Vort style dresses- spinoff

Ema of 5

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:25 am

Maybe I’m just totally out of the loop, as I get most of my clothing from other people, or I’ve been married for too long....
Is it really normal for people to spend upwards of $100-$150 on something to wear to their vort? Is that normal in some circles but not in others? I can’t imagine spending that much on ANY one item of clothing, aside from a suite or wedding gown.

amother

Silver

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:27 am

Ema of 4 wrote:

That’s cheap. I can spend that on a weekday dress /skirt. Not saying that you should but if you can afford it then why not.

amother

Mustard

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:29 am

In-town, yes, people do spend a lot on their vort dresses. I've seen that in middle-of-the-road MO, RWMO, JPF, and yeshivish circles.

Perhaps OOT it's different.

amother

Vermilion

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:29 am

I can’t imagine finding something for less for a vort. My dress was about $800 and I believe that is standard in my community. A vort is a once in a lifetime thing. A girl should look amazing. It would be very hard to get that look for $150

Ema of 5

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:30 am

amother [ Silver ] wrote:

That’s cheap. I can spend that on a weekday dress /skirt. Not saying that you should but if you can afford it then why not.

Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it shouldn’t be spent. I’m just asking if that’s typical, or more typical in some circles than in others. Absolutely if someone has the money they should spend it, kol hakavod!!

amother

Babypink

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:30 am

I'm with you op. I think spending so much on a dress for a vort is a little crazy. But, if you could wear to future weddings or as a Sheva brachos outfit, then it may make it "worthwhile".

amother

Ruby

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:34 am

I spend very little on myself, but I do splurge for my older girls so that they feel good about themselves and fit in with their friends. Not the younger ones who could care less and it's much easier to shop in non-Jewish stores for the little kids and for boys. $100-$150 is the average of what I spend for Shabbos dresses/outfits and I get 2 per season (meaning twice a year) for each daughter. For a vort, I would probably spend around $250, assuming she will re-wear it to Sheva Brachos. I am a very frugal person but know that this is very important to my girls and is money well spent. They always look beautiful.

Ema of 5

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:36 am

amother [ Mustard ] wrote:

In-town, yes, people do spend a lot on their vort dresses. I've seen that in middle-of-the-road MO, RWMO, JPF, and yeshivish circles.

Perhaps OOT it's different.

Well, that might explain it. By in town I assume you mean the greater NY area. I live here, but I was not raised here, and even all these years later some things are still foreign to me...

Crookshanks

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:56 am

Any Shabbos dress in a Jewish store in Lakewood will be between $100-$150. So all my Shabbos dresses are that price, forget about vort dresses. Many people buy vort dresses that are in the hundreds, but my family couldn't afford that so I wore a plain Shabbos dress. However, my friend spent around $800...totally individual, everyone does what they want.

amother

Mustard

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:58 am

amother [ Vermilion ] wrote:

See, and that's a lot for me. My vort dress was $320. I saw it as an outfit I would wear to a wedding, but a little more enhanced because I was the kallah. I didn't spend $800 on my wedding dress!

But that has to do less with circles and more with general standards (plus the amount of money you have, though my family is thoroughly middle class).

Bleemee

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:59 am

You think $100 for a tznius evening dress is expensive?
Please post cheaper links. 😀

PinkFridge

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:59 am

100-150 for a special dress that presumably the kallah will get more mileage out of - sheva brachos, other simchos - sounds fairly reasonable. But the higher numbers, way out of my frame of reference.

mommyhood

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 11:59 am

It's normal to spend a lot more.
Mine was a few hundred dollars. I wore it to Shabbos sheva brachos and a couple of weddings and then sold it.

thunderstorm

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 12:02 pm

I got married over 20 yrs ago and my vort dress cost $400 back then. By now the same thing would be about $600 . It was very plain and simple. I was also someone that grew up poor and we didn’t try keeping up with the Jones’s .
But that was the price back then .

FranticFrummie

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 12:04 pm

I've never heard of a "vort dress." In my circles, the girl just wears her best Shabbos outfit, or something that she wears to her friends' weddings.

Most girls I know, would rather save that money, and put it towards a fancier wedding dress, or something practical for the new home.

I guess I don't hang out with a lot of rich people.

Crookshanks

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 12:14 pm

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

In my circles it’s normal to spend 2K on a vort dress.

Wow that's so cool! Where do you shop for them? Even in Lakewood I haven't seen dresses more than 1k.

bsy

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 12:19 pm

A few hundred is normal in my circles. It usually doubles as a Shabbos sheva brachos dress.

bsy

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 12:19 pm

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

In my circles it’s normal to spend 2K on a vort dress.

Vort or tnayim?

mommy3b2c

Thu, Apr 08 2021, 12:20 pm

Crookshanks wrote:

Wow that's so cool! Where do you shop for them? Even in Lakewood I haven't seen dresses more than 1k.

In elegance on Coney Island the dresses are mostly around $2000 and up.

I spent around $700 on my vort dress almost 20 years ago. That wasn’t even considered a lot then. Honestly, my mom was buying me $300 dresses for Shabbos when I was in high school. And my mom is not even a spender, quite the opposite. There’s all kinds out there.