RANKING EVERY ANNA OUTFIT IN THE FROZEN FRANCHISE
Because Frozen offered us so many great dresses for our favorite sisters... Let’s start with our ginger sweet love, the one and only Queen Anna of Arendelle👸 Shoutouts to the costume designers who worked on the films and the books and gave us wonderful Norway inspired outfits!
Remember this is my opinion and I'm not forcing it on anyone! Keep also in mind I love all the outfits (except one that I really hate, but you'll discover it soon enough), and it was actually very hard to put them in a certain order!
I also wanted to tackle the Broadway costume but I don't like the Broadway production of Frozen for many reasons and I don't want to spread negativity for those who enjoy it.
LET'S START :
ABSOLUTE FAVORITES :
1) Frozen Fever dress
I think this is Anna not only prettiest dress but the one who characterizes her the best. The green and warm colors, the sunflowers, the bees, the leaves, the puffed skirt, the slight glittering, the beautiful blueish green, everything screams Summer Solstice and Anna in this. Of course the original dress isn’t that pretty but Elsa made sure to make it iconic for her sisters birthday! Also, I love jackets.
2)Ceremonial Queen dress
As you may know I’m a huge Queen Anna fan so I can only love this dress! Who would have thought such a regal appearance would fit her so well, yet keeping what makes her personality at the same time? There are so many fine details on this dress I wouldn’t know where to start. The wheat and honeycomb motifs evoking Northuldra and their newfound peace. The accordeon skirt that reminds us of her F1 ball gown. The purple touch that reminds us of Elsa’s coronation came. The some find crocus embroidery on the cape. The detailed jewels on the crown and the matching earrings. The asymmetrical jacket and skirt that contrasts the symmetrical coronation dress of Elsa in F1. The velvet texture. The green/black combinaison works so well here. It’s not just a copy of Elsa’s Queen outfit even though it’s reminiscent of it, it really suits Anna and only her.
3)Coronation ballgown
Again, so Anna. Very pretty and smooth and regal. Contrasts Elsa's coronation dress perfectly, already foreshadowing the two styles the girls will go for in the future. I love the way the skirt moves when she turns around. Fits her perfectly.
4)"Animals lost and found" dress
Never though I would fall so much in love with an outfit from an unknown 2D short on YouTube. And yet!!! Where do I start? Ok first Anna in red is something I didn’t know I needed but here I am. Weirdly it isn’t redundant at all with her ginger hair because they managed to balance it out with purple on the sash and the skirt. It also mixes up 2 elements I love for an Anna outfit: a jacket and a Kristoff/Saami styled sash. And the rabbits on the skirt are so cute!
5)Enchanted forest dress
This one screams autumn unlike any other! I first thought it was too dark for an Anna outfit (last time she wore so much black was in mourning) but when I learnt the symbolism behind it I changed my mind. First the cape has this particular shape that makes it look like a coat and is reminiscent both of her mountain outfit from F1 and of Elsa’s cold palette. Once she’s separated from her sister and that her paths joins Kristoff shes actually 100% matching him, with a black overall and orange underwear/sash (I’m not inventing anything btw it’s in the interviews) It’s not the first time Anna matches Kristoff in her outfits (it started as far as in F1 with Kristoff having her blue and magenta motifs on his sash, then with OFA with their costumes matching each other) but this time Disney took it on another level because it really serves the narrative and shows how these two are meant to be together!!! How cute is that? I also like the practical side of this dress: last time Anna was not prepared for adventure but this time she ordered a dress that would allow her to run and climb. Also love her victorian style boots! Disney really managed to make her main F2 outfit as iconic as in F1.
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I LOVE IT :
6) Christmas outfit
This one doesn't get enough praise. Blue is my favorite color and it surpinsingly suits Anna. What's great about this dress is the velvet fabric and the fact Anna can wear it for formal occasions as well as for adventure and it will suit her no matter her hairstyle. And the goats!!! The jacket!!! The SASH!!! She matches Kristoff so well!! Too bad that, once you remove the jacket, the outfit isn't as pretty.
7)North mountain outfit
This is what I think of when I hear the word "iconic" even though it's not even Anna's usual colors! Yet how does it manage to fit Anna so well? We know this dress wasn't MADE for her like her other clothing (she bought it at Oaken's). It's the first instance in the franchise that ANY color and shape can fit her! Also, from a storytelling POV, the subtle symbolism that she's focused on finding Elsa and momentarily matches her sister's palette is a great detail that the sequel and the shorts will push forward. I find the outfit less pretty once the cape and the cap are removed though.
8)Everyday Queen dress
This one appears in almost every post F2 media. I doubt we’ll see it in F3 and F4 but even though it’s only meant to appear in book illustrations it still does a great job of transforming the ceremonial Queen dress into a practical yet still regal outfit. It kept her Queen outfit colors but changed the shape so Anna can easily walk and run. The jacket and Saami sash are everything I love. The alternate winter version seen in « The lost toy » adds a cape similar to her mountain one but green and attached with honeycombs. This is a better everyday dress that her summer dress in my opinion.
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REALLY GOOD OUTFITS, WISH WE SAW THEM MORE :
9)Winter festival outfit
What a surprise for these 5 minutes animated shorts to have come out with such detailed and stunning outfits! I know they want to sell dolls (and I’m the first to buy them haha) but it’s still a great addition to Anna’s wardrobe! The short cape/jacket is so fitting, and they took her mountain outfit color palette only to cool it down so it looks different enough yet familiar. That’s a big YES to me!
10)Mourning dress
At first glance it just looks like a darker mountain outfit but it actually has its own losange patterns and only slight touches of green here and there. It reminds me a lot of victorian mourning dresses and holds a lot of weight in the story since Anna is completely alone for the first time. The « Next right thing » scene in F2 where Anna lost even more makes her autumn outfit so pertinent because the black fabric evokes a mourning dress… Storytelling though costumes is the best!
11)Troll wedding outfit
Green always fits her so perfectly, even natural green! AND this is a Kristanna wedding dress (although not officially lol) so I can only approve. Would be amazing if her actual wedding dress mixes Arendellian and troll elements in it (like the short story "Engaging Anna and Kristoff suggested)
I LIKE IT :
12)Summer dress
Not my favorite but a good « everyday » outfit that represents the character very accurately. No wonder we see Anna in this dress in almost every F1 book! It just fits her. Seems also very practical. I like the mix between her mountain outfit and her 15 years old outfit.
13)Alternate summer dress - Once Upon a Time
They could have gone with the all green summer dress but they actually alternated it with a pink corsage, reinforcing the fact Anna sometimes rearrange the detachable parts of her outfits. What amazes me in this show is that the Frozen outfits feel like real historical dresses and not a cosplay. It’s not meant to be iconic by any rate and we don’t see it much but it’s good for Anna’s first appearance in the show!
13)Winter outfit (child)
We only see it briefly in Anna’s erased memories and OFA but I love the jacket and the overall simplicity of it.
14)Nightgown
We don’t get to see it fully in Frozen 1 (except when she’s little since it’s the same only shorter) and the motifs slightly change in Frozen 2 even though it’s basically the same nightgown. It’s simple yet pretty and very Anna, just not special enough to rank it at the top.
15)Anna wedding dress - Once upon a time
The dress itself is very pretty and Elizabeth Lail is stunning in it but it doesn’t scream « Frozen » to me. Sure there are slight rosemaling but nothing noticeable. I’m still attached to it because it belonged to Iduna (or Gerda) and it’s a Kristanna outfit! I wish we could have seen Kristoff's groom costume. I hope her actual wedding dress will be less generic and incorporate some troll elements.
16) Harvest festival dress
I remember back when it leaked some people (me included) thought it was Anna’s wedding dress because it looked white! Turns out it’s more cream colored and evokes the wheat both in the intricate motifs and the colors. It’s a stunning dress overall that enhances Anna’s gingerness. It has everything I like (the jacket, the sash, the puffiness) but the fabric looks too stiff to me and it’s not among my favorites.
17)Alternate 15 years old dress - F2 portrait
I prefer this version to the F1 version because of the green skirt (which actually comes from Anna’s summer dress) I love the fact Anna can mix two of her outfits because they’re detachable pieces!
18) 5 years old dress
This one is cute! I just wish it was more colorful though (I don’t like brownish tones). What adds value to it is that we learn in an illustrated story that Anna received this dress for her 5th birthday!
19) 8 years old dress
Again not a fan of the brownish tones. But this dress was made to appear briefly so no big deal. What’s impressive though is that even for a brief appearance the artists managed to add unique patterns to it.
20) 15 years old dress
Same commentary. It's not made to be iconic by any means, but it's distinguable enough to make it apart the other dresses.
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I HATE IT!!!!
Anna Pink Mattel 2014 dolls
Dolls aren’t usually 100% accurate but remember when Mattel decided to invent their own ugly dresses for the sisters? They dresses Anna like a random Barbie with pink and glitters everywhere. And where does this crown come from?? That is not only out of character but very disrespectful as well. They had the most wonderful outfits from the movie and they chose these ones. That’s a big NO!
