mix for the blue Cinderella running tutu, and it’s breathtakingly royal.

SPARKLE tulle, on the other hand, is a total pain in the butt.  I purchased a 50/50 mix of yellow sparkle tulle and plain yellow tulle for my Belle tutu.  It’s extremely messy, has little-to-no visual effect, and is not worth the tripled price.

I will have glitter stuck to me for the duration of the runDisney weekend, I have no doubt.

runDisney Cinderella Costume

My daughter chose to be Cinderella, calling dibs on that beautiful blue color (my favorite).  I really hoped to find a tank top to purchase as a base starting point, which I could just decorate.  I ended up with an adult sized one that’s a tad big on her, but at least it will be roomy and comfortable for running.  She loves it, and has a gorgeous Cinderella crown from a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique makeover that she’ll wear to top it all off.

runDisney Princess Belle Costume

Although yellow is not my color, I acquiesced to my daughter’s request and will be running as Princess Belle.  How can you resist when your child says, “Mom, the princess you remind me most of is ___“?  🙂

Just try and find a yellow tank top for sale in winter.  It can’t be done.

So for my Princess Belle costume – I made this bad boy from scratch.  With no pattern.  Yikes.  I don’t mean that to sound like bragging, and please don’t be overly impressed.  The first few versions looked totally ridiculous.   I did trace the overall shape of another top I owned to tissue paper, and started with that as a guide.

Then I whipped out a little make-a-rose-from-ribbon trick I learned in the 80’s, to provide a tiny visual respite from all that yellow madness.  (Can you tell yellow’s not my favorite?)  All in all, I’m happy with the results.   Heck, if you add enough fluff and trim to any top you can make it look princess-ey.

runDisney Rapunzel Costume

This was the big one.  I chose Rapunzel because I love her adventurous spirit!  And because I will be running my very first half marathon in it, I needed a runDisney Rapunzel costume that will be super comfortable.   So no poofy, scratchy tutus.

I raided my fabric box, from when I used to sew for my toddler daughter years ago.  I was able to find some shiny purple and pink material, and although they weren’t stretchy, I decided to try and utilize them.  I also caught a lucky break, in that I had a purple Stonewear top from when I used to be an women’s active wear Ambassador for them.  It should be ideal for comfortable running.  The skirt is truly a skirt, so I’ll wear some running shorts underneath.

Add some sparkly trim… and walla!  What do you think?  I like it.  And I’m relieved that I like it, because I’m tired of playing Make runDisney Costumes now!

Only 43 days left until our runDisney weekend.  Training has been hard, and an incredible amount of work.  I’m definitely going to feel a sense of accomplishment, though.  Really looking forward to this experience, and having a 3 Generation Girls Disney Trip with my mom and daughter!

 

UPDATE:  You can see how we looked in our costumes at runDisney HERE!  🙂

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Have you done a runDisney race?  Who did you dress as?