Whether it is for a family event or for an important dance, or even for prom, choosing a first glamorous, adult-looking formal dress is a big deal for most girls! It can be their first chance to dress up like an A-list celebrity, feel beautiful and luxurious, and it can also be a big confidence boost! However, picking out an occasion dress for the first time can also be daunting. She will want something she likes, feels comfortable in, and which she feels makes her look good. She may also be a girl who doesn’t normally like to wear dresses or girly clothes in general, and so it may be a whole new area of fashion for her to navigate.
Here are some tips for helping her find a dress she will love!
Let Her Express Her Own Style
While it can be a lot of fun and a good bonding experience to help your daughter choose her first occasion dress, you need to make sure it is her own developing taste that is at the forefront of the things she tries, rather than yours. What you love her in, or think is really stylish, may not be what she actually likes. You can offer her guidance when it comes to the things she doesn’t yet have experience in, such as which cuts suit different body types for evening wear, or which types of dress are suitable for different dress codes, but when it comes to purely aesthetic things like color, let her explore her own ideas!
Get Some Inspiration Online
A great way to start, if she doesn’t really know where to begin to choose from the almost endless options and variants there are for formal dresses, is to put together a Pinterest board or other collection of images you find together online that represent the styles and colors she likes. Take a look at red carpet dresses on celebrities, and also browse things that are actually available in your price range, and save the images that she likes, so that they can be looked at together. Now it becomes easier to think about common themes. Does a particular shape or color come up a lot in the images she likes? Looking at images in this way can not only be fun but can also lead to some surprising flashes of inspiration that can then be taken to the shops to begin trying things on!
One really good site to look at for ideas, and also to get an idea for dresses that could be an option for her to actually buy, is Jovani. Jovani has a huge selection of long formal dresses and other occasion wear and has a lot of styles designed for things like homecoming, including fresh, modern designs that are ideal for teens. Long formal dresses by Jovani are stocked in stores all over the country, and they can also be ordered from Jovani’s warehouses, so if you and your daughter fall in love with a dress on their site, getting it in time for her special occasion is easy.
Don’t Stress Her Out!
When the time comes to try on some dresses, it is important to be helpful and supportive without making her feel stressed out. She may not want to come out of the changing room and show you every single dress if some of them don’t fit well or she just hates how they look, and she might also feel a bit uncomfortable if she’s shy and you and the ladies who work in the store are all fussing over her!
Try and be patient and low key and only offer your opinions on the things she asks for. It can be easy to get frustrated and upset if none of the dresses she’s trying on look or feel right, and if she’s feeling self-conscious about having to wear a formal dress at all, it is best to be sensitive to this. Of course, if she is loving the experience and wants to try on every dress in the store, have fun with her!
These are some tips for being helpful when your daughter is getting her very first formal dress, so you can make sure she feels like a star on her special night!