Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last 50 years, most of us are familiar with the classic stories and characters of the Disney Princesses. If you’re a girl, no matter how old you are, you probably saw a movie or have a book about Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or Snow White. These characters have been around for years and the Disney Company has released wonderful animated movies that tell their stories.

Some may think that any of the Disney character girls, like Tinker Bell or Alice in Wonderland, for example, can be called a Disney Princess. not so So what does it take to qualify as an official Disney princess? A bit of history will help show the distinction.

In 2000, Disney’s consumer products division hired Andy Mooney to help combat declining sales. Shortly after, Mooney attended his first “Disney on Ice” show. As he waited in line, he noticed how many young girls were dressed as princesses. As he puts it, “They weren’t even Disney products. They were generic princess products.” Mooney saw a need and filled it. An official Disney Princess line was introduced soon after.

Mooney chose a mix of old and new heroines to join the official Princess lineup. The following list shows the first film they starred in:

• Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937)
• Cinderella (Cinderella, 1950)
• Aurora (Sleeping Beauty, 1959)
• Ariel (The Little Mermaid, 1989)
• The Beauty (Beauty and the Beast, 1991)
• Jasmine (Aladdin, 1992)
• Pocahontas (Pocahontas, 1995)
• Mulan (Mulan, 1998)
• Tiana (The Princess and the Frog, 2009)

Tinker Bell was once considered part of the Princess lineup, but since 2005 she has run her own department; Disney fairies.

Each of the Princesses in the official Disney lineup has their own icon, color palette and character cameo, their own song, and a full profile unique to that Princess.

Little girls who want to emulate their favorite princess can get everything from band-aids to backpacks. And when they’re ready to attend a princess function like “Disney on Ice,” or play dress-up at home or go trick-or-treating for Halloween, there are dozens of Disney princess costumes for all ages. There are princess costumes that start with bunting bunting costumes to adult princess costumes for mom, grandma, older sisters, and aunts.

Infant Princess Costumes focuses on Fancy Princess dresses and costumes for infants and toddlers, most of which are official Disney costumes. Almost every official line of Disney Princess costumes has a storybook version, a ballerina version, and a child version, but that’s not all. There are many versions available for the Princesses. For example, there are five Cinderella costumes for children and 7 versions of Cinderella costumes for adults. In addition to the costumes, there are Disney tiaras, wands, slippers and shoes to complete the costumes.

Of course, not every Fancy Princess is part of the Disney lineup, although Disney treats its Princesses very well. Some princesses are part of another organization or perhaps have a bit more of an independent mindset. There are princess and toddler costumes for Princess Leia and Princess Fiona from Shrek, for example. The Pumpkin Princess costume is quite popular and very pretty. And Candy Corn Princess is so popular that there are costumes for all sizes, from infants, children, teens, and adults, and even a Candy Corn costume for dogs. How’s that for popularity as a princess?

So I hope that clears things up a bit. Of course, the official Disney Princess lineup isn’t closed. More princesses will be added. In fact, Disney has announced a new addition to the lineup. the disney movie Tangled upSlated for release in November, it stars Rapunzel, who will be added to the official roster of Disney princesses.

The moral of this story (princess stories always have a moral) is that the Disney Princess line was born because little girls love to dress up in princess clothes. And all parents will love exclaiming with exclamations of glee for their little princess, starting with infant princess costumes.