What to wear to work: the perfect spring uniform
Summer weddings: bridesmaid dresses you'll want to wear againAN OPEN LETTER ABOUT BRIDESMAID DRESSES
by Stacy Cox
Dearest Brides, Bridezillas, Ladies who have envisioned their weddings down to the very last detail since they were tiny girls, Divorcees who intend to wed again:
Might we have a chat as the 2011 wedding season gets underway? I want to talk to you about a seemingly small yet, when the time comes for photos, important detail in wedding preparations...bridesmaid dresses. The question is, how can we be spared from wearing ill fitting, ruffle exploding, taffeta travesties that illuminate imperfections we didn't realize we had or were in perfectly acceptable amounts of denial over? Things like back fat and muffin tops need not be placed on public display. Be sensitive towards the bridesmaid, because if you haven't been one yet, it's a guarantee one day you will! Below, I drafted up a 3 point check list to bear in mind when you're in the driver's seat controlling the fashion destinies of team bridesmaid.
1. Putting a curvy bridesmaid in a dress engineered for a size 2 or insisting your pal who's still paying off her college loans purchase a pricey couture frock is simply put: short sighted. If you're determined to have a certain designer's dress adorn your wedding attendants and the cost is excessive (think $150 or higher), offer to gift the dress to each girlfriend or split the cost with them. However, by taking on a level of responsibility, you might notice your pals are more open and inclined to find a way to make it work.
2. If "team bridesmaid" comes in all shapes and sizes consider picking a color and allowing the ladies to select a dress in that color that flatters her figure and budget.
3. If you select a certain dress and everyone in your posse dislikes it, take a deep breath and reevaluate the options. If they all happen to dislike your groom...take a deep breath and reevaluate the options.
I'm just kidding about the groom (sort of), but I think the take away here is to realize that joy resonates from the inside out. If your bridesmaids feel insecure because they collectively agree they look like a herd of walking pink taffeta cotton candy in heels, this negative energy could undermine aspects of your special day, and who needs that? Pippa Middleton (Kate's sis) is an excellent example of how a bridesmaid should look: simple elegance. Pippa's dress in no way upstaged Catherine, yet she managed to make a stylish, tasteful fashion statement in her own right. Are you familiar with the saying, "always the bridesmaid, never the bride?" Well, it's true not everyone will get to be a bride in her lifetime, but trust me, everyone wants to look like a princess and that's an end result worth striving for for our friends and sisters.
Sending you champagne wishes, caviar dreams, and luck finding a dress you truly like...
Warm Regards,
Stacy (once a bride & twice a bridesmaid)
To help you with your quest, here are some bridesmaid dresses that won't want to make you run and hide. All of these dresses really drive home the point that your bridesmaids don't have to look like carbon copies of each other. Picking a color or hue and allowing everyone to select a dress that both fits there personal budget and figure is such a low maintenance, stress-free way to approach the process.
Tomorrow, I'll show you some of my favorite short bridesmaid dresses that they really will want to wear again.
