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Suggestions for bridesmaid dresses for plus sizes??

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winston26

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I finally booked a date, June 7, 08 and am absolutely freaking out. I thought I could plan the details 1-2-3 since I''ve been studying it all for so long and just afraid to pull the "date plug" so to speak. I''m pretty sure any store will tell me I need to order dresses YESTERDAY for a June wedding! Here''s where I need help! I have an idea of what dress I will get but no clue for bridesmaids! Any suggestions for a dress that will fit a 5''0" size 18 or 20 apple shape? Also have another apple shape but taller and heavier, and of course to make it complicated...one who''s 5''9" and thinner but hippy.
The dress I''m considering for myself is made of taffeta......http://www.sophiatolli.com/SophiaTolli/Details.aspx?did=501645&pid=501705&year=2007&season=Fall&


ah, my palms are sweating just thinking about it all. What did I do? A wedding in 4 mos?!?!
 
I hate to say this, but have you checked David's Bridal? I usually shy away from them, and honestly they won't have a lot to try on in the store; however, they do have a lot of separates. I am a plus size, and I think that separates can be pretty flattering especially if you have different plus size shapes. If not, then I liked Val Stefani's collections when I looked at their book. http://www.valstefani.com/frontend/prodcat.asp?co=10000002 Also, DaVinci is nice and I believe they carry plus sizes: http://www.davincibridal.com/catalog.php?cat=28 . Also this company http://barijay.com/ and this company is nice and I believe they have separates http://impressionbridal.com/catalog.php?cat=23 . Finally, for more conservative dresses http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_jade_index.asp is nice. Sorry for all of the links. I have not purchased any of these dresses, but I think they look nice and should all have plus sizes. You might have to choose the same color and fabric, but different style dresses if that doesn't bother you. It would make it easier to fit everyone's size. Hope this helps!

ETA: Beautiful dress by the way, which color would you want? :)
 
Winston, don't panic. I think the key to getting your dresses is to get off rack dresses. Empire waisted, v-neck or sweetheart neck, tea length dresses might be the most complementing for your BM's dresses.

something like this

or this

or this
 
You could also try Ann Taylor dresses - they go up to a size 18 (and some of them come in petites, too, so they are pretty good at accomodating many shapes and sizes.)

What about ARIA dresses? I bet you could get them in time...it says 4 months on their website as ideal, but I bet you could talk to them, order soon, and you would be ok. They seem to have tons of options and styles for you girls to choose from. You could pick a color/fabric and let each girl choose her own dress stlye?

Don''t worry- you will get it figured out and your girls will look great!
 
Winston, the dress you''ve selected for yourself is lovely. :)

IMO, the criss-cross style is just not going to look flattering on any apple-shaped bridesmaid, especially not one who is 5''0" and a size 18. Perhaps it would be best to not mirror your own dress and to instead find something that floats a bit more in the midsection for your BM. If at all possible, I would keep the neckline similar-- straps, heart-shaped crossover on the bust, but high-waist/A-line gliding southward from there? For instance, something like this from Nordstrom?:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2968515/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014150?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014150&P=1

That said, the first BM in particular kind of indicates that you might not be able to get much off-the rack; another poster suggested David''s Bridal, which I think from prior BM experiences is really adept at handling unusual sizes. In addition, you might want to speak to your BM to see their preferences. For instance, it''s not uncommon for larger women to prefer darker colors, and if it''s a daytime wedding the shorter skirt lengths tend to be more flattering on apple-shaped women. In addition, crepe rather than taffeta would be more flattering for its lower light-reflecting properties, which can be tough for even those with "ideal" figures to wear.

Good luck!
 
I think first and foremost you should discuss with your bridesmaids what style dress they feel the most comfortable in. Happy bridesmaids make for happy brides! You don''t want a few girls standing up there on your wedding day, feeling totally uncomfortable or exposed...the pictures will suffer, and they won''t enjoy themselves nearly as much as they could!

I would encourage you to look towards seperates. You sound like you have various body-types to accomidate and, I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but there is NO one dress that look outrageously good on every single girl, no matter what! The nice thing about this option of dress, is that you can have a single color with sooooo many beautiful looks! One girl can be in strapless, while another opts for a more modest approach, and yet, they all coordinate beautifully!

I would avoid any "clingy" material....taffeta is a really beautiful, summer, light material that will look classy, expensive and fine. 3 out of my 4 bridesmaid had "hard to fit" bodies...long lets, thick hips, ample behinds, busty, large arms...whew! And my sister is very thin, at 20 years old she can still shop at Gap Kids for jeans (if she had too!) but has a larger chest. I opted to let each girl select their own gown. It was less stress for me, and made them happy too!

Also, ordering around this time for a summer wedding is appropriate. BM dresses take no where near as long to order or fulfill as a bridal gown. But, I would suggest that the process for start now. You should also make the phone calls and ask specific salons about delivery time...they will probably give you a stock answer like "it varies from designer to designer"...but I''d still call. I would set a goal date, like March 1st, to have all the orders placed...that way you know exactly how much time you have to get the job done!
 
Thanks for the advice and calming words! I''m convinced these dress shops enjoy scaring you. I think they''ve said 12 weeks to order them for most places I went.

I really liked the Jasmine link. I wonder how these would look: http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_jade_1_a.asp?id=1966
http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_b2_1_a.asp?id=1940

I do know what you mean about David''s Bridal. I did NOT like their bridal gowns but the bridesmaids weren''t too bad. Just not sure what kind of service I''d get. I walked around the store for 20 min and no one helped.

As for my dress, I need to go back and try it on again to make sure! The "spun gold" color was what I tried at the store and it looks very rich--same color the model is wearing. Although I still also want to try on..... http://www.sophiatolli.com/SophiaTolli/Details.aspx?pid=502336&year=2008&season=Spring&
and http://www.sophiatolli.com/SophiaTolli/Details.aspx?pid=501701&year=2007&season=Fall& Any votes??
 
Hmm I think I''d vote 1 (the original one in your post) and 3. Those are my favorites. I love that gold color also. How did it look with your skintone? My dress is actually candlelight which is technically ivory I believe and I was surprised it looked good with my skintone. Other colors unfortunately, not so much. I actually found that bright white (especially satin) made me look worse since I am not very tanned. Anyway, I love them all though.
1.gif
 
I second the suggestion on trying Aria. They have regular, petite, and tall sizes and go up to a size 24. While ideally they'd like for you to have 4 months, they usually take 3 months or less. My friend got her dresses in 6 weeks. I ordered through them too for my bridesmaids.

Here's their link http://www.ariadress.com/SizeAndMeasurement.htm
 
Date: 2/6/2008 9:23:30 AM
Author: winston26
Thanks for the advice and calming words! I''m convinced these dress shops enjoy scaring you. I think they''ve said 12 weeks to order them for most places I went.

I really liked the Jasmine link. I wonder how these would look: http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_jade_1_a.asp?id=1966
http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_b2_1_a.asp?id=1940

I do know what you mean about David''s Bridal. I did NOT like their bridal gowns but the bridesmaids weren''t too bad. Just not sure what kind of service I''d get. I walked around the store for 20 min and no one helped.

As for my dress, I need to go back and try it on again to make sure! The ''spun gold'' color was what I tried at the store and it looks very rich--same color the model is wearing. Although I still also want to try on..... http://www.sophiatolli.com/SophiaTolli/Details.aspx?pid=502336&year=2008&season=Spring&
and http://www.sophiatolli.com/SophiaTolli/Details.aspx?pid=501701&year=2007&season=Fall& Any votes??
Click to expand...

Take it from a former seamstress, if you have any love of your bridesmaids, don''t go with the first dress you posted. It is beautiful but only on a VERY limited body type. Metalic fabrics, show off every bump and becuase they reflect light, they make things look bigger. Tafatta is particularly bad because it does not sit close to the body well, further enlarging the wearer. The folds at the waist and the gathers in the skirt would not fall right on an apple body and would look too pulled, again, not at all flattering.
The second dress is lovey. Chiffon is probably the best fabric for woman with extra weight when done well and the band under the breasts would create and hourglass figure. I will say though, that my well endowed friends don''t wear strapless gowns that are flimsy fabric because they don''t stay up well well for them. Just something to consider.

I love your choices of dresses for yourself and especially the third one. I agree that richer colors look better on skin tones like yours, but all the dresses are lovely.
 
I stressed way way too much about the bridesmaid dresses... cost to bridesmaids (isn''t $200 too much to ask them to spend?), cost to me (FI objects to subsidizing $200 dresses that the girls keep, when the guys have to spring for $130 rental), would they fit (plus-sized girl in a jcrew 16 anyone?)

In the end, I think it is best to your lower expectations somewhat. You will never find a dress that flatters them all. You may not even find a line of dresses that makes them all thrilled (with the price, fit, styles available, and your color selection). Aim for finding a line of dresses, allowing them to pick their style, that suits your taste and color choice, doesn''t leave anyone feeling overexposed, ugly, or too poor.

You need a dress company that fits plus sizes. Ann Taylor woln''t cut it (their 18 is on the "bridal" dress scale and doesn''t fit me, street size 16). Aria makes lovely dresses, but you need to decide or ask your girls if the $200+ cost is worth it for a custom made silk dress in the color of your choice. If they are not up for that kind of splurge, you could subsidize - this is what I did (for jcrew dresses) and I do NOT regret it. At all.

Also, there is always the option of specifying length and color but NOT designer. Obviously this does not produce the most uniform look but it shifts the shopping burden to the bridesmaids. Especially for women that are challenging to fit, this allows them each a lot of room to find something best for them.
 
I just helped a friend pick new bridesmaids dresses for her March wedding when the original designer closed their shop. She went with Alfred Angelo, which I believe has plus sizes and seperates. They were able to have them ready in 3-4 weeks, and through www.discountbridal.org they were only $140 each.
 
I just asked for help on this same issue (BMs of all different shapes/sizes) and WToo (by Watters) was suggested to me. I think we found just the ticket! We're most likely going with some of the chiffon tea length dresses in midnight blue. My plus size BM is going to the shops near her later this week, but looking at the website she's most drawn to WToo styles 336 and 130. I found some photos of 130 in a bride's blog (link here) that show it on two different body types.

WToo 130
WToo 336

They retail for 200-250 in bridal shops, but I called Pearl's Place (a GREAT discounter out of New Orleans - I got my wedding dress from them for half price) and the dresses are 140-150. You could call them and ask about a rush order. The fee might not be horribly restrictive given the big discount to start with.

ETA: When we went trying on BM dresses, we found that fabrics like chiffon were MUCH more forgiving to figure flaws than shiny satin or taffeta.
 
Date: 2/6/2008 2:07:17 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy

Date: 2/6/2008 9:23:30 AM
Author: winston26
Thanks for the advice and calming words! I''m convinced these dress shops enjoy scaring you. I think they''ve said 12 weeks to order them for most places I went.

I really liked the Jasmine link. I wonder how these would look: http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_jade_1_a.asp?id=1966
http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_b2_1_a.asp?id=1940

I do know what you mean about David''s Bridal. I did NOT like their bridal gowns but the bridesmaids weren''t too bad. Just not sure what kind of service I''d get. I walked around the store for 20 min and no one helped.

As for my dress, I need to go back and try it on again to make sure! The ''spun gold'' color was what I tried at the store and it looks very rich--same color the model is wearing. Although I still also want to try on..... http://www.sophiatolli.com/SophiaTolli/Details.aspx?pid=502336&year=2008&season=Spring&
and http://www.sophiatolli.com/SophiaTolli/Details.aspx?pid=501701&year=2007&season=Fall& Any votes??
Click to expand...


Take it from a former seamstress, if you have any love of your bridesmaids, don''t go with the first dress you posted. It is beautiful but only on a VERY limited body type. Metalic fabrics, show off every bump and becuase they reflect light, they make things look bigger. Tafatta is particularly bad because it does not sit close to the body well, further enlarging the wearer. The folds at the waist and the gathers in the skirt would not fall right on an apple body and would look too pulled, again, not at all flattering.
The second dress is lovey. Chiffon is probably the best fabric for woman with extra weight when done well and the band under the breasts would create and hourglass figure. I will say though, that my well endowed friends don''t wear strapless gowns that are flimsy fabric because they don''t stay up well well for them. Just something to consider.

I love your choices of dresses for yourself and especially the third one. I agree that richer colors look better on skin tones like yours, but all the dresses are lovely.
Click to expand...
I''m glad I asked! I truly thought the first one would be slimming! Someone else mentioned that a shorter dress would be more flattering, which I also thought the opposite. If either "apple" wears a skirt or dress, it''s usually very long so I assumed they''d prefer floor length. The short friend says she doesn''t really buy dresses so I''m not sure she even knows what will look nice.....so how do you do it when the sample dresses are so small?
I do like that WToo dress.
As far as cost, I would like to keep at $200 or less although I''m not overly concerned. Why? Because I''m one of the last to get married and these dear sweet bridesmaids made me pay a fortune for their dresses!!! Pay back time! LOL Just kidding really. Although I am absolutely shocked that these dresses are ONLY $200. I have SIX BM dresses in my closet and every single one was more than $200.....purchased between 1993 and 1999!!!!
 
When I was larger, I also prefered long skirts since they made me look longer which distributed the weight better.
I shot down one of your idea but do not offer any alternatives, so here they are:
http://www.sydneyscloset.com/asp/product.asp?categoryid=51&catalogid=1121 this company only has a place to try on in St Louis, but they are known for having really good plus sized dresses.
http://www.billlevkoff.com/collections/index.asp?dress=1026
http://www.billlevkoff.com/collections/index.asp?color_1=41
His stuff is good since he does large sizes
http://weddings.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fdessy.com
the cool thing about this company is that they take the measurements and give them to a computer to custom make the pattern so they should fit any shape
 
Date: 2/6/2008 7:33:35 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
When I was larger, I also prefered long skirts since they made me look longer which distributed the weight better.

I shot down one of your idea but do not offer any alternatives, so here they are:

http://www.sydneyscloset.com/asp/product.asp?categoryid=51&catalogid=1121 this company only has a place to try on in St Louis, but they are known for having really good plus sized dresses.

http://www.billlevkoff.com/collections/index.asp?dress=1026

http://www.billlevkoff.com/collections/index.asp?color_1=41

His stuff is good since he does large sizes

http://weddings.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fdessy.com

the cool thing about this company is that they take the measurements and give them to a computer to custom make the pattern so they should fit any shape
Click to expand...

Wow the Dessy Group has great size ranges, good pick!
36.gif
 
Date: 2/6/2008 12:55:07 AM
Author: SarahLovesJS

I hate to say this, but have you checked David''s Bridal? I usually shy away from them, and honestly they won''t have a lot to try on in the store; however, they do have a lot of separates. I am a plus size, and I think that separates can be pretty flattering especially if you have different plus size shapes.
Click to expand...
I was in a wedding two years ago where I was the MOH and there were 4 other girls as bridesmaids. Each of us had totally different body types, including a plus-size girl (not to mention one other girl was 5 or 6 months pregnant). I don''t remember the exact style number, but David''s Bridal was where the dresses came from and they were part of the separates line. All of the skirts were taffeta ballgown/a-line shaped, but the tops were different. The choice of the tops were strapless, halter-style, spaghetti strap and cap sleeve (and the style also came with a long sleeve version, but it was a summer wedding). The bride had picked a deep wine as the color - which looks good on everyone - and said that each of us could pick the top that we liked best. The way the skirts were cut, they looked nice on everyone - from the pregnant girl to the teeny tiny short girl (she was not even 5 feet tall and wore a size 0). It worked out really well that way. The girls were "matched," but the look was more modern than having everyone wear exactly the same thing. And being that our body types were so different, it was nice to have a choice of whatever top suited you best.

Bridget in Connecticut.
 
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