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The Queen of Hearts has been sending fear down our spines for almost 150 years. The fictional character was created by Lewis Carroll and brought to life in his timeless classic Alice in Wonderland. She ruled over Wonderland with her foul temper and violent behavior. Just a playing card, she scared the wits out of Wonderland’s residents and is just as powerful in pop culture today. Check out why the Queen of Hearts is so memorable and even why we love her.

“Off with his head!”
It is safe to say the Queen of Hearts liked to keep her punishments short and simple. One of the most famous quotes from Alice in Wonderland, “off with their heads” is still heard and mocked today in pop culture. Anything and everything would make the Queen’s short temper snap with a beheading as the consequence. However, the King of Hearts granted pardons to many of the Queen’s victim and very few heads rolled in the storybook.

Plays by her own rules
Who could forget the croquet match between the Queen and Alice? The average game of croquet consists of wooden mallets and stakes, solid balls and wired hoops with directions to follow. The Queen, however, feels free to play by her own rules with flamingos as mallets, hedgehogs as balls and her servants as hoops guaranteeing her a win every time. If not, well it’s off with winner’s head!

Power and Authority
It is no question that the Queen of Hearts possessed power and authority, something we all wish we had a little bit of. Wonderland’s residents lived in fear and went out of their way to please the Queen. Throughout the story, the White Rabbit is a nervous wreck and in chapter eight, Alice comes upon three cards painting roses red in fright of the Queen’s dislike for white roses. Now if we could only find servants like that.

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Makes Delicious Tarts
“The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer’s day. The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.” The Knave will agree the Queen knows how to bake! Published before Alice in Wonderland, the classic nursery rhyme was incorporated into Carroll’s story with the Knave’s trial. The trial takes place at the story’s climax with Alice testifying and admiring the tarts herself.

One of a kind
Don’t get the Queen of Hearts mixed up with the Red Queen, or your head will roll. The Red Queen appears in Carroll’s sequel Through the Looking Glass and is represented by a chess piece. Still an antagonist, the Red Queen doesn’t have a foul temper and is defeated by Alice after she herself becomes a queen. In both Disney versions, the 1951 animated film and Tim Burton’s adaptation, the two queens are combined to create one unforgettable character.

Now you can become the Queen of Hearts with Alice in Wonderland costumes from cu2nite.com.au.

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An Alice in Wonderland themed costume party is a great idea for a birthday party, Halloween, or regular party. Both adults and children can enjoy going through the looking glass into this Wonderland celebration. There are many colorful characters to choose from, and costumes are commonly sold. If you want to dress up as Alice, making the right “Alice in Wonderland” party dress is the most important part. If you are a seamstress, you can make the dress yourself, or you can alter a dress or skirt to look similar. Once you recreate your “Alice in Wonderland” costume, it is simple to finish off the outfit with the right accessories.

Follow these steps to head down the rabbit hole to the best bash you’ve ever thrown:

• An outdoor garden location is ideal for an Alice in Wonderland costume party. For a children’s party, the afternoon is best. For an adult party, have it outside at night and decorate with multi-colored lights to bring out the dark, weird side of Wonderland.
• Write up a budget and guest list. Think about the number of guests when planning the food, drinks and activities.
• Create and send Alice in Wonderland themed invitations. Send the invites at least 2 weeks in advance. However, if you send them a month in advance, you will have greater response and the guests will have more time to get costumes.
• Begin a list of everything you need to purchase or gather for the Alice in Wonderland party so that you have everything ready for the event. Don’t forget to rent, buy or make your costume.

A cool homemade “Alice in Wonderland” party

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“Our group decided to go as the Alice in Wonderland party. We had The Cheshire Cat, The Queen of Hearts, The Mad Hatter (Tim Burton’s version), Alice, The Tea Party Rabbit and, of course, our Late White Rabbit (who is really late, by this we mean pregnant). Our Homemade Alice in Wonderland Group Costume was made by The Queen of Hearts. She put the most time and effort into the project, while The Mad Hatter helped with his costume.The Queen’s costume was all handmade from pieces of material that were sown together and some 16- gauge electric fence wire was used to make the bottom springy. On the back of her there was a smile of the Cheshire Cat.The Cheshire Cat was also, from head to toe, made from spare material.The Mad Hatter’s costume took, perhaps, the longest. The Hat was 100% constructed using cardboard, poster board, material, feather duster feathers, knitting needles and some 16-gauge electric fence wire. The suit was an old green suit that we spray-painted lightly with purple spray paint. The belt across the chest was just spools of thread woven with yarn on an old belt. Alice’s costume was an old blue dress with a white apron sown on top. The Tea Party Rabbit used a few colorful shirts and handmade ears that the Queen of Hearts constructed. The White Rabbit had a lady’s red overcoat. We took a foam circular ball, glued cotton balls onto it and then pinned it to the back for a tail. We also found an old clock and tied it to yarn to hang from her neck (so she wouldn’t have to hold it all night).All in all, we had the time of our lives and everyone loved our costumes. “

(by Joey Minnesota)

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At a fan event for Alice In Wonderland, the stars of the film kept it relatively low key, while the fans went all out, dressing as their favorite Carroll characters. Let’s take a look.

 Fans dress as their favorite character at Walt Disney Pictures & Buena Vista Records “Alice in Wonderland” Fan Event at Hollywood & Highland on February 19, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland brought in 116 million dollars in the United States alone on its opening weekend. In addition to its box office success, Alice in Wonderland was extremely successful in the fashion department.

While watching this movie (all three times I saw it), I could not take my eyes off the incredible and inspirational clothes worn by the various characters. If you want to channel a little Alice in your daily life, here is some fashion inspiration from Wonderland:

1. Alice

Alice Picture

Alice, as most of you know, is the main character of the movie. Her style is feminine, but not overly feminine, and she is always wearing a beautiful shade of sky blue. Alice has a very effortless look that’s never rigid, because she tends to partake in adventures that require comfy clothes. In addition, most of her dresses have a vintage feel, so a thrift shop would likely be a great place to find Alice-inspired clothes.

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2. The Red Queen

Red Queen Picture

The Red Queen is an evil queen with an abnormally large head. As her name implies, she adores the color red, perhaps because it rhymes with her favorite saying, “Off with their head!” In addition to the color red, the Red Queen also adores the colors black and gold. Her favorite symbol is the heart, and she tends to wear structured clothing with an almost gothic look.

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3. The White Queen

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The Red Queen’s sister, the White Queen, is a beautiful, good queen who adorns herself in all white. The only color on her entire body is her deep shade of burgundy lipstick. Her style is ultra-feminine, with lots of pearls and lacy details.

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4. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum Picture

The adorably funny twin brothers, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, keep the audience giggling throughout the movie. Not only are the brothers humorous, but their fashion sense is also pretty interesting and easy to imitate. The twins always wear stripes, shorts and suspenders. Add a pop of color, and you’ve got their style!

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Top- John Lewis, Shorts- Forever 21 Socks- Absolute Socks, Shoes- BCBG, Suspenders- Beatdrop’s Closet

5. The Mad Hatter

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Ah, the Mad Hatter, my favorite character in the movie. The Mad Hatter is a crazy, eclectic hat maker with bright orange hair and lime green eyes. He always looks colorful, even though his basic coat and pants are neutral. He achieves this by wearing bright eye makeup, a brightly colored scarf, and of course, his hat. If you’re looking for a standout hat, discount stores like Stein Mart, T.J. Maxx, and Marshall’s always have a great selection of really expensive and beautiful hats for dirt cheap.

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Scarf- Oasis, Booties- Urban Outfitters, Necklace- Swarovski, Nail Polish- OPI, Blazer- Piperlime, Top- Forever 21, Hat- Village Hat Shop, Shorts- Modcloth

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Costume designer Colleen Atwood had quite the challenge in creating the clothes for Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” She talked to WWD about her avoiding “cliche,” “drug store Halloween” costumes and her final ensembles.

Perhaps most impressive is Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen get-up.

First, Atwood made Bonham Carter’s head seem larger by outfitting the actress with a dress she describes as “tipped to Elizabethan” with a nipped-in waist and high collar. Then, the hair and makeup team fitted the actress with a prosthetic forehead that pushed her hairline back and a heart-shaped wig that weighed three pounds (“which doesn’t sound like a lot,” notes Baliel, “but when you’re just supporting it, it really is”). On top of that, Bonham Carter’s head was digitally enhanced to appear three times its normal size. Though Atwood demurs, “I think her acting did the intimidating, not the costume.”
(huffingtonpost.com)

If you are wondering if you should buy an Alice in Wonderland costume for your child this Halloween, or for the matter of fact, for yourself , there are some more sexy adult versions of the costume available, well, don’t wonder anymore! Go for it!

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Alice is a classic. Last year the Alice in Wonderland characters were floating around the top of the most popular Halloween costume ideas. Classic costumes always work, they don’t fade away, and that’s mostly because of the costumers out there who always refine the costumes with more details, offer more costume sizes, more styles for everyone.

Alice in Wonderland costumes also offer a good opportunity for a group to wear costumes around a theme for Halloween. If you care thinking about having a Halloween party, think about a movie or Disney theme, and ask everyone to choose a costume for that theme, it’s always fun to compare what someone else can come up with!

So Alice in Wonderland costumes work for a child, an adult, for a sexy costume (Alice, not White Rabbit…well it depends what you’re into, hehe…), for a group.

Here are the characters you can choose from:

• Alice costumes
• White Rabbit costumes
• Cheshire Cat costumes
• Mad Hatter costumes
• Tweedle Dee costumes
• Queen of Hearts costumes
• King of Hearts costumes
• Card Guard costumes
• Humpty Dumpty costumes
  

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