But are they accurate?

We got this fashion historian.

Hi, I'm beth charleston and I teach fashion history at Parsons.

The new school for design.

To walk us through what the movie got right and what they got wrong about these looks first, let's establish the setting.

Milan takes place in northern china somewhere between 4 25 89.

And how do we know this?

We know this because of the ballot of family on the source for Disney's animated film, which is a short poem traced to surf up for 22 5 89 during the northern wei period of the northern and southern dynasties of china mullen present.

The ballot was passed down verbally until it was recorded in writing in the 12th century.

Are there any other clues?

The mountainous scenes lead us to believe this could be the northern part of china.

There's an even bigger hit here and here I will take the main troops up to the tongue shall pass and stop Shan you before he destroys this village.

This doll came from a village in the tung Shao pass.

The tongue shall pass was located here.

Let's get into the looks first up Mulan's everyday look, when the movie opens, we see Milan in her everyday clothes.

The garment she would have when she's doing her chores or working around the house.

Let's draw Mulan's everyday wear from the undergarments.

Up first step the underwear.

Oy punctual yeah, undergarments for women during Milan's time consisted of two layers, genii middle clothes and navy inter close.

The first layer would consist of two parts a pamphlet and emotion.

The panel, it covered the body from waist to knees.

Or longer it tied around the waist via attached ribbons.

The garment could be open, seemed at the crotch in order for a woman to relieve herself discreetly or it could be closed, seemed like modern undergarments and emotion covered the upper part of the torso, both the breast in the stomach and was open in the back.

It was shaped in a triangle or a diamond and tied around the neck and back like a halter, decorative embroidery, applicator or patchwork could be added to personalize this intimate garment, Milan's plain looking Pantsil it in a subdued color, looks historically accurate though as an intimate piece of clothing more next to the skin and not meant for public viewing.

She might have had more leeway to wear bright colors.

Let's move on to the second layer.

The second layer of clothing called genii or middle clothing would consist of an under jacket and possibly an under skirt.

These were usually left playing and the collar and sleeves of the second layer of clothing would be visible, adding color and interest to the ensemble.

The outer skirt might be shorter than the under skirt.

For the same reason the under jacket would have been a symmetrical closing left over, right with side tie closures or small buttons to secure it.

The under skirt would tie around the waist, the way that Milan's upper chest is visible in this outfit would not be considered proper since it showed too much skin.

Also, her under jacket cuffs are not visible.

Moving on to the third layer, ruth chin is an ensemble of traditional chinese attire once worn by both sexes, but by Milan's time was worn only by women.

It consisted of a blouse rue and a wrap around skirt.

The chin on is shown wearing a wide sash and blue that covers the point where the blouses tucked into the waist of the skirt.

These are her everyday clothes and more clothes in which she needs to be able to move easily.

Mhm.

I'm here dyes used for coloring yarns and lengths of textile were derived from natural sources indigenous to the region and also available via silk road trade.

Various shades of brown and rust were common amongst laborers and farmers because they effectively hit dirt and wear color yellow derived from safflower would be reserved for the royal household in later years in china down to the shoes since she is doing chores such as walking outside to bring her father t and feeding the chickens.

Hard shoes would have been somewhat rough.

Her everyday shoes would have leather soles and wool uppers for the harsh winters in northern china.

Shoes would be padded with additional layers of world that would be held in place by quilting quilting also provided minimal decoration.

Shoes would be symmetrical with now designated left or right side.

Even today, when specific shoes for the left and right foot are the norm in china ethnic groups produce symmetrical shoes.

This simplifies the shoemaking process and also reduces the difference in abrasion between the two sides.

Now the hair, a woman's hair was a point of pride for herself and her family, it was grown long and put up in a variety of styles.

Overall, Milan's everyday outfit is somewhat accurate.

So here's what Milan's everyday where would have looked like compared to the movie, Let's move on to Milan's matchmaker outfit during this time period, it was very important for your family to marry.

Well, obedience work fast paced tiny you'll bring, which is why Milan's matchmaking outfit, which she also wears while singing, reflection is so elaborate.

Let's take a look at this outfit from the undergarments.

Up First up the undergarments.

Again, her undergarments would have consisted of emotion and pamphlets perhaps made a finer material such as silk.

Now the middle close, here we see an image from a han era woman wearing a reg motion with the white collar of an under robe.

Next up the main garments.

This outfit is a more elaborate version of Russian with trailing or broad sleeves that cover Milan's hands.

These are called Guang xu, the idea of wearing two pieces of clothing as opposed to one main garment like a robe appealed to the chinese idea of harmony and unity and is symbolic of the relationship of order between heaven and earth.

Moving on to the shawl.

Since it is a somewhat small piece of fabric, Mulan shaw might be silk.

During the northern Wei dynasty.

The silk industry had grown far beyond household production to organize factories and subsidized mulberry farming silkworms, the source of all natural silk depend on mulberries for their diet.

Next the shoes we do not see Milan shoes in this ensemble as Arnhem is so long, but if we did, they would be handmade.

The shoes of this outfit would have silk uppers instead of hemp or wool melon.

Might also wear a shoe called the Chouteau lou, which is more of a slipper type shoe with an upturned toe.

Women wore these shoes with long gowns so that they would not trip over there hem or have to hold it.

In addition to jade being thought of as a symbol of beauty and chinese culture.

It also signifies goodness preciousness and purity.

Milan's family would not have been able to afford this necklace, the matching size and color of the beads, indicative of copious amounts of stone editing and shaping would have made this necklace cost prohibitive for a farming family.

The necklace seen here is from the tomb of far wrong.

A magistrate's wife from northern china who lived circa 500 a.

D.

Approximately the same time as Milan.

It consists of gold pieces crystals and 42 pearls, but the green beads are made from glass.

Next the hair, the hair ornament that Milan wears is also known as Zanna and would have been made of silk thread wire and copied from a style worn by women at court.

It was made from silver or gilded metal with kingfisher feathers and a semiprecious stone in the middle.

Milan's hair styled in a simple bun wrapped with fabric and accentuated with a comb.

A more elaborate double bun worn side to side or front to back was also popular at the time when Nolan leaves the comb on her parents bed table before leaving for the army, it is slightly different from the one her mother fixes to her hair.

Lastly, the makeup powder used to whiten.

The complexion was made by grinding rice into a fine flour consistency.

Rouge to color the lips is believed to have been made from the extracted juice of leaves from red and blue flowers.

Animal fat was then added until the desired consistency was achieved, eyebrows which the chinese believed were linked to a woman's fate or a focal point of the face.

They were darkened or reshaped using soot from burnt willow branches.

For Milan's matchmaker outfit, the clothing is pretty accurate.

So here's what Mulan's matchmaker outfit would have looked like compared to the movie.

The Disney took liberties with the accuracy of Milan's outfits.

The theme of empowerment still rings true and here's what Mulan's outfits would have looked like if she had lived in history.

Mm.

Mhm.