questions about wearing princess dresses

[snoopy5386]

My DD is 3 and loves her princess dresses, loves to wear them all day, playing hard, while eating, to sleep, etc. She wears them pretty thin pretty quick - many of them have frayed edges, ripped seams, etc. Do you let your DD wear ripped/torn/frayed dresses in the parks? I would love to get her all new dresses for our trip but at $40 a pop I don't think it is going to happen. Also right now she wears her dresses over her clothes - is that the norm? or do most girls wear the dresses with nothing under them? Most of them are so big them fall right off of her, there is no way she could wear them with nothing underneath.
Thanks!

 

[*Toadstool*]

Do you know someone or can you yourself sew? You could easily mend frayed edges. You could even maybe fix them up with some kind of hem tape that you just iron to re hem them. Just be careful ironing because some of that fabric might burn easily.
I am guessing they must be polyester like from the Disney store. It is my experience that cotton holds up better. I bought 1 dress from the Disney store and it wore out pretty quick. I know not everyone sews, but there are some great sellers on etsy that make these cute princess sundresses. Maybe once she outgrows these you can get those. I'm pretty sure you could get one for 40 dollars.
I think it would be fine to wear it over clothes. My DD had to wear clothes under her dresses that I made when she went to DW because it was cold. I think it looked fine.
Hope that helps you some.

 

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

My girls also have a ton of worn dresses so we treat them to a new princess dress or costume for our trips. We only go every other year, so it's not too bad.

We've always had the girls wear a bathing suit underneath since some can be a bit, um, revealing since they don't fit 100%.

 

[allyphoe]

At that age, my DD wore some pretty worn out princess dresses to the parks. Depending on the particular dress, some she wore with something underneath and some she didn't.

 

[ktlm]

Disney is about her, so I say if it makes her happy, let her wear them. The phase where she wants to wear them all day every day won't last forever, so enjoy it while it does. Mine did that for about 8-10 months when she was 2 (mostly 1 Cinderella dress, which ultimately was ripped, tattered and stained and she still didn't care), and now at 3 she only wants to occasionally wear them. The CMs will make a big fuss over her in her Princess dresses whether they are brand new or ripped. DDs 1st trip at 2 years 10 months, she switched off between 2 all week and at least one of them came back ripped and frayed so there is a chance they will wind up that way anyway. My DD did not wear anything under hers (they fit her fine), but a lot of kids do.

 

[Betzee]

A lot of the wear and tear on the dresses can be "prettied up" just with some scissors. You can usually trim off the frayed edges, and on the nylon, filmy parts, just cut off a 1/2 inch or so and presto, like new again! Ripped seams are also pretty easy to fix with a few stitches.

I would recommend that you have your daughter wear clothes under her dress, as quite frequently they decide they've had enough of wearing the dress and want it off, NOW! A lot easier to just take it off, if she's wearing clothes underneath, otherwise, you need a trip to the restroom to change clothes.

RE: buying new dresses....don't forget to search the discount stores. Walmart, Toys r US, Target, all have Disney princess dresses now. It's not like it used to be when you had to buy them from the Disney store. You may be able to find something on closeout, and if not, prices are closer to $20, than $40.

Also, DisneyStore.com has dresses on sale from time to time and even in the Outlet store section. Depending upon size, you can get a great deal. They are mostly the small sizes when they get moved to the Outlet.

 

[PrincessKell]

Oh my dd still wears her dresses A LOT! She is seven. Her Cindy dress was the one that was falling apart at the seams. You can do lilke PP said give a little snip snip uses some fray check or something like it and volia good as new!

Tomorrow the Disney stores are having their big sales, you can check online to see if they have princess dresses on sale there too. Target and Walmart has many different styles now that aren't just the "cheap" looking ones anymore. and still good prices.

Georgia often wears clothing under her dresses. Its not a big deal. Personally, I like it better when she does.

There are so many places and people that make dresses now days that are one of a kind that are not too pricey. You dont need to have them all at one time. Go with who is your dd's favorite for the parks, and you can always get some dresses or outfits that are similar to the dresses but aren't as pricey.

 

[hmdavid]

I always buy my girls a new one on Ebay before our trips. I can usually get them for about $15 each so I don't worry about them getting trashed in the parks. Also check the Disney Outlet, they frequently have discounted princess dressses.

 

[natnelliesmom]

Discount stores often have Disney dresses and accessories much cheaper than buying them at or through Disney. Walmart has a wide selection, and I have seem them at Christmas Tree Shops and even Dollar Stores.

I would never put a frayed or older looking dress on my girls for a trip to WDW. But that's just me. We always have custom clothing made for each trip. It's definitely more for me than my girls! I LOVE it!

That said... you may be able to do something to clean up the ones you have already, like others have mentioned, using fray stop and re-hemming the dresses would help. Sometimes just washing them by hand and hanging them to dry will brighten them right up. You can glue new sequins on or new strips of glittery trim.

-Sarah

 

[DISNEYNV]

Disney is about her, so I say if it makes her happy, let her wear them. The phase where she wants to wear them all day every day won't last forever, so enjoy it while it does. Mine did that for about 8-10 months when she was 2 (mostly 1 Cinderella dress, which ultimately was ripped, tattered and stained and she still didn't care), and now at 3 she only wants to occasionally wear them. The CMs will make a big fuss over her in her Princess dresses whether they are brand new or ripped. DDs 1st trip at 2 years 10 months, she switched off between 2 all week and at least one of them came back ripped and frayed so there is a chance they will wind up that way anyway. My DD did not wear anything under hers (they fit her fine), but a lot of kids do.

I agree! She won't want to dress up forever so enjoy it now! It's so cute but bittersweet when the dressup phase is over

 

[DISNEYNV]

Oh... I did see Disney princess dresses for fairly cheap at TJ Max or Marshalls ( can't recall which) but you might want to check either of those type places for them

Also the Disney store had really cute night gowns for little girls that looked like princess dresses!!! Really sweet