AIBU to wonder what happened to party clothes?

[Beadoren]

If my DC (4 and 2) are going to a party, I always put them in their 'party clothes'. This usually means like a little patterned shirt and chinos for my DS and a dress or frock for DD. But I've noticed that loads of people these days tend not to dress their kids up. Even for their own parties? No judgement here whatsoever, I guess it's just what kids are comfortable in but my DS loves dressing up in his party clothes!

I'm not including soft play or fancy dress here, obviously.

My dd has loads of party dresses. Because she gets regular hand me downs, and dresses outlast jeans and leggings. I let her choose (she's five, but since 3ish) and she chooses party dresses for grandparents birthday parties and something more durable for friends, often. I'm quite relaxed about clothes getting trashed (quite, not totally).
I cant be alone in letting kids 3 plus choose what to wear? She's very sensible and takes guidance about the weather/ suitability. She also wears trousers under dresses likes it's 1996.

My Dd hates dresses and girly things I'd love her to wear a lovely sparkley dress sometimes but wouldn't force her to wear one so she usually wears leggings or jeans and a sparkley top instead.

Most of her parties have been soft play or bouncy castle types anyway so the girls in big dresses look a bit uncomfortable sometimes.

I'm 32 and I can't say what has happened to "party clothes" because I never knew they were a thing in the first place

My mum certainly never dressed me or my brothers up in anything special for parties as far as I can remember.

Bit hard to justify a sequin-encrusted party dress when it's soft play.

For a sit down meal sort of thing, yeah, but kids' parties are playtimes now. A shirt and smart trousers is a lot less restrictive than a dress, too, and I wouldn't want to see my son able to run, jump and climb while my daughter has to sit still in a cloud of chiffon.

matilda

By dress I mean any dress, so could be an everyday jersey one or a summer dress, pinafore etc.

To me a frock is one of the flouncy party dresses with the netting petticoat underneath. Think sashes and Peter Pan collars and possibly sparkles.

The problem is that SO many people I know who don't have little girls love to buy frocks for my DD. I don't know what it is. My mum cannot enter a children's department without buying my daughter a dress, so I end up with lots of frocky dresses which she can't wear everyday. So any oppportunity to put her in one and I do.

I cannot abide shirts and chinos on younger boys and if I'm dressing DS (3) for a party I would go for something Mini Rodini, Bobo Choses or similar. Other people probably wouldn't view them as smart or dressing up though.

I am old and come form an age when kids would always get dressed up to go to parties and I would say this was the norm with older DS (30). Parties were nearly always at home with tea and party games...nothing strenuous.

With DS2 (11) I have noticed a shift toward not really dressing up for parties, but they they are nearly always at an event. It was a bit surprising at first seeing kids in scruffs.. Though with boys it's really hard to do 'smart' beyond toddler years. If DS wears a nice polo shirt and trousers he thinks he is done up to the nines

It's still about 50/50 around here.

DD is 5 (almost 6), so the parties she goes to are either 5th or 6th birthdays. Quite a lot of the boys do wear chinos & a smart shirt. Likewise, plenty of the girls wear sparkly dresses.

For DD, it depends on what kind of a party it is. If it's a disco in the village hall, then a sparkly dress is great. If it's a trampoline party, then leggings and a top seem more appropriate. Luckily, she's not at all bothered about what she wears yet!

My kids wear party clothes. Never heard of the brands SimplyNigella mentions, but mine wear twirly skirts and dresses from places like Next, Debenhams, and the big supermarkets, along with sparkly party shoes, hair accessories etc. Soft play parties are a different matter of course but the party gear still gets plenty of use at things like big family occasions, holiday centre kids club disco's etc. DS isn't so bothered about dressing up, but has a favourite shirt and smart black jeans he'll wear without prompting if the rest of us are making an effort.

My daughter is 8 and still has a party dress. Her school has a sparkly disco each Xmas, so I get her one seriously sequinned dresss a year (Boden on eBay last year, Monsoon sale the year before). She wears them to go to the theatre or more "occasion" type parties.

I would go for something Mini Rodini, Bobo Choses or similar.

I love that. Who cares about the style, it's all about the brand. It really cracks me up

Apart from weddings and a christening, ds has never been to anything that needed him to be dressed up - his friends parties have always been soft play/ activity/football/laserquest/rolling round in mud, and now they don't have parties anyway.
We don't go to anything that would require dressing up, and school disco def doesn't for the boys

Seeing little girls in proper little party dresses is lovely. Seeing them in dungarees ready to play and get covered in mud, also lovely. Seeing them in heels, mini skirt and strappy top like they're ready to go out clubbing, not so nice.

Photograph no, it is about the style but it's easier to explain it by listing the brands that make clothes in that style as there aren't many of them. Like Fat Face are known for surfer type style, these brands are known for their own styles which are harder to describe.

I tend to let my children choose, within reason. I hated party frocks on DD but she went through a phase of loving them, then she discovered skinny jeans at about 7 and has worn them for 10 years.
DS1 12 has very little interest in clothing. Joggers and hoodies are his staple. He will grudgingly choose things but if I didn't make him he would wear whatever I bought for him. When he was going to kids parties he chose t-shirts over shirts.
DS2 6 is very aware of clothing, he loves looking smart. He has a blazer I bought for a fancy dress party he likes to wear for parties with shirt, tie, boots (trainers are too scruffy) and aftershave.
DS3 5 wears a mixture. He like bright clothes and copies DS2 to an extent. He loves accessories, particularly hats. His current favourite party outfit is yellow trousers with braces, a colouful t-shirt, a bow tie, green velvet blazer, colourful baseball boots, sunglasses and a cowboy hat. He likes to add a bag to his ensemble as well.

My DD is 6 this year parties consist of swimming , soft play, arts & crafts, disco ( which seem to consist of running around/rolling on the floor) , gymnastics, farm trips, pizza making. Even the parties at home descend into running around peoples gardena. So party dresses don't really work/would get trashed. I have had to ask her grandparents to please stop giving them to us as they never get worn.

Dd is 6, she got a sparkly dress from River Island for over Christmas and wears it as often as possible which makes sense as she is likely to outgrow it anyway.

For parties and special occasions
Such as Christmas and Easter i buy her clothes from the Dutch brand Oilily which we both love.

It makes me said that when people go out to a restaurant to dinner they'll wear jeans or trackie bottoms, but that's just the way I was raised, we rarely went out to dinner, maybe three times a year so we always dressed up in our best because it was a special occasion.

We used to eat out a lot, but always got changed into something a wee bit nicer than we had on.

We eat out a lot now, and will always smarten kids up...Not necessarily dress or button down shirt, but smarter than usual.

Both have party clothes, but for actual parties it is up to them if they wear them.

My DD hates party clothes. She lives in comfy shorts and wellies. Wears them to all parties and family gatherings. I tried to make her wear party clothes when she was younger but stopped when I realised I was making her miserable.

Now I accept her choice in clothes and am pleased I don't have to spend money on a party wardrobe

I realise this is old but wanted to say i think smart joggers and a tshirt is fine for kids going to activity role-playing parties. I would feel sorry for the uncomfortable kids stuck in jeans or in a big poofy dress unable to run around freely.

I think we have only had one party that wasn't soft play and that involved a bouncy castle so party wear around here is leggings/joggers with a long sleeved top to prevent friction burns.

Pre Covid DS had one pair of smart trousers and a polo shirt in case he was invited to a wedding, christening or adult birthday do. Haven't needed anything like that for the last 18 months.

I dress my dd up for occasions. Meals out, theatre, parties etc.
It’s can be a class thing, when I’ve taken her to parties with more MC children they are more unkempt and a bit scruffy dare I say it.
But more WC tend to be done up to the nines.

@ittooshallpass

My DD hates party clothes. She lives in comfy shorts and wellies. Wears them to all parties and family gatherings. I tried to make her wear party clothes when she was younger but stopped when I realised I was making her miserable.

Now I accept her choice in clothes and am pleased I don't have to spend money on a party wardrobe

How old is she? If under 6 fair enough but I actually find that a little inconsiderate to the host.