Answer: They believe the dress is disrespectful, as it is too fancy. They think Kit would draw too much attention to herself.
The Witch of Blackbord Pond is a children's novel by Elizabeth George Speare. The book was published in 1958 and won the Newbery Medal in 1959.
The book tells the story of Katherine Tyler, who after the death of her grandfather in 1687, moves from Barbados to a Puritan community in Connecticut.