Fair enough. I bow to your superior knowledge. I still think it would not be unlikely for them to give that or some other excuse for her to change dresses if they so desired, though.

If I were her mother, I wouldn't have her change her clothes.

Well, they tended to change clothes more often for meals and stuff. I was mainly thinking if she'd dirtied her clothes, and then she'd been sent to her room for several hours and you don't want muddy or damp clothes ruining the furniture.

The whole point of girls wearing a pinafore over their dresses was so that if they got dirty, they simply changed the pinafore, not the whole dress. It was clearly taken as read that they would get their fronts a bit grubby.
When I was about seven I stayed in a children's home while my mother was in hospital, and we often had a pinafore/apron over our clothes. I think it made less washing for the staff.

Have to say I'm not a fan of pink myself. I prefer blue. :K But if it must be a pink sort of colour, I would rather see something like what Mel posted rather than a pale pink.

I think Baynes' illustrations do a very good job. I don't mind changing it up a bit, but I'd definitely want it to have the same Victorian feel.

I also wouldn't mind if Polly's dress subtly references Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. After all, Digory and Polly do go find their way into a rabbit-hole of their own.

Maybe something like one of those? Possibly the dress on the right? Minus the hats, obviously. The stockings and boots are pretty close to what Baynes drew, I believe. Not super keen on that style of collar, but that can always be tweaked a bit, for sure.

Maybe a collar more like that, perhaps less frilly, but that shape with the knot? Baynes' illustrations definitely included the knot, as her Polly was in the sailor-style dress.

I'd like the hairstyle very close to the original. Maybe something like that? Can't tell if the Baynes version is a headband or a ribbon, but it definitely looks like it serves the same purpose as a headband. That girl looks like Polly to me, though, for real!

Also, I just have to say, I know we have fun discussing costumes, but I live my life in shorts and t-shirts and I can't imagine having to wear this stuff, lol.

Really? Blond? It's interesting how everyone has a different interpretation. I always pictured her as sort of Titan haired. I like your idea though.
Let's not forget that she must be a young lady of the late eighteen hundreds by my estimation.

( Because the pevensies meet Proffesor Digory Kirke in the midst of WW2, by which point he is almost eighty I think. So that places his and Polly's birth around 1860)

I agree with the blue. I think that might be what she wears in The Magicians Nephew. Perhaps knee length baby blue with white tights and a sweet hand knit crochet collar. And then a white cotton blouse underneath the blue pinafore. And definitely a starched petticoat or two. And her long waved Titan (in my imagination) flowing out with a matching blue hair ribbon.

(PS. Titan hair is just another way of saying red haired)

I love all those pictures you've posted, PhelanVelval. Great work at finding applicable reference images. I'm rather fond of the dress on the left in the first picture myself.

And in the second one... are those stripes, or actual ruffles on her socks? (I sort of doubt the later, it seems utterly impractical and they're too close to the leg to be pantaloons which often are ruffled.) Either way, it comes across as super cute.

Those old pictures are amazing, PhelanVelvel! All of the dresses are really cute and Polly-ish, although I agree with you about the collar on the second one. It's very evocative of the Pauline Baynes' illustrations, and I'm afraid her artwork has always had a great influence on my mental image of characters. It's possible that we'll see Polly wear two dresses, since she went home with her shoes and stockings all wet after returning to London the first time. There's a good chance that she'd change before meeting up with Digory again.

(It's incredible how much that last picture looks like Polly! I kind of want to believe that it actually is her. )

I don't think I've ever consulted Pinterest as a resource for anything besides clothing from previous eras, lol. That's where I found those three images. There is a veritable treasure trove of Victorian/Edwardian fashion on there. I think we'll definitely see Polly in at least two dresses. People love to see a variety of outfits on their film characters and I'm sure Hollywood knows that.

MN is where we really need to see a costume designer with Victorian/Edwardian fashion experience to make it look both aesthetically pleasing and believable. Giving Polly a distinct look, as well (the way Alice has a distinct look) will open up all sorts of cosplay options. Yes please. :U

Something of interest I found on Wikipedia

so, depending on what age the filmmakers make her, the hem of her skirt should vary accordingly.
Some other nice pics I've come across.

This girl's skirt appears to be much too short

I love the enormous bow in this girl's hair!

Wow, that's really interesting. I didn't even realise there was such an emphasis on hemline by age. XD I thought it was just kind of like...be modest and we're cool with it. Lol. What are those shoes called, do you know? There's something I dig about those shoes with tights.

So, depending on what age the filmmakers make her, the hem of her skirt should vary accordingly

Therefore, if they are accurate, we will know what age they mean her to be. Hmmm...
Isis Mussenden was painstaking in her details, even to the choice of material for the clothing. If the costumers, whoever they be, are as careful, they will probably take such matters into account.

Button-up boots, Phelan? I think that's what LM Alcott called them. Maybe they have another name, too. The buttons would always fly off at just the wrong moment, such as if you were in a hurry, or some place where repair was impossible.

Button-up boots, Phelan? I think that's what LM Alcott called them. Maybe they have another name, too. The buttons would always fly off at just the wrong moment, such as if you were in a hurry, or some place where repair was impossible.

Yes, and the buttons were so difficult to fasten that there was a special tool called a button hook. In "A little Princess" staring Shirley Temple there is a scene in which Sara struggles with a button hook and her boot buttons.

This one is from Etsy.

Despite the fact that the book says Polly is wearing shoes, I always imagined her wearing boots like these. Perhaps Lewis said shoes meaning footwear in general.

Button-up boots, Phelan? I think that's what LM Alcott called them. Maybe they have another name, too. The buttons would always fly off at just the wrong moment, such as if you were in a hurry, or some place where repair was impossible.

Yes, and the buttons were so difficult to fasten that there was a special tool called a button hook. In "A little Princess" staring Shirley Temple there is a scene in which Sara struggles with a button hook and her boot buttons.

This one is from Etsy.

Despite the fact that the book says Polly is wearing shoes, I always imagined her wearing boots like these. Perhaps Lewis said shoes meaning footwear in general.

Wow, I didn't know that! Crazy. I'd like to get a pair of those so I could try my skills at fastening them. XD Polly looks like she's wearing them in Pauline Baynes' illustrations, at any rate, doesn't she?

I checked the illustrations from Magician's Nephew, Phelan and it looks like Polly is wearing a pair of two-tone button boots.

And since we're on the subject, y'all might be interested in this article on how button boots are supposed to fit.