BM dress advice

[selflove]

I was hoping someone might have some suggestions for me for my BM dresses. I recently asked two of my best girlfriends to join my bridal party. Initially I had wanted to keep everything really simple and just have my best friend of 20+ years be my MOH, she''d be my only attendant, and could pick out whatever dress she wanted (I was going to use her dress selection to drive the color scheme--which is truly the LEAST important thing to me about the whole event, I honestly don''t care about colors).

So now I''ve got 3 different women with the following characateristics:

MOH: 5''6", green eyes, light brown hair, approximately size 12-16 (and just had a baby but has 6 months until the wedding), big chested
BM 1: 5''1", green eyes, light brown hair, size 0-2, super athletic build, big chested
BM 2: 5''10", blue eyes, blond hair, size 6, flat chested

You can see, there is not one style dress that''s going to look good on them. And I really like the idea of having them each get a dress that suits their body type. I like the look of one color fabric and three different styles for the wedding party (think Charlotte''s wedding to Trey in "Sex & The City"). The wedding is in the evening so I told them black cocktail length would fine.

Now I just have to find a store/vendor that will give me enough selection of cocktail length styles in the same fabric. Tomorrow I''m going to David''s Bridal. Does anyone have any other vendor suggestions for dresses that would be under $150? I''ve looked at so many websites (J.Crew, Jim Hjelm, Alfred Angelo, Jessica McClintock). Before I start calling vendors directly I thought I''d see if anyone had any advice.

Thanks!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

ann taylor has a "celebrations" collection now too. I think I am picking a dress from Bill Lev Koff. My bridemaids all are different heights/weight also. Don''t stress too much about it because usually there is always one that will be unhappy. I think different cuts is a great idea if you like that. I would guess that the first girl would be trickier to find a flattering dress for so I would start there. I am sure the other girls will look great in anything. Good luck!

 

[larussel03]

I''m doing the same, just black long dress and no silk. Those are going to be the only requirements. All my BM''s to be have totally diff body shapes ranging from tall and thin to tall and not-so-thin. I may even just wait until my wedding to see them, theyr''e all so beautiful and have such great taste that it would actually be fun to see what they chose!

 

[selflove]

Tacori--thanks for Ann Taylor tip, I forgot about her. Yeah, the MOH seemed really bummed when I told her that I had changed my mind about keeping it simple and adding the other two. Her exact words were somehting like "Oh great, they''re gonna pick a dress for skinny girls..."

Sweatpea--why not silk? (I really need to get educated on how all the different fabrics flattery a girl''s figure.) I love your idea of being surprised by their choices on the day of the wedding! I think I''m gonna do that.

 

[larussel03]

Date: 10/29/2005 9:22:48 PM
Author: selflove
Tacori--thanks for Ann Taylor tip, I forgot about her. Yeah, the MOH seemed really bummed when I told her that I had changed my mind about keeping it simple and adding the other two. Her exact words were somehting like 'Oh great, they're gonna pick a dress for skinny girls...'

Sweatpea--why not silk? (I really need to get educated on how all the different fabrics flattery a girl's figure.) I love your idea of being surprised by their choices on the day of the wedding! I think I'm gonna do that.

Oh--I said not silk b/c I want everyone to have a similar fabric, and not one that will substantially stick out (just for a little bit of same-ness, despite having different dresses). if the ALL got silk that'd be ok, but I want the fabrics to match, or look similar. I want them to have as much freedom as possible, but a little guidence.

Plus, I doubt they'd all be comfortable in silk--its not the most flattering on everyone and I'm a size 2 at 5'7 and still feel like it exposes my flaws to the world, so I know I'd be uncomfortable in it.

 

[MelissaSue]

A-line dresses look good on everyone. Stay away from empire waists for bigger chested girls. Strapless is a matter of preference.. some bigger chested girls would like to wear a real bra..
I chose a strapless dress, but my very large chest MOH may add thick straps to the dress so she can wear a bra.. She will also be recently a new mom and nursing for the wedding..
My dress- Jordan 787 $93 from netbride.com

The one thing I found very difficult was finding a dress that had thick straps that was not either 1)empire waisted (MOHs boobs wouldn''t fit!) 2)very form fitted (I have several girls with hip/tummy issues) 3)super deep v-neck (Waaaay too much cleavage!) or 4) very high necked (I just didn''t like these.. thought they looked too covered up)

 

[flopkins]

for a friends wedding last year we did same color, diff styles.. the mix/match thing, and we used Impression bridal. They have a HUGE selection. Around $200 per set of top/bottom, but you might be able to find cheaper online?!

 

[JessesGrl]

I let my girls choose a dress, they were the ones who had to wear it, I just "approved it". I had 6 girls, 3 of them were size 2-4. One was a 4-6, One is a size 8-10, the other is a 14-16. I think they all looked great and they were all comfortable. Check out a pic of them in my wedding picture post. The dresses are Jim Hjelm

 

[Tybee]

My wedding is going to be a bit more casual. Outdoors, destination wedding. I struggled with asking my girls to be bridesmaids at all, since traveling to our destination is going to be expensive enough--
They are all very different too. We decided that we would just go with a color...green...and they can wear whatever they want. There are only three of them. In our case, I''m not even worried about shades. I actually think it will look quite nice letting them look like individuals. I love them all for their differences. They were thrilled about the idea. I can''t wait to see how it comes out.

 

[AndyRosse]

Selflove, I would suggest visiting several local bridal shops with your three BMs if possible so that they may all try on dresses. Also talk with the bridal shop people about whether they can suggest a dress that might flatter all three shapes. But I do really like the idea of allowing them to choose the dress as long as they adhere to some guidelines (i.e. length, color, fabric...).

 

[selflove]

Thanks for all your advice!

The two BMs who live in my city went shopping with me yesterday and after a very stressful 3 hours (for me--I was sooooooo indecisive!) we found one! We emailed a picture to the MOH and she loved it so it''s a done deal. It does have an empire waist, which one of you said was bad for big chests, but I didn''t read that until after we got home and the BMs had paid for the dresses. However, the BM with the large chest looked WAY sexy in the dress and overall the look is very elegant and sophisticated. Plus, it comes with a wrap so if anyone feels like they are overexposed they can tie the shawl around their shoulders and chest.

The whole mix-and-match look sounded good in theory but in reality it was was too complicated b/c the store didn''t have enough tops/bottoms/colors/sizes in stock to really get a vision for how it would all look. As for choosing one swatch of fabric and getting different dresses, that was also too complicated.

Sooooo...it''s a black floor length cocktail dress that is so elegant and sexy, I love it! And I don''t care how many people say "Black bridesmaid dresses...?" with a raised eyebrow--because I love it!

 

[BrightSpot]

Wow, I absolutely adore that dress!

I think you & your girls made a great choice! This is a sexy, sophisticated dress that shoudl be flattering to everyone & could definitely be worn again! Do you have a pic of the back of the dress? I''m curious to see what the little streamer is...

 

[MelissaSue]

I almost bought that dress for my best friends wedding! It was my second choice! (She let us pick our own). I really liked it, but I found a satin one that I liked better and it was just more flattering on me. That one looked good on me too, but I was worried because you could see my butt dimples because the fabric was so thin!

 

[MelissaSue]

Date: 10/31/2005 3:37:10 PM
Author: BrightSpot
Wow, I absolutely adore that dress!

I think you & your girls made a great choice! This is a sexy, sophisticated dress that shoudl be flattering to everyone & could definitely be worn again! Do you have a pic of the back of the dress? I''m curious to see what the little streamer is...

Its not a streamer.. she is carrying the included wrap thingy. I''m pretty sure the back of the dress is just plain.

 

[icekid]

I love that dress! great choice

 

[selflove]

Date: 10/31/2005 3:55:30 PM
Author: MelissaSue
I almost bought that dress for my best friends wedding! It was my second choice! (She let us pick our own). I really liked it, but I found a satin one that I liked better and it was just more flattering on me. That one looked good on me too, but I was worried because you could see my butt dimples because the fabric was so thin!

MS--That''s so funny! None of us noticed that with this dress so I sure hope my MOH doesn''t get her''s and have that experience!! She''ll KILL me! But yeah, the back is plain, the model in the picture is holding the wrap behind her.

 

[MelissaSue]

Date: 10/31/2005 6:10:31 PM
Author: selflove

Date: 10/31/2005 3:55:30 PM
Author: MelissaSue
I almost bought that dress for my best friends wedding! It was my second choice! (She let us pick our own). I really liked it, but I found a satin one that I liked better and it was just more flattering on me. That one looked good on me too, but I was worried because you could see my butt dimples because the fabric was so thin!

MS--That''s so funny! None of us noticed that with this dress so I sure hope my MOH doesn''t get her''s and have that experience!! She''ll KILL me! But yeah, the back is plain, the model in the picture is holding the wrap behind her.

Its nothing a control slip or even a good pair of panties wouldn''t fix. I had on very thin satin panties that make my butt look dimply no matter what.. haha..

 

[flopkins]

nice dresses!!! nothing wrong w/black. a friend of mine had black bm dresses (they wore their own) and it looked great!!! didn''t even think twice about it.

 

[MissAva]

I think the dress is pretty but I worry for girl #1 unless he belly is tight and flat that dress will not look good. That dress is better suited to the small chested and little type person. JMO

 

[tanyak]

I wore that dress in a wedding last year. I have a large chest, too, so the consultant told me to go up a dress size to accommodate that (the material isn''t too forgiving). So the dress comes back, and it''s too big everywhere, even in the chest. So the alterations peeps try to work their magic, but the dress never did fit right. At the reception, the straps kept falling down. Apparently, if they had shorten them more than they did, the seam on the dress would have come up right over my boobs (darn big chest!). Plus it was so big everywhere else, I looked preggo.

Sorry for the rant...it''s just that everytime I see that dress, I shudder and think of the $90 dress with the $95 alterations. LOL.

I hope your girls have better luck!

 

[snuga]

Date: 10/31/2005 3:30:28 PM
Author: selflove
Thanks for all your advice!

Sooooo...it''s a black floor length cocktail dress that is so elegant and sexy, I love it! And I don''t care how many people say ''Black bridesmaid dresses...?'' with a raised eyebrow--because I love it!

I told my boyfriend that when we get married I want black bridesmaid dresses and he laughed-he thought I was joking!! I told him to get used to the idea because I LOVE IT!! I think the dress is great and I am happy you found one you are pleased with!!

 

[selflove]

Date: 11/2/2005 9:19:37 PM
Author: tanyak
I wore that dress in a wedding last year. I have a large chest, too, so the consultant told me to go up a dress size to accommodate that (the material isn''t too forgiving). So the dress comes back, and it''s too big everywhere, even in the chest. So the alterations peeps try to work their magic, but the dress never did fit right. At the reception, the straps kept falling down. Apparently, if they had shorten them more than they did, the seam on the dress would have come up right over my boobs (darn big chest!). Plus it was so big everywhere else, I looked preggo.

Sorry for the rant...it''s just that everytime I see that dress, I shudder and think of the $90 dress with the $95 alterations. LOL.

I hope your girls have better luck!

Dang! I hope they do too! They all expect to have alterations done but afterwards I would hope it would fit right. Did you use the David''s seamstresses? I know the girls here, who already ordered and paid for them, will go to my seamstress who I trust much more than the David''s staff (I''m sure they''re fine, I''ve just had enough of being a "number").

I''ll let you know how it goes...kinda too late to do anything else now...

 

[tanyak]

I did use the David''s alterations department. Honestly, the majority of the bad things I''ve heard about David''s seem to stem from their alterations. I think your girls will probably be in much better --and less expensive!-- hands with your seamstress. I''m planning to buy my wedding gown at David''s, but take it elsewhere for alterations.

And once again, I hope you don''t think I''m dissing that dress. It is a very pretty dress, just not for my body type.

I hope everything works out for your girls. I''d love to know how it turns out!