Disney Princess Alternatives?

[Turquesa]

DD is nearly four years old and on serious a princess kick.  I want to support her interest.  But for more reasons than I care to go into, I don't care for the Disney princesses.  Would any of you know of some good alternatives with which you've had personal experience?  Specifically, I'm looking for dolls, dresses, and any related books and toys that you like.  Also, please let me know if this question belongs in a different forum.   TIA!

[KCMichigan]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this line of dolls-  Only Hearts Club

Here is one of their princess dolls:

http://shop.onlyheartsclub.com/s.nl/it.A/id.485/.f

They have other outfits (mermaid, fairy, bride, school clothes, sleeping sets) and a whole line of dolls of varying ethnicities.

They are very real average 'girl' looking (instead of teen/woman). They are posable, soft, and a nice size (9").

They also have little siblings that are cute! My two 5 yr olds think they are great! You can buy extra clothes on etsy too.

[SpiderMum]

The Paper Bag Princess - http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Bag-Princess-Classic-Munsch/dp/0920236162

The Monster Princess - http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Princess-D-J-MacHale/dp/1416948090/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294369712&sr=1-1

Princesses Are Not Perfect - http://www.amazon.com/Princesses-Are-Not-Perfect-Not/dp/1599904322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294369846&sr=1-1

Princesses Are Not Quitters - http://www.amazon.com/Princesses-Are-Not-Quitters-Not/dp/1582349878/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294369846&sr=1-2

Not All Princesses Dress In Pink - http://www.amazon.com/Not-All-Princesses-Dress-Pink/dp/1416980180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294369919&sr=1-1

A post over at The Artful Parent reviewing non-traditional princess books - http://artfulparent.typepad.com/artfulparent/2010/08/empowering-our-daughters-through-non-traditional-princess-books.html

And while it isn't a princess book, this was a really sweet book about a prince - http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-That-Missed-David-Melling/dp/0764154516

[milkybean]

You could read the original fairy tales where the older "disney" princesses came from, see what those stories were like...

[zinemama]

I love the illustrations in the Andrew Lang "color" fairy books The Blue Fairy Book, the Violet Fairy Book, etc. But those are definitely too old for your dd. Keep them in mind for later, if she's still interested.

Meanwhile, Trina Schart Hyman is one of my all-time favorite illustrators. Her stuff is so classy, gorgeous and imaginative. You might try her Snow White, Princess Rosetta and the Popcorn Man, Sleeping Beauty, and St. George and the Dragon.

[Spring Lily]

I've been trying get a big variety of fairy tale books from the library, even ordering them from neighboring libraries. I want my DD to have a big catalog in her mind of princess images, so the Disney ones aren't the main ones she connects with the P word! We've talked a lot about how those Disney princesses are just how that one company thought of them. I've also googled the princess images with her and shown her photos of real life royalty, so she can just get a bigger world view on the subject. If you use google images, you can type for example: Cinderella -Disney and that helps you weed it down so it's not all Disney photos.

Also, I have let her get a Disney dress or two, used. The rest of her huge dress-up collection is made up of non-Disney items. I wanted to approach it in moderation, not banning it, just letting it be a small proportion. I think banning it just makes it forbidden fruit, and when almost all of her friends have closets full of those outfits, we're not going to escape it totally. I've also let her watch a couple of (carefully selected) Disney movies, but movies in our house are a big deal. They only see it once and only see about 1 or 2 movies a month. I don't want to feed the obsessive viewing habits that so many kids develop.

[ledzepplon]

There's a company that I've ordered cute princess costumes from before. Some of their stuff is basically copies of Disney princesses, but they have others that are mire unique. And I like that they carry bigger kid sizes, not just up to 3-4T. It's called LittleDressUpShop.com. (They have other costumes, too, but I just have two of the princess dresses. Nice quality.)

[ollyoxenfree]

I've seen Paperbag Princess dolls for sale, I think we even had one a long time ago, but it wouldn't be hard to make one. Just frizz up the hair on a dirty blonde doll and use a paper bag just like in the book. 

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye is a sweet little story.

Read fairy tales, myths and legends from non-Western countries. Their princesses will not all be blonde and blue-eyed and they will be dressed in saris, kimonos, etc.