What's the occasion?

Here it is linked. How old is your daughter? That "trendy" style dress seems appropriate for someone 23 and younger who has a small frame. At first I thought it was part of a costume. Just my fashionable option.

Here is a link that might be useful: dress

Kath... that is cute, but... I think it is all wrong for someone who is busty. I think the bodice won't fit right.
sorry...
geez... I seem to be such a downer today! lol

sincerely,
alwaysbeenbusty,
Kat! lol

find a local bra store, or hit Macy's they will do a fitting and could probably find the correct bra.

It's cute but Hot Topic isn't really known for high quality clothing so I wouldn't personally invest in their clothes. It seems a little pricey for something that may not hold up very well.

It is really cute though! I used to love Hot Topic as a teenager and I still have some things I bought there though I probably shouldn't wear them anymore!

Etsy is a nice option for fun clothes that are generally better quality. I did a search for a similar dress and found the attached listing. It looks like better quality, same price range and it's a little more elegant, I think.

Here is a link that might be useful: Etsy

Fun2behere, we're going to a musical next month.

Debi, she's 15.

That's ok, Kat, I'm worried about it too. I really don't want to have to return anything so we are going to the mall first to try on other dresses before I order this one on-line, if she doesn't find anything else.

Chi, thanks for the link but the dress is way too small for her on top.

Holy cow! I can't believe that she is 15 already!
In my mind, I picture her as that little girl in the photo
that Glenda has posted when you met her years ago! lol

Oh, bummer, I have never had anything remotely close to that problem so it's hard to relate! She should still look through that site though - lots of cute stuff.

I think it's cute! It's kind of got the 50's Marilyn Monroe meets modern day look. I think if the bust fits, she could definitely pull it off. I think the main factor for the belted dresses is having a smallish waist.

My one recommendation is that she either finds a good strapless bra, as she doesn't want to be stuck wearing a jacket if she's dancing or gets warm. OR, you could very easily and cheaply remove that tie-behind-the-neck strap, and put in black front to back straps that are thick (like the width of the one on the dress). Then she can wear a regular bra. It will be cheaper to put straps on then to find a nice, well fitting, strapless bra.

Is it for a dance?

I would have loved that dress when I was young, too. It's so cute and she could wear it to Christmas functions since it's red.

Only two things bother me. First, the musical you're going to is in November. I'm thinking of the weather. She'll need a shrug to go over it for sure (I read your other post). Also, it has spandex in it--I'm assuming in the top since if you look at the back view it looks "stretchy". To me that means "itchy". But that's just another one of my weird skin allergies.

Otherwise, I'd approve if it was for my daughter. Times have changed and what was appropriate "back in the day" doesn't count anymore. Shoot, in my day, red wouldn't have even been thought of.

Sorry, I think the dress looks like it could be a really cheap quality. The fact that's it's titled "Hell Bunny" kind of leads me to believe it may not be the best quality.

And, I don't like the belt...with the holes..it should be a sash or better quality belt.

Thanks for everyone's comments. Carla35, the Hell Bunny is the brand name. Lauren actually likes the belt. She has very different taste than I do but I kinda like this dress too. I don't know of any clothing out there that is great quality. Everything I've seen is paper thin, strings hanging, even in the expensive stores. But, then I don't do a lot of clothes shopping either.

I tried on a $170 coat yesterday at Kohls that I really like, that had strings hanging from every one of them. I still want one of them because they're cute and very warm.

I'm not your daughter, I'm probably old enough to be your mother! But I can clearly remember being just about her age and having a new shiny cotton spaghetti strapped dress with full skirt and sash to wear to an event and being totally uncomfortable with the bareness of it all....to the point I put on a white sweater shrug and probably ruined the whole effect. Bare shoulders, arms, underarms ;) and just not the confidence to pull it off, tomboy that I was.

I'd say if your shopping opportunities are there, and your patience intact, take her to try some things on. She should have something that makes her feel as beautiful as she really is without having to add something to cover up, or make do. I hope you have a relaxed and happy evening and enjoy the musical!

Kath, I think the dress is meant to be worn as a Halloween costume. Maybe not, but that is the impression I get, since it is shown under "Halloween" on the site.

I hope your daughter can find a dress that is age appropriate and something she is happy with. Not an easy task at that age. :)

Mammie, if you saw the clothes at Hot Topic, you would think that of all their clothes.

We're going shopping the weekend after next so she can try on some dresses in person. I think that would be better since she's so particular.

Kath, where do you live? You said you were going to see the musical Wicked. I've seen it twice. You will absolutely love it. My daughter and son-in-law tour with the show. I will tell you quite honestly that people don't get all that dressed up to see shows anymore. Dressy casual, a nice jacket and skirt or pants will do, but it all depends on where you live. Actually, people ind D.C. or Northern VA get more dressed up than people in New York!.

We're going to Cincinnati, OH. I know most people don't dress up much anymore but I thought it would be fun to. The dress I picked out is not very dressy but it is for ME since I never wear dresses.

I came in to say what Georgymom said.

I was going to mention to dress for comfort. Unless you have a box you are going to be sitting in a cramped theater seat for over 2 hours.

The people that do dress up for the theater usually look like a group of corporate types. Not real ones (who have real wealth) but those that want to look like what they percieve them to dress like. They stand out and look at bit odd. But this is California. I had a friend who used to have a season box at the theater. Most wore sitting in them wore jeans or office casual. These were boxes with names like Hewlitt Packard/Google and Apple. No dressing up.

I think it's fun to get dressed up and make this occasion real special, too. I wish more people would. That's what makes the evening a little more special than just going to a movie. I just didn't want you worrying too much about what you were going to wear. Your dress looks very appropriate and comfortable enough to enjoy yourself. I think a nice shawl type wrap would look great with it. As I said before, you are really going to love the show. It's quite a spectacular. We saw it when it previewed in New York and I knew immediately it was going to be a big hit. We saw it a few years later at the Kennedy Center in D.C. and enjoyed it even more the second time around. It has been touring about 10 years and is a sell out where ever it goes.

Oh Kath, I love that dress! And the boots you chose will be perfect with tights, you will look great. I love your daughter's dress too but I agree with you, most likely seeing the dress in person and trying it on will be best. If you need undergarments for her I would look at Sears or Penneys, they will have something to fit her.

I hope you enjoy the show, we love going to the performing arts center here. We have both ends of the spectrum here, some dress and some do not. I don't dress to the nines but I do dress up, similar to what you are wearing. We are annual subscribers and at some times of the year folks are dressed up, usually when there is a hosted dinner following the performance. I really enjoy it and wish that our society were not so casual.

I love the social scene in DC and NY, what fun! My boss is getting married in in DC in a couple of weeks, it is a very formal black tie event. I can't wait!

I think the knit dress you are wearing will be fine but DD's dress looks just a little bit too uncomfortable for sitting in that long.

Kath, I don't know if your are familiar with this website. It is clothing specifically for the curvy girl. You'll notice that all the models are young and not one of them is stick thin. They have some cute things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Torrid

I think the dress i ok but I wish it came with a little lblack bolero jacket. Do you have time to have one made for her? Maybe in a velveteen or something dressy. There should be a simplicity pattern for one and wouldn't take much sewing. That way she be comfortable with it and it would look like it "belonged"
Or get a yard or two and whip up an evening stole that she could put over her shoulders.

That's not a dress for a girl w/ a healthy endowment, particularly if she's already self-conscious about it. The bow effect is meant to draw the eye to exactly that part of the anatomy, and she'll probably overflow it anyway.

Yarnlover, that website looks like plus sizes and there is no way I'm showing that to my dd. She already thinks she's fat, and she's not. But thanks, anyway.

Minnie, I gave away my sewing machine, so anything I made would have to be by hand. She does have a little black jacket and said she could wear that with it. We'll see. I'm still hoping she finds something in the stores so there are no returns to deal with.

You might take a trip to a Hobby Lobby or even WMart and look in the fabics for something dressy and eay to wrap. Get about 72" or a little more than the arm span of your daughter's (arms straight out to the side) while in the store see if it wil be wide enough if folded in half the long way.
Then it wuold be easy enough to fold right sides together and do a running stitch around leaving an opening then turn out.

I made a lot of my clothes by hand before I got a sewing machine (back in the old days). A good leson for your daughter too. If she starts sewing she can have dozens of dresses she likes.

Okay Kathi. I've been thinking and thinking about this and finally decided to opt in on DD's choice of dress. Unless she doesn't mind sticking out like a sore thumb, I think she should keep looking at dresses. More appropriate for the occasion would be a dress she would wear to church or for a special dress up day at school or a dress she would wear to a special restaurant. It would be a dress or outfit that she would wear again. What will make it special for this event is the fact that it's a new outfit. Once she gets to the theater in the dress you have shown here and sees what everyone else is wearing, I don't think she'd feel comfortable. JMO for what it's worth.

At 15 I was 36-32-36. Any halter top looked *awful*.

This looks like 'evening wear' to me. Actually, it's identical to what the 'cigarette girls' of old used to wear! LOL Do 15's go clubbing?

I like georgysmom's suggestion -- something lovely that she can wear to a special restaurant. Young and pretty doesn't need much help to look great! She'll want to look 'nice', not inappropriately dressed for her age or the event. (Says the old lady who still remembers over-dressing for at least one date, going to a college mixer.)

Georgysmom, thanks for your opinion. I'm kinda like you, I would never feel comfortable in a dress like that but my daughter probably wouldn't care, as long as the top was covered with something. This girl had her dad buy her Gene Simmons'-like KISS boots and she wore them to school until one buckle fell off. And yes, the other kids think she's weird but she really doesn't care. She now has two pair of the same type boots on her Christmas wish list. She wears her baggy Star Wars pj bottoms out in public and could care less what other people think. She wears my chop sticks in her hair all the time, among other weird things. She's even worn my old "80's" jeans jacket to school before. (I stole it back when I lost a bunch of weight).

So, I doubt she would care if everyone else were in more "normal" clothing than she was. She likes what she likes and I wish I were more like her.

Chisue, actually 15 years olds in Spain and Germany do go clubbing-lol and my daughter wants to go to Spain next summer so she can go with our Spanish exchange student! I think the whole old fashioned look to the dress is what appeals to my daughter. That, and it's different from what other girls her age would wear.

Kathleen, I had your daughter so I understand exactly where you are. Oh, lordie, she was a thorn in my side (only further back). She could've cared less what other people wore and I wanted her to be a preppy girl. I think it's amazing she wanted our opinion and hope she takes it with the care we're giving our answers.

My daughter's 45 now and is so, so traditional. She hardly wears makeup (never really needed it) and it absolutely beautiful. We just have to let them have their own personalities and preferences--they're good kids at heart, just dress against "the code". Not a biggie!

Patti, I can't wait until she tones down the make up thing. She does wear too much eye liner from my point of view. She's funny because she likes high heel stilettos with her jeans but wouldn't be caught dead in bootie shorts and those mid driff (is that one word or two?) baring t-shirts that other teens wear, she thinks they look trashy. She won't even wear regular shorts out in public. She always wears a jacket of some type over her t-shirts and other shirts. She wouldn't be caught dead in something that was low cut in front without something over it. So, in an odd way she's very conservative in the way she dresses.

Kath, as long as she's comfortable, that's all that matters. Just wanted to make sure she has a good time. If you go and feel self-concious, it can ruin your evening. You will see a wide range of clothing from one end of the spectrum to the other, but mostly it will be more toward the under dressed than the over dressed.

Kathleen, I swear to you--been there, done that, lived through it somehow. I was telling Harry about your post and he was chuckling and asked if I remembered the safety pins. Arrgh! Do I ever. My DD even wore them in her ears like earrings. She had like 4 holes in each ear and thank the stars other body part piercings weren't known back in 84-85!! My saving grace is that I have pictures to remind her :-) Never knew what color her hair would be and sometimes it was two-toned. What a brat!!

Tell us what was the decision???

We haven't gone shopping yet. I had to work all last weekend, so we are going this weekend.