I think somebody could make a lot of money...

[bjscheel]

selling pretty dresses for tween girls that are wearing junior sizes. Something that isn't v-neck, strapless, cut out in the back, something you can wear a bra with.

DD will be 12 this month and we spent all last evening looking online for dresses. She could maybe wear some girls 16 but many are too small. So we were looking at juniors and womens. Over and over we were saying something would be really cute IF it had more coverage on top. Yes there are some that are modest on top but none of them were what she would consider pretty. She likes fluff and sparkles and purple! Pick-up skirts or polka dots. Handkerchief hems. Party-type dresses that aren't too formal.

I tell her when she grows up she needs to figure out how to design and sell to this market.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

YES YES YES !

Please make more modest clothes for tweens/young teens !

It is nealry impossible to shop for/with DD13. These girls have to pratically wear 3 shirts in layers to build it up enough to be "1" shirt. A long cami to cover a little past the waist band in the back, something else on top of that to come up hight enough in the front, and then the "shirt" over top all that.

I am a sub teacher and all day long, I can stand in front of the class room and pratically see either 12 butt cracks, or almost right down 12 shirts. These girls are all day long pulling and tugging, and fixing their clothes.

Girls want to look nice and pretty and parents want it covered up.

 

[cydswipe]

I joke about bringing back the chunky sweater dress. My daughter is 13. I can see her now... below knee sweater vest, wide elastic belt and chunky costume jewelry.
I've been waiting on my friends to get their daughters to start the trend again... no takers.

Guess I'm showing my 40 year old age! lol!!

 

[bjscheel]

Yep, camis are needed for most tops. DD12 likes to wear them but I would be annoyed by it if I had to wear one every day. But we can deal with that. However, most dresses don't look good with a cami under, so I would like something she can wear all by itself!

I did find a dress at a bag sale which was too cute to pass up for $1. But she has to wear a sports bra or cami under to cover.

 

[pat fan]

Mom of boys here, BUT I did hear that Sadie (the teen daughter from Duck Dynasty) is coming out with a line of dresses. One episode of DD had her dad pitching a fit at the choices she had for a prom dress. The new line is supposed to be "Willie approved hem lines" (Willie is her dad). Let's hope it's true!

Now if she would only come out with a line of tops too, life would be grand! (even as a mom of boys, I hate what girls wear these days, and believe it or not, my DS wishes girls would leave a little to the imagination himself!!).

 

[bjscheel]

I did find these two dresses for DD14 in the womens department:
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1417719/lc-lauren-conrad-lace-dip-dyed-dress.jsp
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1455989/elle-polka-dot-voile-dress.jsp

But they are not what DD11 is looking for.

 

[Juliegirl1]

What about taking a dress she likes to a tailor/seamstress and having a modesty panel added? Even as an adult there are plenty of clothes out there that I find too revealing for me and I'm not modest or prude by any means! Personally I am shocked every day at my workplace seeing the college hires' idea of "professional clothing". I'm just glad I have a son!

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I am very fortunate that my 12yp DD wears size 8/10 in most things. It's still hard to find non "hoochie mama" clothes but not impossible. The toughest time I have is with pants. No low rise hipsters please. She's 12 wearing a size most 8 yo's wear. I don't need to see anybody's panties let alone a little girls panties.

 

[Southernmiss]

What about taking a dress she likes to a tailor/seamstress and having a modesty panel added? Even as an adult there are plenty of clothes out there that I find too revealing for me and I'm not modest or prude by any means! Personally I am shocked every day at my workplace seeing the college hires' idea of "professional clothing". I'm just glad I have a son!

It's not that easy and we shouldn't have to alter EVERYTHING. DD11 has been in tears this summer after shopping because we are having a very difficult time finding anything modest and appropriate (and that's what she prefers without prompting from me) for an 11 year old girl in women's sizes. She and I wear the same size, but my clothes are 'too old" for her.

Finally we found 2 dresses at Burke's outlet and t shirts at Kohl's this summer for her.

Either everything is too low cut or see through.

She has 3 older brothers. Never ever is there an issue in finding something appropriate for them off the rack.

 

[mamacatnv]

My DD used to have the same issue. She attended a formal event with her dad every year and we found that JC Penny and Sears often had a decent selection of party dresses that had spaghetti straps or slightly wider straps but a nice covered bust area with the flowy skirts, glitter and glitz she was looking for. We found more subdued dresses for less formal occasions at Burlington Coat Factory.

 

[Southernmiss]

My DD used to have the same issue. She attended a formal event with her dad every year and we found that JC Penny and Sears often had a decent selection of party dresses that had spaghetti straps or slightly wider straps but a nice covered bust area with the flowy skirts, glitter and glitz she was looking for. We found more subdued dresses for less formal occasions at Burlington Coat Factory.

Used to be able to find something at JCP for my DD, but with all of their changes those are the clothes they apparently changed. Now, there's only one rack of clothes appropriate for her.

 

[NotUrsula]

Somebody is. There is a niche market designed for members of the LDS Church, and the folks who own those shops are making a mint.

Here are a few of them:

http://www.mikarose.com/
http://www.downeastbasics.com/
http://www.jenclothing.com/

So far as I know, this one isn't marketed to LDS shoppers, but they have a LOT of dresses, especially good dressy-but-not-formal dresses. Their vibe is kind of retro, which makes them sophisticated without a lot of exposure.
http://www.shabbyapple.com/

Your other option, especially for special-occasion wear, is to make a dress. Enroll your DD is an sewing class; she may be really happy to be able to get EXACTLY the dress that she wants for every special occasion. My DD6 is getting into sewing in a big way (I was the same age when I started machine-sewing). 12 is plenty old enough to be able to handle making a simple formal if you have been sewing for a couple of years.

 

[WDWAurora]

Try gap. While some of their stuff is too adult, they have some classic styles in things most of the time. I do really well with their clearance rack.

 

[indimom]

Ugh, I totally remember those years. It was a royal pain.
I'm sorry I can't make any suggestions. We just spent a LOT of time shopping and searching and usually ended up with a few things.
And, I agree with other posters, when it comes to those paper thin, low cut t-shirts and tops, camis are your friend.
My daughter has a forrest of camis in every color of the rainbow and then some. She won't even wear a standard t-shirt without a cami under it because she's gotten so used to wearing them with EVERYTHING.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/...ype=#fn=DRESS_LENGTH=Knee Length&sp=1&spc=159

http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/juni...Val=null&colorizedImg=DP0703201317014714M.tif


http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/juni...Val=null&colorizedImg=DP0722201318010941C.tif

http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/trix...Val=null&colorizedImg=DP0419201317010006M.tif

http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/slee...Val=null&colorizedImg=DP0628201317030229M.tif

I just showed all of these to my DD. She hates the last one because it looks like something a librarian would wear. (The librarian at her school is a few years from retirement and wears pants and twin sets every day with huge flower pins and such ) The second to the last one is a boring color and she wants to know why all of them are too short. Otherwise she loves the second ruffled black one and thinks her favorite is the polka dot one.

 

[NotUrsula]

I just showed all of these to my DD. She hates the last one because it looks like something a librarian would wear. (The librarian at her school is a few years from retirement and wears pants and twin sets every day with huge flower pins and such ) The second to the last one is a boring color and she wants to know why all of them are too short. Otherwise she loves the second ruffled black one and thinks her favorite is the polka dot one.

It's a little young for your average librarian; we don't start professional work until age 25 on average, because of the required Master's degree.
(Seriously, you would not BELIEVE the popularity of full-sleeve tattoos in the library profession these days. IME, a gen-X librarian is generally more likely to turn up in leather than in lace -- except for the vegans, of which there are a LOT.)

Also, I take it your DD isn't 6 feet tall?

 

[akcire]

selling pretty dresses for tween girls that are wearing junior sizes. Something that isn't v-neck, strapless, cut out in the back, something you can wear a bra with.

DD will be 12 this month and we spent all last evening looking online for dresses. She could maybe wear some girls 16 but many are too small. So we were looking at juniors and womens. Over and over we were saying something would be really cute IF it had more coverage on top. Yes there are some that are modest on top but none of them were what she would consider pretty. She likes fluff and sparkles and purple! Pick-up skirts or polka dots. Handkerchief hems. Party-type dresses that aren't too formal.

I tell her when she grows up she needs to figure out how to design and sell to this market.

Try Boden.

A little pricey but great designs.

 

[MissMichigan]

I always thought I'd outgrow that problem, but at 25 I'm rapidly losing hope. I just had to try to find a dress for DB's sister's wedding and had a heck of a time. If it wasn't way too short, it was too low cut, or backless (and I cannot not wear a bra). I wanted something tea-length with wider than spaghetti straps...haha, riiight.

With my fashion tastes and size (5'0'', 100 lbs) it's hard to find age-appropriate clothing. I like stores like American Eagle, etc but everything these days is so SEE THROUGH! And I live in Tucson, I can't just wear 4 layers at a time in August to keep my goodies covered.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

There are designers out there that make those type of dresses. I have seen "girl's boutiques". I will have to remember the name of the designer.

Did you try putting "boutique" in the search? Might help?

ETA...here is what my search turned up.

http://www.shabbyapple.com/c-233-fan-favorites.aspx

Modest dress sites-

http://www.jenclothing.com/

http://www.aformalchoice.com/?gclid=CMWVzJHElacCFRJY2godg3KZgA

This one is interesting as it includes "Pioneer Outfits"
http://whiteelegance.com/Women/Sunday-Dresses/sc18

Now this is also a "modest dress site" however the dresses are expensive. That being said they are gorgeous!
http://www.beautifullymodest.com/products/D6234.html

 

[kacaju]

http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/...ype=#fn=DRESS_LENGTH=Knee Length&sp=1&spc=159

http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/juni...Val=null&colorizedImg=DP0703201317014714M.tif


http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/juni...Val=null&colorizedImg=DP0722201318010941C.tif

http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/trix...Val=null&colorizedImg=DP0419201317010006M.tif

http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/slee...Val=null&colorizedImg=DP0628201317030229M.tif

I just showed all of these to my DD. She hates the last one because it looks like something a librarian would wear. (The librarian at her school is a few years from retirement and wears pants and twin sets every day with huge flower pins and such ) The second to the last one is a boring color and she wants to know why all of them are too short. Otherwise she loves the second ruffled black one and thinks her favorite is the polka dot one.

LOL..I just showed my dd13 and she liked the ones your dd does not and DID NOT like the polka dot nor the black ruffled..