If you are on budget then consider work around New Sofia Princess..

[GallileoGirl]

Most likely your litlte one will want to get into Sofia's character since she is this crazy popular new princess. Since you can't find her costuemes anymore anywhere and not till fall or so.. get your plan B when you are going..
possibly even make costuem yourself? that is alway san option because
once your little one will see all those little Sofias walking there she might be realy wanting one and you just can't find it anymore other then scalpers secondary sales. So my advise is to make your own costume. I had no time or heads up that her costumes are sold out by the time we got to the parks so to aovid this work around and do make her cosutme, other options are very pricy.

 

[ellone]

I had someone on etsy make my daughter a Sofia dress. It's cotton so more breathable than the Disney ones plus more durable. My daughter wears her everyday and the Disney one would be snagged to bits by this point - my little one is not careful in the least.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I had someone on etsy make my daughter a Sofia dress. It's cotton so more breathable than the Disney ones plus more durable. My daughter wears her everyday and the Disney one would be snagged to bits by this point - my little one is not careful in the least.

I've seen a little girl in my neighborhood who is going to wear her etsy Princess Sofia dress out, I think. I have no idea who made it, but it is really cute and made of good sturdy cotton. Even if it cost more than the official dress, from the amount of wear this kid is putting on her Sofia dress, it was a good deal!

 

[cab0ad]

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3076985

Here's a link to a Sofia the First dress I got from Etsy. It was not cheaper than doing the disney version online, but it will be much cooler in the summer!

 

[NotUrsula]

Just FYI, here is a good pattern for a hand-made Sofia dress, one that is a bit simpler than the original, but very similar:

http://butterick.mccall.com/b3350-products-4457.php?page_id=376

The pattern even includes a scalloped hem, though there are more scallops on the pattern than on Sofia's "official" dress. (It isn't really all that difficult to change the pattern to cut them down to four, however.) The simplest way to create the double skirt is to cut it twice with lavender and white fabric, and only scallop the outer layer. However, if you want to keep the skirt to a single layer to make it cooler to wear, another option is to just cut a strip of white fabric about 10 inches wide and hand-stitch it under the scalloped edge of the primary hem, so that it shows. (Or, if you REALLY want to simplify, you could also create the skirt's scallops by painting them on with fabric paint.)

I would suggest skipping putting on the peplum as a separate piece, and just use an outline of soutache braid in the same color to fake it on the skirt. Most kids really don't realize that the peplum is supposed to be an extra layer, so it works fine and minimizes the heaviness of the dress. The star patterns on the skirt can be done via applique or painted on with fabric paint. If you make the dress in a lighter woven fabric, painting works nicely.

Pearl beading can be purchased by the yard. The easiest to apply is the sort that is called pearl piping; it is mounted on a sheer organza ribbon and can be put on by machine using a zipper foot; you place it underneath the hem edge and topstitch it down from above. http://www.laceheaven.com/p-12417-3-mm-white-pearl-piping.aspx