Finding a Fancy Dress on eBay for your Little Girl:

Brands to Consider

With this guide I'm trying to help you find some - mainly boutique - brands which tend to specialize in formal dresses for infants, toddlers and little girls for holidays, portraits, weddings, etc..  I'm also giving some search terms that can be helpful.   My focus is on those brands that primarily offer more formal clothing rather than brands that may carry some formal dresses along with school clothes.  I'm going to try to create additional guides to focus on smocked clothing (a favorite), boutique brands, Euro brands, "stylin'" brands, and others.

BRANDS TO CONSIDER:

Here are those that I have identified so far as focusing primarily on formal clothing, or having a lot of selections in this area:

• Bebemonde (also try alt spelling Bebe Monde)
• Bonnie Jean
• Biscotti/Kate Mack (search separately)
• C.I. Castro
• Florence Eiseman
• Frances Johnston
• Helena
• Laura Ashley
• Little Mass
• Plum Pudding
• Rosetta Millington
• Sarah Louise
• Strasburg
• Trish Scully
• Victoria Kids
• Will'Beth (also try alt spelling such as Willbeth)

MY FAVORITES:

Biscotti: My daughter has had one each year since she was an infant; in the past they have focused on traditional tulle skirts, but last year came out with some very interesting styles like crinkly Victorian dresses with shrugs - wow!

Strasburg: I love this brand - they don't always look 'interesting' in ebay auctions, but they are always stunning in person and perfect for portraits - I typically like to buy them long.

SUGGESTED SEARCH TERMS

 Here are a few terms to try; first I would go to your size range and category "dresses" and then try some of these words.  There are a couple of exceptions - you can instead go to the category of wedding wear; or you can go to the category of custom/handmade and do your searching within those categories.

• organza
• dupioni
• tulle
• silk
• pageant
• flower girl or wedding
• portrait
• party
• holiday
• princess
• twirl
• christening
• TDF (always fun results)
• custom/handmade

A few other brands: You may also want to look at offerings by Baby Lulu and some of the smocked brands such as Orient Expressed.  These are slightly out of the scope of this guide, but I wanted to mention them.  Using some of the search terms will help you find other brands such as Gymboree and a myriad of others that have offerings in this area.  Last year my daughter's #1 favorite was from The Children's Place.

Good luck and please email me with suggestions for this guide - I hope it is helpful!