Where is the best place to buy Princess dresses?

[new_mommy25]

We're going to DL in May for my DD's birthday. I want to get her a princess dress she can open that morning and then wear to breakfast with the Princesses. I went to the Disney Store today and was shocked at the prices. Everything was between $45-80. Is that normal for a dress? DD currently has a Disney store Snow White dress that was a HMD that she loves. The quality is very nice but it's hard to stomach paying that much for dress up. She also has a few other dress ups, some fairy like tutus and a Tinkerbell that I bought for super cheap when Halloween costumes were 75% off at a local store. I wish I had thought to look for Princesses back then but she really only started getting into them recently. She wants a Cinderella or a Sleeping Beauty gown. Any ideas?

[bubbaray]

I was shopping in WA state this weekend and saw Disney princess costumes at both Target and Walmart. They were around $23US. Interestingly, the going rate for them in Canada is $20Cdn, so for some weird reason they are more expensive in the US. The costumes weren't identical (the US ones have a few more sparkles), but really, Sleeping Beauty is Sleeping Beauty, KWIM?

[KrisM]

Ours are all used and bought at resale sales and stores. Do you have any mom 2 mom type sales you can check? I saw a bunch this past weekend at one.

[hellokitty]

Just about all of the general stores seem to carry them. Target, Walmart, those kinds of stores. Last time we went to WDL, we saw HOARDS of little girls wearing princess outfits. We felt kind of left out, b/c there isn't much a little boy can dress up as.

[Tondi G]

Yeah... the princess dresses ARE expensive!

http://disneyshopping.go.com/disney/store/Product_10002_10051_1236123_-1_57493

I recently went to Disneyland for my nieces b-day and there were 5 little girls who got dressed up for the character meal. ALL of them complained about the itchy-ness of their dresses and most of them ended up putting thin long sleeved shirts on under their gowns to make them more comfortable!

this one doesn't look like your typical princess dress and it's on sale

http://disneyshopping.go.com/disney/store/Product_10003_10052_1237120_-1_13846__Girls-Apparel-Glitter-Pink-Princess-Dress

Amazon has a ton of options

http://www.amazon.com/Toddler-Sleeping-Beauty-Halloween-Costume/dp/B000J45GBK

WOW... check this out... you can get her a dress and all the accessories for the same price as the one at the disney store.. at Macy's (I would never have thought to look there)

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=346620&CategoryID=18129

This one sounds nice too... no velcro to be irritating etc!

http://www.littledressupshop.com/site/573968/product/SBTY325

[ehmom]

i just bought dd a white wedding/princess dress from the play wonder area of our target. it was $29. it is the best quality dress up dress i have seen. it really is nice. it is white with a bit of pink on it. it works for her because she can be any princess she wants since it is not so princess specific. i have found princes dresses at tjmaxx and marshall's for about $12. they are not super high quality, but they are usually cute and last long enough. i would chek there if you really want a bargain.hth!

[fivi2]

I have seen dresses at Tuesday Morning also. not sure of price. good luck!

[Karenn]

I just bought DD a dress from www.mydressuptrunk.com for around $26. They have a store on ebay too and are offering free shipping there. The dresses aren't authentic disney dresses, but they look like them and aren't supposed to feel scratchy and uncomfortable like some of the disney dresses. We'll see, I guess!

[bubbaray]

I'd be careful buying a princess-lookalike dress if your DD is a little older. My DD#1 definitely is aware of what is "real" Disney princess stuff and what is her regular dress up clothes. I tried to get her to wear a regular (very princessy) dress up dress for Disney and she blew a fit. So, we got the cheapo (looks/quality-wise, not price) Disney princess dresses.

BTW, she wanted gloves and I found some at the Target dollar spot this past weekend. Target also had Disney tiaras.

[JTsMom]

This isn't a cheaper option, but, if you want something that is better quality, there is a group of women on disboards.com that do custom work. Just go to the Family board and look for a thread called Disboutique. Some of them also sell on ebay. There are some extremely talented people there!

[hbridge]

First, if she wants to be a specific princess it might be hard, but our DD isn't terribly into specific Disney princesses and is just fine being her own princess. We've done a few things... On our trip to Disney at age 3 DD wore a pretty summer dress with a crown for dinner with Cinderella (it was comfortable and pretty), for dress-up at home we picked up a super frilly "Easter" style dress at TJMaxx for about $15 that she wore out as a princess dress, also her Grandmother made her a Belle dress that she loves (it doesn't look much like the Disney version, but she doesn't mind). We've also had Disney dresses that DD doesn't like because they are itchy and I don't like because they fall apart quickly.

Check out the discount stores for dresses in the colors you are looking for. Add a crown and you have instant princess.

We were never able to buy Disney princess dress anywhere but the Disney store due to sizing (at age 3 when princesses started to get important DD already needed a size 8...), so I can't help you with deals. You may just want to keep looking since they do have sales occasionally.

[infomama]

I just bought DD a dress from www.mydressuptrunk.com for around $26. They have a store on ebay too and are offering free shipping there. The dresses aren't authentic disney dresses, but they look like them and aren't supposed to feel scratchy and uncomfortable like some of the disney dresses. We'll see, I guess!

We have bought 5 dresses (Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Bride, Sleeping Beauty and Winter Belle) from them over the years and DD wore her Cinderella one to WDW. She looked beautiful, was comfy and we didn't spend a fortune. They hold up very well, too.

[Karenn]

We got our My Dress Up Trunk dress in the mail today. (Really fast shipping!!) I think it will be really comfy. However, it is not nearly as "poofy" as some of the disney dresses I saw in the store. There's no tulle underskirt or anything like that (which I'm sure helps keep it non scratchy!) I'm thinking it will be OK with DD since she thought one of her other dresses was "too poofy" but it might be something to keep in mind as you're shopping.

[new_mommy25]

I want to thank everyone for their replies. I had no idea I could get Princess dresses at Walmart or Kmart. I've never gone down those aisles before, lol. I ended up getting a really nice Sleeping Beauty gown at Walmart for $26. DD will love it. I am also considering an order from mydressuptrunk.com. The Belle dress looks really nice and not scratchy.

[spunkybaby]

WOW... check this out... you can get her a dress and all the accessories for the same price as the one at the disney store.. at Macy's (I would never have thought to look there)

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=346620&CategoryID=18129


Thanks, Tondi! I just ordered two Sleeping Beauty dresses for my DDs from Macy's. Not sure how much they were when you originally posted the link but they are now priced at $18 each (down from the original price of $60). I added two pairs of shoes for me, which then let me use the "COLOR" coupon code for free shipping :)

My cousin bought my DDs some Disney store dresses after Halloween, but I'm worried they'll be too small for our trip to DL in a few weeks--they've both grown quite a bit since then!

Of course my DH thinks I'm crazy, but since I got free shipping, if the dresses or shoes don't work out, I can just return them to our local Macy's. Thanks again!

[Corie]

I just bought DD a dress from www.mydressuptrunk.com for around $26. They have a store on ebay too and are offering free shipping there. The dresses aren't authentic disney dresses, but they look like them and aren't supposed to feel scratchy and uncomfortable like some of the disney dresses. We'll see, I guess!


I'm pretty sure the brand is called Little Adventures. My daughter prefers
this brand. They don't scratch her or leave her skin with red marks.

The Disney brand is quite scratchy and uncomfortable. The material
is very stiff.

[Corie]

We got our My Dress Up Trunk dress in the mail today. (Really fast shipping!!) I think it will be really comfy. However, it is not nearly as "poofy" as some of the disney dresses I saw in the store. There's no tulle underskirt or anything like that (which I'm sure helps keep it non scratchy!) I'm thinking it will be OK with DD since she thought one of her other dresses was "too poofy" but it might be something to keep in mind as you're shopping.


You can buy the tulle part separately. I actually bought my daughter
one and she hated it. She said it made her skin itchy. (It felt soft to me!)