Help me find dresses for adult-sized 12 year old to wear to bat mitzvahs!

[citymama]

DD1 is 12.5, and suddenly almost my size at 5 ft 5" and 110 lbs - and clearly still growing (still pre-puberty!). She has invitations to - get ready for this - 15 bar and bat mitzvahs over the next 8-9 months. She wears pretty much jeggings and tees every day, has no dressy clothes that actually fit her. I want to get her a couple (to begin with) nice dresses to wear to these bat mitzvahs, theater, etc. While she can actually fit in my XS size women's clothing (I'm more of an S now and am happy to give her some of my cute Boden, Patagonia and Athleta dresses), the styles are more grown-up than she would like, plus I have a lot of black which she thinks looks depressing.
Her and my criteria:
--ideally buy from tween/teen lines rather than women's (not young enough) or girls (too young!)
--don't want to pay too much since she may not wear any of these more than a few times before she outgrows them
--comfortable - she's generally pretty casual, so no sequins or lace!
--she prefers solid colors or subtle prints

Any ideas, or suggestions of where to look? She bookmarked this dress (on sale too!) and this jumpsuit on Nordies, which is the first place I thought to look - both cute, but the dress is a little summery casual IMO. Links would be great if you find any others! Thanks!

[SnuggleBuggles]

What are other girls wearing? A lot definitely took it as a chance to hit the juniors section of Macy's for these celebrations. Macy's is likely a better option than Nordstrom too. Good fit for budget and styling. Kohl's is actually pretty decent too.
That dress looks too young. Probably ok for some things but not really great for a Bat Mitzvah. The jumpsuit could work but I would try to steer the boat to dresses first.

Here are some Macy's options
touch of lace at shoulders- not enough to be uncomfortable, enough to elevate to something more special; it won't be that short on dd- that model is likely 5'10" plus so don't rule it out! Keep that in mind with all of these!!!! https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...e%26slotId%3D8

Another...lace doesn't have to be uncomfortable https://www.macys.com/shop/product/b...%26slotId%3D28

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/b...%26slotId%3D30

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...%26slotId%3D37

remember- the models are a lot taller!! https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...%26slotId%3D46

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/c...e%26slotId%3D1

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/b...e%26slotId%3D7

because I still don't think lace is uncomfortable https://www.macys.com/shop/product/c...%26slotId%3D23

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/b...%26slotId%3D25

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/b...%26slotId%3D52

There were 22 more pages of results so if your dd wants to take a look, I bet she finds some cute options! But, yes, 13yo is juniors. Penneys is another good one same with TJ MAxx and Marshalls.

[erv917]

My DD (11.5) is pretty much the same size, and we actually bought the dress you linked a few months ago! She got two other cute dresses at the same time but neither seems to still be available. At any rate, I think you're on the right track with Nordstrom as a place to look. I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of the size 16 dresses fit her well, though many tops and pants in that dept. are starting to be too small. In contrast, she tried on one dress that was a women's XS and the fit was just...off. Seemed to be cut for a more grown up body than she has at this point. Nordstrom had lots of cute options that both she and I felt were age appropriate--it can be hard to find things that I don't deem too grown up and she doesn't find too babyish, IYKWIM!

DD1 is 12.5, and suddenly almost my size at 5 ft 5" and 110 lbs - and clearly still growing (still pre-puberty!). She has invitations to - get ready for this - 15 bar and bat mitzvahs over the next 8-9 months. She wears pretty much jeggings and tees every day, has no dressy clothes that actually fit her. I want to get her a couple (to begin with) nice dresses to wear to these bat mitzvahs, theater, etc. While she can actually fit in my XS size women's clothing (I'm more of an S now and am happy to give her some of my cute Boden, Patagonia and Athleta dresses), the styles are more grown-up than she would like, plus I have a lot of black which she thinks looks depressing.
Her and my criteria:
--ideally buy from tween/teen lines rather than women's (not young enough) or girls (too young!)
--don't want to pay too much since she may not wear any of these more than a few times before she outgrows them
--comfortable - she's generally pretty casual, so no sequins or lace!
--she prefers solid colors or subtle prints

Any ideas, or suggestions of where to look? She bookmarked this dress (on sale too!) and this jumpsuit on Nordies, which is the first place I thought to look - both cute, but the dress is a little summery casual IMO. Links would be great if you find any others! Thanks!

[candaceb]

(not sure how experienced you are with this stuff, so if I'm stating the obvious excuse me)
You also need to keep in mind that different temples are going to have different clothes that are acceptable.
At a conservative temple, shoulders need to be covered and dresses/skirts should be a bit longer. In a reform temple, pretty much anything goes.
My major experience with what girls wear to bar/bat mitzvahs is because I see the kids when I drop off/pick up my son from religious school on Saturday mornings. We are at a reform temple in a very liberal college town, so what is acceptable here is different than what might be acceptable in a bigger city. Girls seem to wear a bit of everything - either of those items you linked would be fine. Dressier than school is probably the bottom line.

[almostmom]

So, my daughter is HAVING a bat mitzvah in a month, and she sounds just like your daughter - no fancy clothes, let alone a skirt or dress was in her closet, no shoes, nothing. And she has a few more coming up. She is also 5'5" and about 115 pounds.

We ordered a bunch of dresses from Macy's. They were women's dresses, and size 4 is what fit her best. But you can also search by teen. You have to make sure they don't have big boob areas (some did) - my dd is still pretty small in that area. We also ordered some dresses from Anthroplogie. I'd scroll through with her and find some options to try. I don't have time to find the two my daughter kept (one for hers, one for others), but will if I can later.

I think the one she picked out seems totally fine and nice.

[boolady]

My DD is 11.5, 5'6" and 110 lbs, so almost identical to your DD. I do not think the dress you linked to is too young, but I think it may be too casual. It's also likely to be too short, because the ship has sailed on the girls' department for DD for reasons of length. For events like this, DD and her friends really like looking at Francesca's. There are lots of styles to choose from, cute accessories, and the prices don't break the bank. She also likes Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack. DD has worn this style of dress twice and they have plenty of coverage but are still cute and comfortable. They will have it in many more colors and patterns in store and once it gets closer to the winter holidays. https://www.francescas.com/product/j...ategory=106120

[almostmom]

I just looked, and it was actually Lord & Taylor where I found a bunch of dresses DD liked, not Macy's. Here is the one she is wearing to her own bat mitzvah, and probably to others as well:

https://www.lordandtaylor.com/main/P...7&Ntt=quiz&N=0

But Francesca's seems like a great place to look as well!

[AnnieW625]

Check Target’s Xhilaration line. Dd1 tried a few of their XS dresses this past spring and they were too big still (she is 4’11” and about 85 lbs), but imho they were still very age appropriate and most of them she could’ve worn a cardigan or wrap with.

Here are some for fall:
https://www.target.com/p/women-s-flo...84#lnk=sametab

https://www.target.com/p/women-s-sid...36#lnk=sametab

https://www.target.com/p/women-s-flo...27#lnk=sametab

https://www.target.com/p/women-s-sho...10#lnk=sametab

https://www.target.com/p/women-s-sle...92#lnk=sametab

https://www.target.com/p/women-s-flu...36#lnk=sametab

https://www.target.com/p/women-s-str...16#lnk=sametab (Dd1 would love this one in the floral print)

If she is okay with wearing one or two the same dresses then I would check Anthropologie’s sale rack, but if she is going to want a variety of dresses then I think it would be best to stick with Target or something in a similar price point.

I like the mint green dress that Snuggle Buggles posted as well. I do think you may have to wait and see if it is a conservative or reform service and buy a few flouncy dresses with sleeves.

Years and years ago McCaulous Department Store in Montclair had appropriate dresses for teens so maybe check there. They are one of the last independent department stores out there.
https://mccaulous.com



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[Smillow]

Try Ross, lots of styles, low prices!

[magnoliaparadise]

I'm kind of amazed at how tall all these girls are - what percentile are they??

I don't really get it because mine is 10 years old and 5 feet and 94th percentile so it sounds like yours must be an even higher percentile. I can't imagine my daughter growing 4-6 inches in a year or two if still pre-puberty - that seems like a huge jump!!!!

I got my daughter to do a basketball team for her age because I figured her height would help her and... low and behold, the self selective group that likes basket ball here is whoa TALL. Most were taller than her.