Bridesmaid dresses
May 4, 2009 · Posted in what to wear by kelly
I had no idea what I was going to do for bridesmaid dresses and hadn’t been stressing about it. (Now that I have less than 6 months to go…. stressing a little about everything to be honest). I knew navy (my colors are navy and yellow… or cobalt and goldenrod, thereabouts) and I’d picked my flowers (yellow ranunculus) but I was doing the whole debate:
-Should I care if they will wear them again? (a lot of people say no matter what you pick they won’t wear it again)
-Should I try to keep costs down (even at david’s bridal you’re looking at $150-250 for a dress you know they’ll never wear again)
-Should they match? (I have mixed feelings about navy for a lot of reasons. I can’t imagine owning a solid color navy dress that I would ever wear, except as a bridesmaid. Do I still like the color? Definitely.)
bridesmaid dress from Dessy
Then we move on to:
-Maybe I should just wait until I see a navy dress I like at j. crew and at least it will be a nice dress.
-Maybe I should just let them get any navy dress they want.
-Maybe I should get a navy dress with a print, I like prints.
-I can’t find any navy dresses with prints anywhere online.
-I have plenty of time, so I’ll just wait until I see a dress at Anthropologie I like (probably printed) and have them all buy it. It will still be expensive, but it will be nice.
This went on until I ended up at an outlet center down by the beach with Garrett and his cousins. I was in Banana Republic and found a silky navy cap-sleeved wrap dress and immediately thought it could be the dress. It was only $90! I tried it on and loved it! I asked the nice people at the desk how I could find out what sizes were available where, whether I could have it shipped, etc. and they gave me a print out of stores that had size 6. (They search by size there). I went back the next day and took a picture of me in it. Then I started hassling my bridesmaids. There were the diligent purchasers and those I had to nag but all 5 of them now have their dresses (some even got them on clearance for $60), and two even sent me pictures. So, see below, bridesmaids Linden and Megan (with me in the center). I did not purchase mine although I loved it.
I feel like the wrapness of it, the capsleeves, and the length all make it a pretty snazzy choice. Everything I wanted in a dress. One less thing to worry about.
Oh, and I figured out that my subconscious may have led me to the dress because of the Banana Republic shirt I was wearing when I got engaged, see below for a recent shot of said shirt. Smaller print but basically the same thing as the dresses I picked. And it’s a lucky shirt, because I’m absolutely certain without it Garrett would have never proposed that day (untrue, but still makes it a happy, memorable shirt).
photo by amelia strauss. shirt by banana republic.
How did you pick your bridesmaids dresses?
I performed internet searches until my head began to swim. I knew what I was looking for…a cute little dress, elegant, yet one they could wear again. I hadn’t decided on my colors yet, but was leaning towards a classy black and white theme. I LOVED the style of the dresses at White House Black Market, but REALLY didn’t want my girls to have to pay their prices. Then one of my searches pulled up a dress that WHBM had on sale. I hadn’t even considered looking to see if they had a sale or clearance section! Instantly, I knew that was the dress. I emailed and txted my girls to get their feedback…I did want them to like the dress, at least a little bit. One happened to be out shopping already, so she went to the store, tried the dress on, sent me a photo msg, and I knew it was a go. She bought both dresses (one for each bridesmaid), used a COUPON (I love that!), and boom! Both dresses bought, less than $100 for the two of them. I couldn’t be happier!
I LOVE your choice! Way to go. And the girls can wear the dresses again!
I read through several of your posts. I wish you well with your wedding and marriage.
I am now following you on Twitter.
That is an awesome bridesmaid dress, and what a deal! I bet they see a lot of wear after the wedding. And you are too cute with your Barbie hands, modeling the dress.
I picked a Calvin Klein dress for $158 at Nordstrom (or Dillards) that one of the girls liked in a champagne color. She said “If that was in blue, I’d love to wear that.” So I found it! But it wasn’t really that easy. I did exactly the same thing you did. I wanted a dress under $200, not from a bridal store. I checked J.Crew but they wouldn’t ship the dresses out early enough for my wedding (which is this friday! EEEK!!). I don’t know if the girls love them or hate them but if they do hate them at least they aren’t $300 dresses that “You could totally wear again!”
The dresses are sapphire and the rest of the wedding colors are navy, but I figured that much sapphire would make people blind.
I LOVE the dress you picked! That’s beautiful! With a bouquet of yellow gerber daisies or tulips, it would be BEAUTIFUL! Best of luck!
That’s so awesome that other people are having similar luck! And thank you for all the kind words! and @jcwiakala, that is awesome that you got both for under $100! Yay for dedicated bridesmaids. They really make things easier.
very cute dress. Congrats.
My girls are also wearing navy. I found great dress after great dress only to have my very vocal bridesmaids push back. In the end they chose a dress that they feel comfortable in and I feel looks the part. If I’d had complete creative control it’s not what I’d have chosen (but if I wanted complete creative control, I’d probably have chosen different bridesmaids). I think you have to pick your battles and be as nice to the girls as you can be without sacrificing something important. At the end of the day it’s important to me that they be comfortable and feel like they look good.
