Choosing the Right Toddler Pageant Dresses

Pageant dresses are extremely important for competitions. Not only is the dress usually scored heavily all on its own, it's also a big part of overall appearance, which also usually comprises a hefty percentage of the overall score. With this in mind, you'll see why it's so important to select the right pageant dresses for little girls.

In natural pageants, flower girl dresses are often appropriate, unless

the pageant requires all the girls to wear the same outfit. If this is the case, your entry fee will usually include a tee shirt for your child to wear with a pair of jeans.

For many small local pageants that are non-glitz or low glitz, a party dress or Sunday school might be all you need. For glitz beauty pageants, however, you'll need a high glitz pageant dress.

Glitz pageant dresses for little girls might be in one piece or two pieces. The two-piece pageant dresses are often easier to adjust as far as the size is concerned, and this is important. You can have the most beautiful and most expensive pageant dress in the world, but if it doesn't fit your child well, it's not going to score high. The bodice should be snug, and the dress length should come to the child's fingertips.

Glitz toddler pageant dresses should have full cupcake skirts, with several layers. These skirts stand out on their own, so you won't need a crinoline to wear underneath. The edges of the skirt layers have a "fishline" hem that makes the edges wavy. The skirt layers can be all the same color or different colors.

Glitz pageant dresses for toddlers should be decorated with lace, dangles, and/or bows, and lots of Swarovski rhinestones. Big clunky stones are largely a thing of the past. The trend now is to use hundreds of smaller stones instead. One large stone, like say a heart-shaped stone on the bodice, is okay. Most winning dresses have a combination of crystal stones, aurora borealis stones, and colored stones that match the dress or the trim on the dress.

Color is just as important as a proper fit. Some people simply look better in certain colors. As far as toddler pageant dresses are concerned, white is often hard to beat - IF the child can wear white successfully. Not all girls can. On a girl with a pale complexion, white will wash them out. You want a color that will make the child "pop." In other words, you want a dress that really compliments the color of her eyes, hair, and skin.

If you're trying on pageant dresses in a store or boutique, keep in mind that the dress might look very different on your child once she's tanned and is wearing makeup.

In the photo that accompanies this section of my pageant blog or pageant guide, you'll see one of my granddaughters wearing a light turquoise and white glitz pageant dress. This was a winning color combination for her. She has naturally dark skin, dark brown eyes, and brown hair, so the dress was beautiful on her and she often won prettiest dress in addition to winning many pageants with the dress. I wish I could have saved the dress for her younger sister, but she has a light complexion and blonde hair, so I knew the dress wouldn't look as good on her.

When you're shopping for toddler pageant dresses, take notice of the back of the dress, too. After all, the judges will be judging the entire dress - not just the front.

If you're not quite ready to invest in a brand new pageant dress, you might want to consider renting one. You can also find used pageant dresses for toddlers, which are substantially cheaper than a new dress.

If you get serious about beauty pageants, you'll probably want to have a pageant dress custom made for your child. These pageant dresses are very expensive, but if you choose to go this route, you'll be sure that the dress fits your child perfectly. Also, the dress will be unique, so it won't be one the judges are tired of seeing.