Dressy Dress & Shoe Help - Dad/Daughter Dance with PROM Theme!

[lizzywednesday]

Help!

Because she loves spending time with DH, DD wanted to go to our Girl Scout service unit's "Me and My Guy" Dance.

They went last year and had a great time; the theme was luau.

This year, the theme is PROM.

She just turned 8 and is about 4'3" tall, quite slim, and very much shaped like a little girl. I usually lean super-conservative/"modest" when dressing her, but this is fancy so I'm going to allow her to try out some more "grown up" (but still conservative!) styles because this should be fun. I am not comfortable with cutouts, keyhole necklines, two-pieces, or "illusion" necklines, but maybe I should loosen up?

She wears somewhere between a size 7 and 10, depending on cut/size chart, with most brands' size 8 fitting the best.

I'd also like to spend under $50, including shoes, if possible. (And what kind of shoes should I look for? She wears about a size 2W.)

We have tentative plans to go out and try on dresses this weekend but I wanted to get a sense of where I should plan to look - we have major department stores (Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Sears, JCP) at nearly every mall nearby, plus most of the typical kids' stores (Justice, Gymboree, Children's Place, etc., but the Crazy8 near us went out) and two Kohls within 15 minutes.

Can you guys help me get a sense of what "prom" might mean to you? I saw some promising things online at Macy's and Kohls. (I'd really prefer Macy's best because I have a Macy's charge and a lot of coupons I'm not using, but if a better dress is out there somewhere else, I'll go there.)

[gymnbomb]

Here are some from Macys that I think would be really cute and appropriate. Edit: I just saw that your budget included shoes, so these may be a bit over even with coupons.

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...e%26slotId%3D2

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/b...%26slotId%3D12

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...%26slotId%3D49

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...e%26slotId%3D2

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...tegoryID=71398


Would she use any dress shoes again before outgrowing them? I think there's a lot of flexibility there, so if possible I'd look for something she could wear again. Any basic flat or strappy sandal would be good.

http://www.payless.com/girls-smartfi...id=girls-dress

http://www.payless.com/girls-america...=girls-sandals

[boilermakermom]

I never seem to find anything at Kohl's for DD. I always luck out at Nordstrom though. I would shoot for something similar to what you would wear to an evening wedding. Dressy, sparkly. Also, hit up TJ Maxx. I have scored some cute dresses in the $20 range.

If you have a gymboree nearby, pop in and try this on. Pair it with a cute sweater or shawl, fun corsage and flats. Super cute!

[mmsmom]

I got this dress for DD for an event this week. It was $16.00 in the store:

http://www.gymboree.com/item/girls-s...girls#?start=9

[Melbel]

We have had good luck on Amazon. Brands such as Zunie, Speechless, Biscotti, and Rare Editions are favorites. Tween Diva would also have dresses in theme. Here are search results for these brands in sizes 8 and 10 with prime shipping: https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_in...nid=2528832011 I would think a longer dress or high/low dress would be the most "prom" like. We have gotten great deals but prices can vary.

Maxi dress for $12: https://smile.amazon.com/ZUNIE-Girls...iva&th=1&psc=1

[lizzywednesday]

...

Would she use any dress shoes again before outgrowing them? I think there's a lot of flexibility there, so if possible I'd look for something she could wear again. Any basic flat or strappy sandal would be good.

http://www.payless.com/girls-smartfi...id=girls-dress

http://www.payless.com/girls-america...=girls-sandals

Yes, she'd happily wear dress shoes out everywhere as long as they fit her foot!

We started looking at Payless in the mall (terrible selection in her size) but should probably take another peek at the one in the strip mall. In a pinch, I could convince her to get some glittery paint and fancy shoelaces to decorate a pair of Chucks, but they're so narrow that she often complains about them.

I basically don't want to spend more than $30-$40 (if possible) on the dress itself because we don't have anything super-fancy coming up.

I'll check which malls also have Payless (aside from the local one, which is pretty terrible) and will try to convince her to get her foot measured.

[lizzywednesday]

We have had good luck on Amazon. Brands such as Zunie, Speechless, Biscotti, and Rare Editions are favorites. Tween Diva would also have dresses in theme. Here are search results for these brands in sizes 8 and 10 with prime shipping: https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_in...nid=2528832011 I would think a longer dress or high/low dress would be the most "prom" like. We have gotten great deals but prices can vary.

Maxi dress for $12: https://smile.amazon.com/ZUNIE-Girls...iva&th=1&psc=1

I love Rare Editions - bought quite a few by that brand when she was an infant/toddler!

[lizzywednesday]

I never seem to find anything at Kohl's for DD. I always luck out at Nordstrom though. I would shoot for something similar to what you would wear to an evening wedding. Dressy, sparkly. Also, hit up TJ Maxx. I have scored some cute dresses in the $20 range.
...

We're not patient enough for TJ Maxx, which is kind of sad, but there you have it.

I have about a month to shop, so I'm not super-fussed (dance is 5/18; would like to have everything ready to go by 5/16, which is PLENTY of time.)

[Percycat]

Are you near Costco? We found many party dresses at Costco at a great price for my DD when she was younger.... although you may have missed the shipments. Lots of dresses available at Easter and Christmas.

[lizzywednesday]

Are you near Costco? We found many party dresses at Costco at a great price for my DD when she was younger.... although you may have missed the shipments. Lots of dresses available at Easter and Christmas.

We have a Costco membership, but I kind of hate the clothing they have for sale.