Having watched Once Upon a Time years ago when it was first aired on TV, I noticed that a large part of the show's magic and immersion comes from the costume design and the designer's, Eduardo Castro's attention to detail. One character in particular, the evil witch, Regina, has the best costumes of the show, in my opinion, as they are usually quite elaborate and fierce which compliments her personality.
In episode 9 of season 1, Regina is shown wearing this outfit below. I really like this one as all the elements of the costume tie so well together to form a complete look, that is almost like a modern witch look. The hat is reminiscent of a witch, yet it is short, and not long and pointy. The dress part of the costume is almost like a 1600s Victorian dress with the waist flaring outwards. However, the inclusion of trousers and omission of the front skirt bit makes it seem very modern and empowering in comparison to a 1600s gown. The cape around the shoulders and chest, again is reminiscent of a witch's cape. This costume is fashionable as well as practical, which makes it so believable and striking, as it is rather unique, yet connotative of a witch, which is what Regina is.
The waist created by the dress portion and corset- type top makes her very feminine in shape, and mixing it with trousers also mixes in a bit of masculinity, dominance perhaps.
Her hair, being big and wild contrasts to the structure of her outfit, but it follows the curve of the hat and frames her face nicely. Again, it makes her look fierce, rather than having limp hair it's styled and big and noticeable. No part of the costume goes unnoticed.
The same style can be seen over and over again, as she often goes for that half dress. Many of her costumes do seem to be rooted in Victorian origins.
The very low neckline combined with being completely covered everywhere else, enables her costumes to be less sexual, but still allows her to be feminine and still look very fierce.
As can be seen from the above picture, Regina wears mostly traditional inspired clothing, but with that modern twist of a half dress and trousers. many of her clothes feature that defined waist and low cut top.
Interestingly, Snow White has a similar outfit, yet it is more modest, neutral and not as glam or fanciful as Regina's. It's more earthy and gives a softer feel to her character. The contrast between light and dark colours from Regina and Snow also indicate their allegiance and symbolise good and evil.
The short to long top is also a style that recurs throughout the series on multiple characters it seems. It is also a style I have always loved and been a fan of, due to the great feminine silhouette is can produce, but on top of that, it is feminine yet practical due to the addition of trousers. It is almost like old fashion mixed with new.
This costume below on Regina is reminiscent to me of princely attire, due to the regal colour and the sharp angles and ruffle sleeves. Again, I feel as though this costume represents a somewhat masculine female, for lack of a better description. A dominant female. This is due to the broad shoulders that features in a lot of her costumes, and in a way these dress tops are reminiscent of tailcoats, which I suppose is why they give the look some masculinity.
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