<p>Oh, great ideas! Thank you Mafool and Thumper1. Just found out that she can probably borrow one from a friend’s older sister, who was in a different children’s choir. This is for a choir concert at Yale, joint with another prep school where the kids are conservatively dressed in black robes. Since you seem to have kids in college already, what do kids wear for college choir, do you know? She is not planning to major in music, but singing has always been a big part of her life and she hopes to continue at (large private research university).</p>
<p>For the white dress- I really don’t want to spend more than $150. We have a nice, expensive hand me down from a friend, but unfortunately it is too big.</p>
<p>Emgamac- Just saw your post. That’s a good idea too! Lots to explore during spring break, which starts soon.</p>
<p>Baystate, my kid is an instrumentalist. She has black slacks and black tops. That is what the orchestra kids wear. At DS’s university, the women in the choir wore floor length black dresses.</p>
<p>My daughter also needs a white dress for her private school graduation - I wonder if we’re at the same school, Baystate! We haven’t started looking, and my guess is that this will be a more difficult search than the eight grade dress, and that was no cakewalk! </p>
<p>$299 isn’t a bad price point, actually. Last year a few girls at our school spent upwards of $2000 on dresses they found in NYC.</p>
<p>I LOVE the white dress look for girls … complemented by dark suits for boys. At my sons (all male) prep school graduation the <em>uniform</em> was off white pants, navy blazers, pink shirts, school tie. It was spectacular. </p>
<p>For the white dress … I like the bridal shop idea … but you might also check out some of the online prom dress sites, and online bridal sites. When I graduated from an all-girls school back with the dinosaurae, I found my white dress at the local department store. In April.</p>
<p>Gourmetmom- Well, $2000 does sound like a lot of the girls at her school, but unfortunately, mine is in the “scholarship kid” category! She wants it to look expensive, but doesn’t care how much it actually costs. I actually think the bridal shop outlet, with alterations, might be the best route for us.</p>
<p>Try consignment shops. Lots of people consign those white summer dresses at the end of the summer.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is too casual but I thought it was cute for $40.00 on sale. I am not sure
how long it stays on sale - [Lolë</a>; Opal 09 at 6pm.com](<a href=“No results for Lole opal 09 white lole | 6pm”>No results for Lole opal 09 white | 6pm).</p>
<p>I will second White House/Black Market for the white. And check the sale racks. Now is the time to find more while on the sale racks.</p>
<p>And for the nice dress that is too big, find a seamstress. They can DO WONDERS for a price that would be way less than a new dress. Really.</p>
<p>There are several cute short white dresses on the David’s Bridal website–look under wedding dresses (not bridal party) and put “short” in the search box. They are also priced just right for a dress that may never be worn again.</p>
<p>(Says Ivory…but looks white on my screen!)
[Women’s</a> new arrivals - dresses - Rumpled Meron dress - J.Crew](<a href=“http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Feature_Assortment/NewArrivals/dresses/PRDOVR~22748/22748.jsp]Women’s”>http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Feature_Assortment/NewArrivals/dresses/PRDOVR~22748/22748.jsp)</p>
<p>Not spaghetti strap…but maybe too low cut:
[Women’s</a> dresses - weddings & parties - Silk tricotine Sophia short dress - J.Crew](<a href=“http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/dresses/weddingsparties/PRDOVR~62983/62983.jsp]Women’s”>http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/dresses/weddingsparties/PRDOVR~62983/62983.jsp)</p>
<p>[Women’s</a> dresses - weddings & parties - Silk tricotine hope short dress - J.Crew](<a href=“http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/dresses/weddingsparties/PRDOVR~19849/19849.jsp]Women’s”>http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/dresses/weddingsparties/PRDOVR~19849/19849.jsp)</p>
<p>The back is really cute on that last dress (hope short dress)!</p>
<p>I don’t think there are any Dillards in Massachusetts…so…maybe some of these would be unique! (Southern based store…so usually has some more modest styles in white)</p>
<p>I loved this one…but…don’t know how a teenage girl would feel about it! [Product:</a> Antonio Melani “Patina” Dress](<a href=“Access Denied”>Access Denied)</p>
<p>[Product:</a> Gianni Bini “Pauline” Dress](<a href=“Access Denied”>Access Denied)</p>
<p>Higher price…but pretty:
[Product:</a> Antonio Melani “Riviera” Dress](<a href=“Access Denied”>Access Denied)</p>
<p>I like the J Crew dresses, I hope that Anthropologie has something in white! DD’s class has a facebook page to post their dresses to avoid duplications! Smart.</p>
<p>eta: <a href=“http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?subCategoryId=CLOTHES-DRESSES-50S-CIRCLE&id=033007&catId=CLOTHES-DRESSES&pushId=CLOTHES-DRESSES&popId=CLOTHES&sortProperties=&navCount=305&navAction=top&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=012&colorName=CREAM&isSubcategory=true&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=[/url]”>http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?subCategoryId=CLOTHES-DRESSES-50S-CIRCLE&id=033007&catId=CLOTHES-DRESSES&pushId=CLOTHES-DRESSES&popId=CLOTHES&sortProperties=&navCount=305&navAction=top&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=012&colorName=CREAM&isSubcategory=true&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=</a></p>
<p>Added in the past couple of days- I like the straps in black! :)</p>
<p>My D and many of her friends found theirs for less than $200 (D’s was on sale for $125) at White House Black Market. Another poster mentioned they don’t have their white dresses available yet. However, keep checking because once they do, the inventory will go quickly. If your D is a small size in particular, it can be tough to find if you wait too long.</p>
<p>Also, check out this website. [Aria</a> Wedding and Bridesmaid Dresses](<a href=“ariadress.com”>ariadress.com)</p>
<p>D is a maid of honor this summer and there are alot of cute dresses (also available in white) at reasonable prices. You can pay to have a “sample size” sent to your house. These remind me of the J Crew bridal line but seems like many more styles/fabrics to choose from.</p>
<p>We had a silver lining experience for the youngest girl’s graduation dress–neither of the others had needed white. She and I were on a college scouting trip and our luggage was lost. Lost and not located for 8 days. She had to quickly buy an interview outfit. We happened to be in Nashville during a one day Macy’s sale and she fell in love with a white dress and said it would be her graduation dress as well. </p>
<p>It was on Delta’s dime eventually although it was very frustrating. First, trying to locate our luggage and then getting her $$ returned. My claim was paid within 2 months. The letters for the airports–Cincinnati is CVG I think–and Paris is CDG. Evidently the luggage tickets weren’t electronically scanned.</p>
<p>Nice site, curiouser! I like
[Aria</a> Wedding and Bridesmaid Dresses](<a href=“ariadress.com”>ariadress.com)
but it may not be what an 18 year-old girl would go for. I always did like the Audrey Hepburn look.</p>
<p>My D had to wear a long white dress for her middle school graduation, many moons ago. We found hers in one of those discount stores you often find in cities – you know, lots of knock-offs, tacky party dresses, frilly confirmation dresses, etc. Hers cost less than $50, and it was quite pretty and did not look cheap at all. Her classmates went the gamut from a Vera Wang dress to… I guess my D’s dress, but it was a very interesting lesson for my D who discovered that the most expensive dress was definitely not the nicest or the most flattering. At this age, it’s the girl, not the dress.</p>
<p>I’m with sunnyflorida - if she likes the dress from a friend that is too big, have it tailored. At our h.s., the girls need white dresses so they don’t show under their white graduation robes. Do you have daughters walking across the stage to get their diplomas in white dresses? That would be almost as hard as choosing a wedding gown…</p>