Though Disney has had its criticisms of its women’s characters over the years, by giving their heroines blue ensembles, the company has imbued them with a sense of power, of control over their own destinies. More importantly, they have allowed their diminutive worlds (women, traditionally, were expected to stay near home and hearth) to expand.

“You’re adding a bit of power to the character by giving her the blue,” says Eiseman. “It’s a very subtle way of saying, ‘Yeah, but young women, young girls, can be empowered, too.’”

Whether the company definitely intended this is not known, although there are so many leading women in blue that it seems a strange coincidence if not.

Costume designer Jacqueline Durran, who worked alongside Emma Watson on Belle’s attire for Beauty and the Beast, has also stressed the empowering qualities of the colour, saying the shade fits Belle’s role as an active heroine.

“There is a sort of refinement and crispness to light blue, but there’s also blue in workwear,” she told the publication. “It is a practical colour, and a colour that you can work in.

“In that sense, it is full of active strength.”

Disney fans, this is why Aladdin’s Princess Jasmine really wears blue