Grown-Up Easter Dresses: Light, Pretty Frocks for Spring

Remember when your mother would buy you bright, frilly dresses to celebrate each Easter Sunday? Oh, yes, there was lace and puffy layers of tulle or cotton and, without a doubt, more pastel hues than you’d find in an Easter egg dying kit. If you were anything like me, you bore a certain resemblance to frosted cupcakes and spent most of your egg-hunting time twirling and spinning to make all the aforementioned layers dance about you.

Don’t you miss that just a smidge? I do. So why should those wee versions of ourselves have all of the fun come Easter Sunday? After all, as grown women, we can no longer expect the joy that is the big basket filled with plastic grass, Peeps, jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and other sugary delights. But that doesn’t mean we can’t indulge in the girlie fun that comes with the Easter dress.

This year, why not splurge on an airy, feminine number that you can happily don on Easter and then keep in rotation throughout spring and summer? There is still plenty of time to order one of these lookers from Bluefly.com. Pick the right one and, come Easter Sunday, you’ll be swirling and making nice with a whole flock of Peeps faster than you can say “sugar high.”

1. Benny Crochet Detail Dress by Joie, Bluefly.com: One glance at this porcelain-colored, crinkled silk chiffon dress was all I needed to start dreaming of spring breezes. Perhaps it’s because the light layers of this confection just seem to float weightlessly. The ruffle trim on the neckline and the crochet detailing add some special, unexpected touches, and the thin tiers make it perfect for layering. Wear it now with tights and later over your swimsuit poolside.

2. Cotton Fairytale Flowers Dress by French Connection, Bluefly.com: The Easter dresses of my girlhood were all about the floral prints. Rather than going for a look that would mirror the fashion choices of the doll-carrying set, why not opt for something a little more grown up? The teal, navy and olive florals on this dress have a certain dark, mysterious quality—like roses with the thorns. Ideal for ladies who wouldn’t dare be caught in a perfectly pink floral print.

3. Gloria Strapless Dress by Corey Lynn Calter, Bluefly.com: One Easter, my parents decided to forgo the snack-filled Easter basket in lieu of a tetherball set that my father made for me. Needless to say, I was beside myself with glee, praising the Easter Bunny for my good fortune. Discovering this dot-printed silk georgette dress made me feel the same way—blissful and buzzing to show off the object of my obsession.

4. Light Blue Floating Lotus Ruffle Dress by Marc by Marc Jacobs, Bluefly.com: The pastel blues, pinks and yellows you may recall from your egg-hunting days have been subtly muted and refined in this lovely lotus print from Marc by Marc Jacobs. The flowers themselves look as if they were hand-brushed onto a canvas—in this case, cotton voile with a striped pattern. This dress is the perfect feminine foil for some chunky leather or suede platform sandals.