Alice in Wonderland Costumes

In this extension of Lewis Carroll's original stories Alice Kingsley, now 19, attends a party at a Victorian estate shortly after the death of her beloved father. The formal affair, unbeknownst to Alice, is an engagement party planned by her mother and sister. Just as the arrogant and boorish Lord Hamish Ascot proposes to Alice under a gazebo and before the eyes of hundreds of snooty society-types, Alice spots a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat and pocket watch. In shock and confusion, she runs off into a maze and follows the White Rabbit through it. She eventually tumbles down a rabbit hole into Underland, more commonly referred to as "Wonderland" by its inhabitants. It turns out she had visited this place ten years earlier but had entirely forgotten about it. She then reunites with her childhood friends, including the Mad Hatter, who explains to Alice that they need her help in over-throwing the Red Queen. This evil character has taken control of Wonderland from her benevolent sister, the White Queen. Alice is also told that she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwock, the dragon who terrorizes the inhabitants of Wonderland under the rule of the Red Queen. Alice then embarks on an adventure of self-discovery in the process of saving Wonderland and her friends there from both the Jabberwock and the Red Queen's reign of terror.

From Wikipedia

- What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?

- I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!

- I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir, because I'm not myself you see.

- It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.

Alice is in some ways the most complex and the simplest characters. She is an ordinary person trying to make sense of a senseless situation and to understand the curious realm into which she has wandered. In Wonderland, Alice is caught in a predicament where none of the rules or logic she has learned does her any good. The creatures of Wonderland behave to her like the Victorian adults of her outside world: they ignore conventional rules in favor of rules of their own that make no sense to anyone but themselves. Alice tries to deal with them logically and fails; the dream only ends for her when she rejects their world in favor of the outside world.

The Cheshire Cat has an unusual grin, as well as the strange ability to fade into invisibility - sometimes one part at a time. The Cheshire Cat is the only character in Wonderland who actually listens to Alice. With his remarks, he teaches Alice the 'rules' of Wonderland. He gives her insight in how things work down there.

He guides Alice on the next step of her journey (the Mad Tea Party) and is the subject of what may be Alice's Adventures in Wonderland's most quoted line: "'Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin,' thought Alice; 'but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life!'"

Why does the Cheshire Cat grin?
One theory holds that the grin is based on pictures of grinning lions that a local Cheshire painter used to paint on the signboards of inns. Another states that Cheshire cheeses were sometimes molded into the shape of grinning cats.

The Mad Hatter, like his friend the March Hare, is stuck in an endless tea time. Later he also appears as a witness during the trial. He occasionally is very rude and provokes Alice during the tea party. When he is called upon by the Queen, he is very nervous and frightened.

'Mad as a hatter' probably owes its origin to the fact that hatters actually did go mad, because the mercury they used sometimes gave them mercury poisoning.

Many people wonder about the tag on the Mad Hatter's hat. It is a price tag, displaying the price 'ten and six': 10 shillings and 6 pennies.

The Queen of Hearts is the driving force behind Wonderland. She constantly orders the execution of her subjects, but her command "off with his head!" is never carried out. It is fear of her anger that motivates the White Rabbit. She likes to play croquet with live flamingoes and hedgehogs as mallets and balls (but only when she wins, and by her own rules). Alice's own anger at the Queen's illogical, reckless behavior makes her overturn the conventions of Wonderland and break out of her dream in the end.

- Off with her head!

- Sentence first -- verdict afterwards.

- Now, I give you fair warning, either you or your head must be off, and that in about half no time! Take your choice!

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are fat twin brother, dressed as schoolboys. They show Alice the sleeping Red King and tells her about the Walrus and the Carpenter. The brothers are cowardly and don't hesitate to fight over insignificant matters.

White Rabbit is the first character that Alice meets in her dream wonderland. She follows him when he hurries into his hole and thereby enters Wonderland. He appears to be late for his job with the Duchess. While walking through Wonderland, Alice comes upon his house where the White Rabbit, still in a hurry, mistakes her for his housemaid Mary Ann, and orders her to get his gloves and a fan. When she grows and gets stuck in the house, the Rabbit orders Pat to get her out. In the end we discover that the White Rabbit is a herald in the Queen of Heart's court.

The White Rabbit is nervous and always in a hurry. Because Alice follows him, he gets things moving again whenever he appears during the story. In a way, he is some kind of a guide through Wonderland for her, only unintentionally.