After years of enviously scrolling through pictures online of friends attending Dapper Day at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, I was so excited to finally participate this year! As soon as my hotel was book, my mind started racing with outfit ideas.  For those of you who may not know, Dapper Day is an unofficial Disney event which originated in Disneyland as a day when people would arrive at the park dressed as though they were attending around the time the park opened in the 1950s; it has since grown to include Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. On top of putting together mid-century outfits, many people choose to get creative and put together a Dapper DisneyBound inspired by characters from the films and television or even aspects of the theme parks themselves.

Dapper Day Outfit Inspiration

To create my Dapper Day outfit, I wanted to go with a character I adore, who would be somewhat recognizable, but also one I assumed would be underrepresented in Dapper Day styles. Why not go with style icon herself, Clarice the Chipmunk!  If you are not familiar with Clarice, it’s understandable – she only appeared in one short with Chip and Dale titled “Two Chips and a Miss.”  She also doesn’t appear in the US-based Disney Parks very often (aka only at the occasional special event), but at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney Resort she is frequently meeting with guests in a huge variety of unique outfits.  I decided to go with her classic, original outfit and see what I could come up with!

Almost everything was purchased on Amazon for under $15 or used from items I previously owned, since I think most of the fun of coming up with themed outfits is by doing so as frugally as possible. So here’s a look at how this outfit came together.

Dress

Note to those planning their Dapper Day: if you come across the “AHHH YES THIS IS PERFECT AND EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR” integral part of your outfit, don’t delay in making that purchase. If you’re wondering whether I’m saying this from experience, you would be correct! I hesitated on buying the initial dress I had seen, which is similar to the one I’m wearing, except it came with a belt made of the same fabric. This dress ($18) arrived with a solid black belt, which doesn’t quite fit Clarice’s look, so a new belt was one additional thing I wound up needing to purchase.

Accessories

Many of these items were purchased on Amazon, where prices can fluctuate, or on sale so I’ve listed the price I paid for each item below:

Dress: $18
Belt – $6
Necklace – $13
Headband – $6
Sunglasses – owned
Cardigan – owned
Gloves – $10
Purse – $35
Crinoline – $8
Shoes – owned
Total Cost: $96

While I feel great about being able to purchase most of the items for my outfit at low prices individually, as you can see those costs can add up quickly. If this is also a concern of yours, be sure that you are buying items that you feel confident you’ll be able to use either in your day-to-day look (purse, necklace, belt) or for future Dapper Days (dress, crinoline).

Additional thoughts from my first dapper day

My first Dapper Day at Walt Disney World was an absolute BLAST! Within my first few hours of walking around Epcot I’d already started mentally planning outfits I could put together for the Fall edition of the event (November 3 &4 at Disneyland, November 17 & 18 at Walt Disney World).  Most of my day was spent meeting characters, taking advantage of every PhotoPass opportunity and admiring the creativity in everyone’s outfits. I only did three rides the entire day (Spaceship Earth, Soarin’ and Gran Fiesta Tour), so I’d recommend this more for people who have visited Walt Disney World several times and are looking for a fun, new way to experience the parks rather than a first-time guest.

Have you ever participated in Dapper Day at a Disney Park or do you think you will in the future? Let me know in the comments!