An online search unearthed these alternatives. I like them also and they are much more affordable, but is it worth the compromise? What do you think?

The DKNY dress above would be for Sarah, from Macy's.

This one would be for Abby, from Dillards. Actually, if I could get by with a 6X for Abby, I could get them both the same dress, but I'm not sure I want to do the match-y match-y thing. Bloggers are such great advice-givers... keep it coming! :)

As our friend Emily pointed out, they would be good for many more things (Easter, family pics, convention...) so if you divide by the number of wears then they aren't quite so pricey. :)

Another option: Today we found out Mom will be coming for a visit next weekend, and she said she would help me try to sew dresses like the ones from Chasing Fireflies (I spelled it right this time) in the previous post. Now I just need to decide how much our time is worth. It might be a pretty big project for a weekend!