Jane Porter is a charming, talkative, and kindhearted young woman who travels to Africa to study apes in Walt Disney’s Tarzan. Jane has definitely got a knack for style, which is shown via her various outfit changes throughout the movie.
Like the previous articles in this series, the purpose of this article is to use a childhood idol as inspiration for outfits that you can actually pull off as a college student. All it takes is a little creativity!
For more Disney-inspired looks, check out our past articles on Walt Disney’s Snow White, Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Walt Disney’s Cinderella, Walt Disney’s Princess Jasmine, Walt Disney’s Princess Tiana, Walt Disney’s Pocahontas, and Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Table of Contents
About Jane Porter
Jane Porter is a beautiful and intelligent woman from England who is passionate about studying apes with her father, Professor Porter. She travels to Africa with her father and a hunting guide named Clayton, in search of apes to study. Once they arrive and set up camp, Jane is separated from her father and attacked by a pack of baboons. Sure she will never get away, Jane is suddenly rescued by a mysterious jungle man.
This jungle man is Tarzan, who was shipwrecked in Africa with his parents when he was only a baby. His parents were viciously killed by a leopard, and Tarzan was then taken in by an ape named Kala who raised him as one of her own. Jane thinks Tarzan is an amazing creature because he understands apes and can glide through the treetops with ease. He has a knack for mimicking, so Jane teaches him to speak English. She brings him to her camp and teaches him about the human species.
Jane and Tarzan eventually fall in love with each other. After discovering that Clayton has evil intentions of murdering the troop of apes, Jane and her father decide that they should remain in the jungle to live with Tarzan and the apes.
Jane Meets Tarzan
When Jane first meets Tarzan, she is wearing a pale yellow dress with a purple tie. Her dress embodies a simple style with girly accents. Also, even though she is in the jungle, Jane still wears high heels. This outfit inspired me to find this lovely dress with soft, feminine details. To accessorize, I added a purple necklace, subtle leopard print earrings (Jane is in the jungle, after all) and a cute pair of simple heels.
Earrings- Betsey Johnson, Clutch- Debenham’s, Dress- Topshop, Necklace- Anthropologie, Shoes- YesStyle
Tarzan’s Teacher
When Jane brings Tarzan to her camp to teach him about humans, she wears a casual outfit consisting of an olive green skirt and yellow top, with no shoes. If Jane’s look were translated into a modern casual outfit, she probably wouldn’t be wearing a floor-length skirt, so I chose a simple green romper, yellow cardigan, vintage oxford heels, and jungle-inspired accessories.
Cardigan- Bluenotes, Shoes- Modcloth, Romper- Urban Original, Bag- Chinese Laundry, Earrings- Fred Flare
Date with Tarzan
In one scene of the movie, Jane and Tarzan are hanging out alone and she is wearing a simple brown skirt and white top. Although what she is wearing is super casual, I chose to interpret it into a date night outfit, since the scene is somewhat romantic.
To translate Jane’s look into a date outfit, I used a simple white shirt that pairs nicely with a striped skirt. Finally, the heart earrings symbolize Jane and Tarzan’s blossoming love. This outfit gives off a very put-together vibe, which Jane Porter would definitely approve of.
Earrings- Avalaya, Skirt- EAT, Top- Forever 21, Shoes- Lori’s Shoes
Happily Ever After in the Jungle
When Jane decides to stay in the jungle permanently, she ditches her buttoned-up formal wear for a short brown top and skirt, similar to Tarzan’s loincloth.
Since most people don’t walk around in the female equivalent of a loincloth (thankfully), to channel this look, I chose a simple brown one=shouldered dress, a cross-body purse (so you don’t drop it if you happen to be swinging from treetop to treetop), and colorful shoes and earrings to add interest.
Bag- Fred Flare, Dress- Shop Ruche, Earrings- Avalaya, Shoes- Buckle
What do you think?
Are you inspired by Jane? Which Disney characters would you be interested in seeing posts about in the future? I want to know what you think, so be sure to leave your thoughts in a comment!
I *love* the second outfit!
GORGEOUS
I am always so amazed how you come up with such cute, wearable outfits that totally fit the inspiration :).
I would love if you could do one on Esmeralda, just a request :).
Thank you!
This series is great! Jane is my favorite! She’s sweet and so self-assured intellectually, but is still a little shy when it comes to men. I can sympathize!
I’d love you to do a post on Anastasia! I know she’s not a Disney girl, but most girls that grew up in the nineties loved her just as much! A Mulan post would be great too, but please consider Anya! Russian style doesn’t get enough play! ???????! 🙂
Hiya yet again im going to ask can you plz do esmerelda, meg or mulan please ?
I really like the first outfit – its super cute and the last outfit!
Oh they are all perfect! Great choices, love the “Tarzan’s Teacher” style!
I know it’s no Disney! but you got to do something wizard-ish ala Harry Potter! Or Mickey Mouse the Wizard!
I really liked all the jewelry you paired with the outfits here. I especially loved the elephant earrings and the necklace from outfit #1. Please do Mulan next. I was surprised to see that she wasn’t before Jane
Mulan!! The comments have been asking for her, and now, they’re screaming her name.
This is the first time I’ve been completely disappointed by this column, and it’s because after you did all the major cast members of the Disney Princess franchise, I thought you’d finally do Mulan.
The let-down about this article is a shame, too, because these outfits are cute.
My favorite so far!!!!
This is a great wardrobe inspired post! Every week I look forward to seeing how you will interpret the next Disney princesses style… its so much fun seeing what they could look like if it was modern day. Please do Mulan though, she is such an awesome character and would be amazing to see how she’s interpreted as. Also Alice in Wonderland, and Megara would both be also equally enjoyable to see as well. 🙂
Great job! I love your Disney Princess series. You are are doing a fantastic job. I would love to see Megera and Mulan next. I would also like to see a branch out into the villians of the movies.
I love this one!!! Honestly, your posts just keep getting better and better and I think this is one of my favorites. I love your attention to detail here. Look forward to the next post 🙂
Oof, I don’t envy you coming up with Meg and Mulan — yeah, they’re both such kickass heroines, but coming up with four different, modern, and on-trend ways of doing Grecian draping and Chinese armor (?!) is gonna be rough!
Weird as it may seem, I’d love to see a “Lady and the Tramp” one — yeah, OK, no clothes here, but visually, this was still such an inspiring film! Plus that means we could see some fun interpretative originality as opposed to modernized translations! It’s set in the 1950s — my sense of Lady includes some bright and flirty Betty Draper styles, with maybe a couple looks with tough “Grease”-esque influences…
Yay, Tarzan is one of my absolute favourites! I was just watching it last week actually! I love the first outfit
amazing! meg from hurcules and mulan would be super cool.
Another great one, I’d love to see one about Meg from Hercules.
i love all these disney movies-inspired outfits! and tarzan is my alltime favorite disney movie so thank you so much. i would totally wear all those xD