"Good" dress for a teen. Need ideas, please...

[bessiecrocker]

Where do teens shop for a "good" dress? DD, barely 15, needs a dress for her confirmation. I am happy to make something, but we need help with style ideas. I'm hoping she can look on-line and give me some direction.

We've done some snoop shopping...good mom and daughter bonding time, but has not resulted in much useful information about the dress. DD can articulate what she does NOT like, but getting her to describe what she wants is not happening. She needs to see it. She is not able to look at a pattern envelope and see the possibilities either.

This needs to be an adult dress, rather conservative but fashionable, dark, plain color. She tried on some sheath dresses...looked like an orphan waif sent out to interview at a bank. Not black..."Moooooom, I look like I'm wearing a big garbage bag!"

[Hen]

You are right, if you search on-line for "confirmation dress" or "Konfirmationskleid", you get some horrible results!

I like empire style dresses for teens. Feminine, but appropriate for a young girl.
How about this one from patterncompany, in Germany:



http://patterncompany.eu/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=90&category_id=3&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=3

With the sleeves and the length it is appropriately conservative for the occasion I think. And see, the model is "adult".

Does it really have to be a dark, plain colour? To my confirmation I wore a skirt with straps (it was the eighties) in a black and white millefleur pattern. With that I looked different from the black-skirt-with-white-blouse crowd, which is not desirable for all teens, but I was very happy with my outfit. And I was still in black and white like the others.
With the pattern I suggested you could combine with a subtle black and white print or plaid, so that it does not look like orphan waif. It is a confirmation, not a funeral!

[Zalin]

 bessiecrocker, I don't know where you are located, but if you are in the U.S. you should look through New Look patterns. I think they have very nice fashionable young designs. And the sizes usually start at a 6. Plus they have some Project Runway designs.

ETA: And remember most tops can be lengthened into tunics or dresses, so if she has a favorite top style....
I know my daughter likes sundresses, so perhaps a sundress with a small jacket for the ceremony, but then the dress can be worn later as a sundress? I don't know if that is something you would consider.

[bessiecrocker]

It is a confirmation, not a funeral!

Thanks for your input! It really helped to get a couple of other perspectives on this. And Hen truly explained the problem we were having.  DD and I went back and forth on this dress a bit. DD doesn't like (most) prints, so the solid dark color was her choice.  She also, from the start, wanted a sundress style...which "mean mom" declared not appropriate for the church or our weather. But I did take a look at the New Look patterns...somehow had overlooked them before. I liked what I found, and they had great dress styles. What DD and I ended up with is using the "top turned into a dress concept." She likes blouson style tops, so it's easy to add a straight skirt. And she wants a blazer, which will make this a bit more adult and polished. Prepare yourself for the fabric selection: she changed her mind and said she'd go with a White dress (the traditional option)! I think she hated the black garbage bag look ... so now her dress will be cream with a navy blazer.

 

[Zalin]

I'm glad you came to a meeting of the minds. The color sounds lovely.

I wondered about the sundress idea. It's perfectly appropriate here in the U.S. desert southwest to wear a sundress to church, but our family in the midwest think that's just wrong. 

I hope you'll let us know how it all turns out.

[Hen]

Thank you for letting us know what you decided. I am glad that you came to a decision and she knows what she wants. A cream dress sounds nice.
I think I want that pattern company empire dress for myself...