Do little girls wear party dresses to parties?

[beatie]

I feel incredibly shallow asking this.

My dd is 3 at the end of this month. She's been invited to a 4 year olds party from her Pre-school. We don't know anyone. So far DD has been to parties mostly at soft play areas, where I dress her in trousers.

I have dressed her in a pinafore dress and funky tights for other parties but she's usually the only girl. We've reached new territory and I'd hate her to be the odd one out if little girls wear twirly party dresses.

[fennel]

sorry, WEAR not WHERE

[fennel]

my 4 and 5 year old dds where a huge variety depending on their mood on the day. sometimes just normal, scruffy clothes = old jeans and t=shirt. sometimes fairy dress or burgundy-velvet-with-sash type things. sometimes tiger suits or pirate costume. sometimes pinafore-and-stripy-tights.

NEVER miniskirt or logoed top.

there is always a big variety, whatever they wear, others are wearing a wide range.

[crunchie]

She's 4 btw and has been like this for a year. Poor thing come jan she'll go to school with a uniform, so no velvet dresses everyday

[crunchie]

Well DD2 ALWAYS wears velvet party dresses. This is for school, home, parties everyday TBH!!

I have 2 or 3 that she loves so much they get wrn non-stop and since they are M&S velvet ones that wash and tumble dry, I don't really care. The only problem is other mums get p*d off with me as their dd's want to wear party dresses to school too

[Enid]

I do pinafore style dresses and funky tights for dd2 (3) but she often insists on her fairy outfit

dd1 has a floaty monsoon skirt or jeans depending on what type of party

[beatie]

Thanks everyone. It's a party in a house. As she's not quite 3 and showing no signs of being clothes-aware yet, I'll put her in what I know she looks nice and cute in. I'll use this party to guage what others wear.

[mummyhill]

I fthe party is at a house or hired hall a dress is great but if its a sports or adventure/softplay area party then smart trousers and top every time.

[Hulababy]

Agree, it depends on type of party and location. DD (3.5yo) has a beautiful party dress (not flouncy and frilly, just really nice and a bit special) which she wears to more traditional type parties. For soft play/activity based parties she has a really pretty party trouser/top set.

[anniebear]

I do really think it depends were the party is being held.

If it is just at a house with a few games, then a nice dress is ok (wouldnt' go for the sparkly Christmas Day kinda dress though!!)

We had the Girls last Birthday (4) at the local indoor soft play. I think I put them in trousers but with a nice top.

There was a mixture of clothing and I can honestly say there wasnt one child looking to see what the others were wearing

They won't be bothered!!

[twinsetandpearls]

Thye rarely seem to wear party dresses, dd has a few but wears them mainly for family parties and special occasions. Her cousins have quite formal grand parties which are always in the house and there would never be any kind of art or craft activity or anything mesyy I allow her to wear a party dress. But I also do think they are very dull parties!

AS dd has had a party almost every weekend since september and most of them have been soft play dos she has two stock outfits. She has a Balu trouser and floaty top number and and a pair of jeans I customized with sequins and a sparkly Monsoon top. This way she feel partyish, sparkly and girly but she won't trip over a hem or get friction burn on the slide. Most kids wear the same.

For dd birthday we did a "princess ball" and we put on the invite "your finest royal attire" and all the children made an effort and they loved being dressed up. We had lots of disney princesses, a few princes, one girl came in her bridesmaid dress and we even had a little boy in a tux. When I stood back and looked at all the children it made me go a bit gushy to see them all dressed up.

I did supply dispoable aprons from party pieces though.

[Skribble]

If it was soft play i think I would go for trousers, the friction burns are hellish and saves getting caught on everything and stood on.

[Skribble]

Doesn't have to be pink and frilly, DD's favourite has lasted for 3 years (was very long), and is burgandy sort of iridesant material. Love burgandy velvet.

[Bozza]

I've seen lots of little girls in pretty dresses at soft play parties. And quite a few Dora or Barbie knickers being flashed as well.

[Bozza]

My DD does. But thats because she is 18 months and so I decide and she might as well take the opportunity to wear one. Most parties I've been to though there has been a mix of outfits.

[JoolsToo]

she may well be Miaou!

[TinyGang]

Oh mine insist on it 'Can I wear a pretty dress?' is the first thing they ask. And then we 'do' their hair and older dd likes a squirt of my perfume too!

The trouble is so many parties are in soft play areas now, that they have to wear trousers to those. They love those sorts of parties but are very torn because the word 'party' means dressing up in a lovely dress to them.

[WigWamBam]

My dd went to a birthday party when she was 3.5 and the only girls who were dressed in party dresses were three miserable little triplets who had been got up to the nines in identical lacy, netted, sequined numbers and who were too afraid to move because the dresses were too restrictive and uncomfortable for them to bounce on the bouncy castle or do Musical Bumps in.

For her 4th birthday we had a do at home, so children were grubbing around in the garden, playing in the sandpit, sitting on the grass - dd wore a pretty dress but not a party dress, and all of the other girls who came were the same or wore pretty tops and skirts or trousers.

She's since been to some 5th birthday parties, one of which was fancy dress, at the others all the children wore casual-smart stuff - smart trousers with pretty tops, that sort of thing.

[Earlybird]

Suppose I should clarify and say that the girls at dd's nursery mostly wore dresses/party dresses to birthdays. Now that dd is at reception, the parties have, to date, been dressing up parties, or if after school, the girls simply stayed in their uniforms. We haven't had a weekend party so far at this new school so am not sure what to expect.

[Miaou]

hehehe at JT - "Gdg is in trouble,Gdg is in trouble...."

[handlemecarefully]

My dd recently attended a party dressed as Little Red Riding - collective sound of "aaahhh" please

[Skribble]

At 3 yrs I would say proper party dress is perfect.

[Skribble]

DD is 6 and up until now she has always worn what I would say is a party dress, Other girls dressed in everything from similar to jeans and sparkly t-shirt to clothes and high heels that would suit prostitutes.

I have looked at party dresses for this christmas but i don't long velvet ones this year. At her 6th birthday their was a girl wearing shoes that I couldn't have walked in and she certainly couldn't.

[hellsbells4]

I'd say 3 is about the right age if you want to see her in a traditional party dress. I could get away with it with dd at that age but by 5 she was more vocal about her tastes - no dresses and no pink!

[binkie]

where north are you? ... St. John's Wood? (That's what I was getting at ... inverted snob, me.)