What Should I Buy: baby party dresses

By Maggie

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, I KNOW this is not the time to be talking about Christmas dresses, but my sister is getting married in four weeks and WHAT IS MY BABY GIRL GOING TO WEAR?

Molly will be 15 months old at her aunt's wedding, the youngest baby and the only girl, and I suppose that the only REAL requirement is that everyone thinks they will die of the cuteness. But still, I want something red, flouncy, froofy and short. I did not think finding such a thing would be so HARD. There are frillion adorable baby dresses out there (BabyGap, SWOON) but red party dresses that are cute AND don't try to age my baby 10 years are a little hard to find. (Why so long, Baby Dress Makers? How are we supposed to admire the bum ruffles on her tights?)

The first one I bought was this velvet dress from Gymboree.

I love the puff sleeves and the Peter Pan collar, it's the perfect color, but it's longer than I hoped for. Elizabeth tells me I can hem it, but I am not Elizabeth (alas).

The next one I bought was a Carter's style from Macy's.

Perfect color and fancier, since the overlay on the skirt is kinda glittery, but I'm not a fan of the sleeveless style (it's going to be cold!) and it doesn't look as lush as the Gymboree dress.

And then I found this one at Target this morning.

The collar is removable (although the bridesmaids are wearing little fur shrugs, so maybe it'd be cute? I don't know, still have to try it on my doll) and the fabric is shiny, so a little more "party" than "Christmas angel". 

I've seen shorter dresses and fancier or cuter dresses, but not in the red color that will look so pretty on Molly or not in a reasonable price range. ($58 for a BABY DRESS? Whatever, Nordstrom!)

My husband and my mother-in-law like the second dress best, but what do they know? I need your opinions O Stylish Style Lush Readers! Which one do you prefer? Or maybe you've seen The Perfect Dress in a shop window and cannot wait to tell me about it!

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I LOVE this dress, but you know how I feel about plaid:
http://www.janieandjack.com/shop/dept_item.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443461678&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374303046731&bmUID=1258993801247&productSizeSelected=0

OTherwise I think the Target one is my fave, it looks the most wedding fancy and would be really easy to hem...

[Christina]

I vote for the last one with the collar removed. That one is for sure my favorite!
I agree that baby dresses should be short so we can get the full effect of the thigh rolls and ruffle bums! GAH!
I'd love to know which one you go with AND what you put on her feet!!

[Katie]

I, too, like the last one, with the collar removed. Adorable!

We recently attended a wedding where I wanted my baby girl to be super cute, but warm too. I got her dress from Gymboree where I was able to also buy the coordinating leggings and sweater. Those two items came in handy towards the end of the night when it was chilly!

[Shoe Lush]

They have some cute dresses at Kohl's, I am not sure how short they are though. Of those three, I actually like the collar on the third one because of the matching shrug thing...but YMMV.

[A'Dell]

What about putting a cream colored long sleeve top under the sleeveless one?

My MIL got this one for Claire and it's so cute:

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=403747&CategoryID=40769

How about this one from Hanna? $38

http://www.hannaandersson.com/style.asp?from=SC|10|1|156|7|2||

[K]

I like the 2nd one best but totally understand about the sleevelessness...

My niece is 2 yrs old and I need Xmas gift ideas... any suggestions?! I have no kids so I'm a little clueless.

[A'Dell]

Actually, this one might be a contender!

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=402224&CategoryID=5991&LinkType=PDPZ1

[maggie]

Baby Dress Update! 1. I lost the tags somehow on the Gymboree dress, so, OOPS. Maybe that will be her Christmas Dress. Can't have too many deep red 18 month size dresses, right? RIGHT? 2. The Target dress looks the cutest ON Molly, sans collar. I might get some sort of sparkly cardigan to go over it. But also, 3. LOVE the last link of A'Dell's!

[Christiana]

Ooh, I like the link of A'Dell's too. But I love them all, really. If the Target one looks the best, I'd go with that. And Target currently has these cute little cream or red cardigans (I'd go w/ the cream - too much red or they might not match) with sprkley buttons that could go over it, if you want something on that order.

[Jennie]

This post depressingly reminds me that I am the mom to a boy. When I look at all these options, I think, Uh, they're all cute. I pick them all!

I don't think you can wrong here, especially since you have the cutest little thing AROUND to put in the dress of choice!

[Emily]

I love the third one, with the collar on for the wedding, and maybe off for the reception? And if it's too long, you could easily have it hemmed by a tailor - it's a really simple hem, so it probably wouldn't cost much or take much time to have it done.

I love the second one, but I would hate to cover it up with a sweater, and yet, she'll freeze without one.

So I vote three. Although you have good taste, Maggie - I think they're all adorable.

[Emily]

Maggie - good idea. Velvet = Christmas, shiny = party. GOOD CALL.

[Marie Green]

I think to say for certain, I'd need to see pictures of the "model" in her potential party dress choices. But they are all awesome. The sleeveless one might work best with a chilly event- you can easily add a little white shirt underneath or a little cardigan over the top, or both. I find with the poofy sleeves it's hard to add a sweater for arm-warmth.

Unless, when I tried them on the child one was waaaay cuter, I'd probably make the decision based on price. They all look adorable, so which is the best deal?

Good luck!

[Lizzie]

OMG: A'Dell's link. I'm trying to talk myself out of buying it for Lucy.

[Elizabeth]

Please note that I send you that Hanna dress AGES ago and it was REJECTED. FAIL!

[HollyLynne]

I think (if the collar is removeable) that I like the target dress best. I did see a to die for baby dress at Gap the other day. It was red and black buffalo plaid with short puff sleeves, buttons down the front and a black crinoline peeking out from underneath. It was one of those dresses that I WOULD TOTALLY WEAR if it was available in my size.