One of the most iconic figures to emerge from the children's literature of the 19th century, and the most instantly recognisable from her attire, is Alice in Wonderland. This is mostly due to the original illustrations of the first edition by John Tenniel

John Tenniel

Sir John Tenniel was a British illustrator, graphic humorist and political cartoonist whose work was prominent during the second half of England’s 19th century. Tenniel is considered important to the study of that period’s social, literary, and art histories...

 and their subsequent repetition with minimal alterations in most published editions and film adaptations ever since. In Tenniel's early coloured works (the original itself being illustrated in simple black and white), her dress was blue, her pinafore white and outlined in red, white stockings, and she was blonde. This has become by far the most popular colour in subsequent illustrations.

The Victorian Alice

The basic format of Alice's clothing as laid down by Tenniel is that of a typical middle-class girl of the mid-Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

. While unremarkable then, her clothes have tended to remain fixed no matter what the era the work is set in since. She wears a relatively plain pastel coloured or dark dress which may button up the front or rear, contrasting white Peter Pan

Peter Pan

Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...

 collar, puffed sleeves, perhaps edged with lace or broderie anglaise

Broderie Anglaise

Broderie Anglaise is a whitework needlework technique incorporating features of embroidery, cutwork and needle lace that arose in England in the 19th century....

 and a number of horizontal parallel bands or a tier effect, usually of the same colour, round the circumference of her skirt above the hem. Over the dress she wears a pinafore, fastened at the back with a bow, which is white and edged in a darker colour, usually pink in the coloured versions. The front of the apron below the waist is all edged with a white ruffle of the same material as the apron itself and the border of the plain portion of the apron before the ruffle starts is edged with the same contrasting colour as before. The join between the edge skirts of the apron and non-edged bodice is hidden by the waist sash of the same colour. The front of the apron is embellished by two matching semi-circular pockets, edged across the top with the contrasting ribbon again. Probably the outfit in a live-action film (as opposed to an animation) which most closely adheres to this standard is that worn by Fiona Fullerton

Fiona Fullerton

Fiona Elizabeth Fullerton is a Nigerian-born British actress.She is perhaps best known for her role as KGB spy Pola Ivanova in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill and as Alice in the 1972 film Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.Fullerton made her film debut in 1969 with a role in Run Wild, Run...

 in the musical version, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972 film)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972 film)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a 1972 British musical film based on the Lewis Carroll novel of the same name. It had an all star cast, and John Barry composed the score....

.

By way of footwear, Alice is typically portrayed as wearing flat black patent strap over shoes of the 'Mary Jane

Mary Jane (shoe)

Mary Jane is an American term for a strap shoe or bar shoe that typically has low heels, broad and rounded closed toes, and a single-buckle strap across the instep and/or around the ankle...

' style. These are often combined with striped stockings, as originally envisaged by Tenniel, but these seem to have fallen out of favour, presumably in line with the more recent Disney 'standard', the exception being the 1999 film adaptation

Alice in Wonderland (1999 film)

Alice in Wonderland is a television film first broadcast in 1999 on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4. It is based upon Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass....

 starring Tina Majorino

Tina Majorino

Tina Marie Majorino is an American film and television actress. She started her career as a child actor, starring in films such as Andre; When a Man Loves a Woman; Corrina, Corrina; and Waterworld...

, although the overall colour scheme here is yellow, rather than pale blue, and wearing black and white striped stockings.