Thread by @melisscaru

OKAY I HAVE AN IMPORTANT THREAD FOR YOU about fighting in ballgowns! I will illustrate with Disney Princess gifs, because why not.

First, you can absolutely swordfight in a dress. Some dresses are great to swordfight in, and some are not so great.

(How do I know? Uh, let's just say I've been fighting in dresses (with, admittedly, foam weapons, but range of movement issues should be pretty similar) for many many years.)

First of all, let's talk skirts! They aren't necessarily as much of a problem as you'd think. (Witness all the cultures where robes or skirts or big swooshy pants are part of the standard warrior garb.)

Let's look at a classic: Cinderella's dress.

So the counter-intuitive thing here is that skirt volume is actually not usually a problem. It can even help you...all those petticoats could block or tangle a light slash. And the underlayers that make the skirt poofy (crinoline, etc) are also holding it away from your legs.

You have plenty of room for footwork. Getting caught up on brush or other obstacles could be an issue if you're fighting in woods with heavy underbrush, but that's also true of cloaks.

The problem isn't volume...it's length.

Your chances of tripping on your skirt if you have to backpedal are high. It's also easy to step on your skirt on a lunge, which is just...embarrassing. Does not end well.

I have done both of these things, and let me tell you, I did not look dashing or escape unscathed.

However, an ankle length skirt actually is pretty good! You want a light, full, ankle length skirt with lots of room to move in, ideally. Rapunzel's is very fightable.

The big problem with most Disney Princess style ballgowns isn't the skirt, though. It's the sleeves.

Take a look at Aurora's fabulous color-changing dress, which may be the very worst Disney Princess gown for fightability.

Seriously, that spindle is the least of your problems, girl.

Off the shoulder + tight at the shoulder = good luck lifting your arms higher than drink-holding level.

You don't have the range of motion or flexibility you need to fight, and the off-the-shoulder thing is going to get in the way bigtime.

(This is why Jasmine's outfit sucks to fight in even though she wears pants. Good luck moving your arms in those sleeves.)

The top reason I love Merida is because she runs into the sleeves-too-tight problem and SOLVES IT during that archery scene near the beginning with her awesome seam-ripping flex. This is spot-on. This is what your heroine should do if she has to fight in a dress like this.

You want sleeves that have range of motion in the shoulder.

Puffy or dangly sleeves are okay so long as they don't dangle too much on your wrist or forearm, in which case circular motions can wrap them around your arm.

My girl Maleficent 😍 has too much fabric hanging off her arms, but whatever, she can zap you with magic or turn into a dragon, she can wear whatever she wants.

Corsets are less of a problem than you'd think, so long as you don't lace them too crazy tight.

(Like, Ariel, you'd better still have gills, because your waist is only slightly larger than your neck, here.)

I have fought a LOT in a corset. You can't bend much in the middle, but that's not a huge issue (and will be even more true in, say, a metal breastplate). So long as you've got it laced so it's breathable, you're okay.

The big thing that sucks in a corset is actually getting up and down off the ground (because you have to bend to do that). Doable, but you might be a little slower. (Again, just like a cuirass, I imagine.)

Steel boning might even protect you somewhat, depending on how hardcore your corset is and what kind of strike, etc. (You are probably out of luck against a thrust.)

One thing that will throw you off way more than you think is any kind of purse. Anything asymmetrical or dangly that's not close to your body throws off your balance.

(This goes for all the guys you see fighting with all kinds of crazy gear hanging off them, too.)

I have overall found cloaks harder to fight in than many dresses. They tend to foul your arms, cool though they look.

So! If you're attending a ball and you suspect you may be a novel heroine, remember:

Full mobility sleeves without too much dangly stuff
No floor-length skirts (or train, ugh)
No cloak (doff it for effect!)
Poofy skirts fine (but not in heavy underbrush)
Corsets fine

(And if it's a masked ball, make sure you have good peripheral vision! SO IMPORTANT.)

Remember all this, and be ready to rip your seams if you have to, and you'll be able to dance with the villain AND duel him later.

(...So, wow, I had NO IDEA this would go viral! I APPROVE OF YOUR PRIORITIES, INTERNET.)

((And, uh, hey, if you like fabulously dressed women having adventures, you might also like my book amazon.com/Tethered-Mage-…))