Choosing a Bat Mitzvah Dress

Choosing a dress for your Bat Mitzvah (or Bas Mitzvah) is fun and exciting!  It's certainly not the most important part of your Mitzvah by any means but it IS an expression of who you are and who you plan to become!

Dress for the Ceremony

First you will want to select a dress for the ceremony.  This must be tasteful and modest, of course.  It can be a dress, a jacket dress or a suit.

Rabbis often suggest that the color should be muted and understated rather than flamboyant. This does not mean that it has to be white or beige, of course.  Color is highly desirable and very popular - but neon colors are usually frowned upon.

What are great choices? Pale blue is always a hit of course.  So is pink. Our customers frequently select colors in the ivory-to-champagne tones often combining colors such as ivory with taupe, taupe with chocolate (very rich!) or white with ivory.  These are always lovely.

What's really hot right now?  Sable (a shade of deep brown) with pink! (Available through the Ladybug and Ladybug Pre-Teen Collections).

Cerise, tangerine, neon yellow, etc., and black are usually not great choices for the ceremony.

And of course you will want sleeves.  This can be sleeves in the dress or a jacket with sleeves over a sleeveless number.  Again, modesty and good taste are the key ingredients.

Afterwards - the Afternoon Luncheon

After the ceremony you can change your look.  You will, of course, still want to display that you are developing maturity in your quality choices in style!  But you can express yourself even more.

For the afternoon luncheon you will likely wear what you wore to the ceremony.  You can, however, remove your jacket if you prefer the sleeveless look.

You can feature brighter colors here if that is your desire.  For instance, a vividly colored top underneath the jacket that was buttoned up for the ceremony can be displayed here!  Or, you can change to another dress in the color of your choice.

The Evening Party

For the evening party - everything changes!  What you wear will be dictated by the theme of your party.  Is it informal?  Then you'll wear sharp casual clothing of course.

Is it a formal evening event? Then a full gown is perfect!  Ballgowns are gorgeous on anyone your age. A-lines are certainly an option too, and are often more becoming on the slightly 'fluffier' figure.

Strapless is usually acceptable at the evening party these days.  But the key is still to keep it modest at all times.  You're maturing and becoming a woman and it's natural to want to look more mature.  The balance is that to look mature you do not have to go for "vampish".  Sexy and sleazy are really out of place here and should be absolutely avoided (for the rest of your life, if you want my opinion!).  

There are so many wonderful styles that will make you look elegant and present you to the world as the new young woman you are with style and flare!

One key that we stress to everyone always - have everything altered to perfection.  To look your best, it has to fit you like it was made for you and only a quality alterationist can accomplish this for you.  Take the time and invest the extra few dollars to have your dress, suit and/or gown fitted to perfection.  Especially if you choose a strapless gown - nothing can possibly be more unbecoming than an ill-fitting strapless gown! Have it fitted to you to perfection (strapless should fit like your skin on top with NO gaps and be fully supported inside).