Tweens are so fashion conscious, you have to make sure you find something that will still fit in with what all of their friends are wearing. Let's face it...some of the clothes marketed to middle school kids are just ridiculously priced! Plus, it's just so hard to give up all those ruffles and lace we used to doll our girls in when they were smaller.
Well, denim is so in! So are flip flops, sandals, and not too many ruffles, but just enough to give it a girly touch. How about Danielle?
So cute, so sassy, so hi-low...which is so in right now! Danielle is perfect for teens and tweens with a zippered denim bodice trimmed in the fabric of the ruffled hi-low skirt. My daughter couldn't wait to get into this! I made her a matching headband for style, or just bad hair days!
Of course, with three girls, there's no way I could make only one of these. I actually made this next dress first. Michelle was a mixture of pattern and imagination...some of my favorite creations!
I really wanted the big girl look of the bodice for my big girl, but I realized the zipper I had on hand wasn't long enough. So I added the eyelets for the semi corset look. I thought this turned out really well, and my daughter was eager to wear it. I LOVE this print! The contrast ruffle and trim on the bodice totally set off the colors in the skirt.
And let's not leave out my baby girl! At eight, she could care less about style and fashion. She just wanted a new dress because her big sisters had one, and the fact that hers even resembled theirs was good enough for her.
This dress, called Danae, was a new adventure for me. I've always wanted to know how to do this square circle skirt, and once I found out how easy it was, I made this dress with a double skirt! I really think this turned out cute. I figured since I was having fun, I'd play with the lace trim. So there's one lace on the overskirt, and a different lace on the underskirt. I'm so into vintage right now, I used some simple lace with a slight vintage look. The one thing I hated about the the pattern for this bodice was that I had to add a zipper into the side, even though it ties in back. That made the circle waist kind of tricky to attach to the bodice. However, I saw the advantage when my baby slipped out of the dress with the pretty bow still in tact in back. That means I won't have to re-tie it. Yay for me!
I wish my girls could wear something everyday that I made. I'm actually working towards that. But I hate that there's so much for little girls in handmade clothing, and not much for teen girls. Of course, as a seamstress, I think handmade clothes are far superior to retail clothing, if for no other reason than they were made especially for you. All of these dresses are for sale in my Etsy shop, but I'm just so excited to show off how we're starting off our new school year in style...with clothes my big girls couldn't wait to get into!
