Have you found a Quinceanera dress you just adore, but it reveals a little too much for your personal taste? Or perhaps your family really wants you to wear something with more coverage? Don’t give up yet! Before you put that dress back on the rack, consider the following options. Some are quick, some are custom, and one is a DIY that’s just plain fun. But they will all turn that stunning gown you want so much into something you’ll be proud to wear—and your family will be proud of you for being so creatively modest!
Overview
The thing that separates a Quinceanera gown from other clothing—even prom and bridal gowns—is that the skirt is traditionally very full. Therefore, by its very nature, a Quince skirt is modest enough for most everyone’s standards. The tricky part is the bodice. Also, depending on how much you want to cover—and how long you want to stay covered—your options will vary.
One of the very first things you can do is to choose a neckline that’s more modest. Pick a gown with a higher neck, a bodice that’s completely covered in lace or illusion, or if the dress is strapless, choose one with a “straight-across” neckline like this:
This dress is a perfect example of a straight-across bodice that comes up higher than other strapless designs. The back of the bodice also doesn’t dip down as much.
Check this out: All of these dresses have a straight-across bodice! Strapless & Sweet: Modest Quinceanera Gowns with a Straight-Across Bodice
Removable Ceremony Options
If what you’re looking for is modesty for your ceremony only, then that’s pretty easy. Just wear one or a combination of these accessories:
- Short Sleeve Bolero or Jacket: Choose sheer chiffon or, for more coverage, an opaque fabric like taffeta, satin or silk.
- Long Sleeve Bolero or Jacket: Again, this can be sheer or opaque.
- Gloves: Wear long gloves with a short sleeve bolero, and short wrist length gloves with a long sleeve bolero.
Investment Piece: Decorative Shrug or Capelet
A shrug or capelet can be worn the entire day, and this is an accessory you can keep and wear with other dressy outfits for years. They go best with strapless gowns and dresses with spaghetti straps. Here are two beautiful options. The first is definitely one to buy ready-made, but the second is easier to make in fabric to match or contrast with your gown:
Design Option: Full Coverage Bodice & Sleeves
This is one of our dresses that already comes with what we’re talking about. It’s essentially a strapless sweetheart neckline gown with an overlay that creates a “full coverage” dress—high neck, covered back with just a little peek-a-boo, and long sleeves with embellishments. The fabric is called illusion because it creates the “illusion” of coverage.
If you want truly full coverage, then choose a dress with a bodice and sleeves made of lace. Or just go back to the jacket or bolero idea and wear it the entire day.
Our Favorite DIY Hack: Modesty Panel!
If everything about the dress is gorgeous and perfect, except the neckline dips too low—add what’s called a “modesty panel.”
For a formal dress like a Quinceanera gown, you’ll want the panel to be made of matching fabric or lace, but the basic idea is to “close the gap” between the deep-cut cleavage. Pretty much every gown on the rack with a V-neckline can be made more modest with a bit of lace. This is one of our wedding dresses that’s constructed using exactly this technique with a bit of lace between the deep V-neck:
And here’s one of our Quinceanera gowns with the same idea, but the V is made of gorgeous pleated fabric to match the dress!
We hope these hints and hacks will help you wear that stunning dress you fell in love with but that just needs a little adjusting. We know strapless Quince gowns really are stunning, so we have an entire blog dedicated just to our dresses with what’s called a “straight-across bodice.”
Check out these dresses, all strapless but with a nice, high, straight-across bodice that just might make everybody happy right from the start!
Strapless & Sweet: Modest Quinceanera Gowns with a Straight-Across Bodice
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