Dresses They'll Really Wear Again
Cute, comfortable and in flattering colors - bridesmaid-dress horror stories are a thing of the past as designers finally are giving them dresses chic enough for the aisle and a night on the town
Image courtesy J. Crew
Puffy sleeves, ruffles, miles of shiny fabrics in garish colors, paired with ghastly dyed-to-match satin shoes and, just to add insult to injury, expensive! Let's face it - historically, bridesmaid dresses have been like a bad punchline in the glamorous world of weddings. Hollywood dedicated an entire film ("27 Dresses") to the subject, and even Katherine Heigl looked awful in a hoop-skirted confection circa "Gone With The Wind." Almost every woman who has had the honor of being a bridesmaid also has, at some time, had to wear a shameful dress.
Case in point: The worst dress that Melissa Beeryever had to wear was a boxy, floor-length nightmare in a pearlized wine hue, with awkwardly wide straps and a razor-thin belt that made all the ladies look 20 pounds heavier.
"I fared better than the other girls because I'm pretty proportional," says Beery, a production supervisor with DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, Calif. "But one girl who was five-foot-nothing had to have three sets of pads put in the bosom area in order to keep it on - the tailoring fee was astronomical. The dress cost something like 200-plus dollars ... I ended up throwing it out."
The stereotype of days past is that the bride secretly wants her maids to look terrible so that she isn't outshone on her wedding day. However, today's brides are tossing these old-fashioned clichés aside in favor of chic, fashionable dresses that look fantastic in wedding pictures but also could look smart at another formal event or a night on the town.
According to Maria McBride, wedding style director for Brides magazine, fashionable bridal parties are no longer necessarily wearing the same dress but rather a mix of styles in monochromatic tones with complementary color accents. Black dresses with white accents are still elegant for evening weddings, but other pairings, such as sunny yellow with a contrasting green belt, white and black prints, chocolate and cream and sea blue and coral, are gaining importance.
"Fashionistas know that head-to-toe color matching is dated," says McBride. "Contrast the dress with shoes, a belt or sash, a shrug or purse in a different color for cocktail-party style."
From Vera Wang's navy bobinette and satin cocktail bubble-hem dress with an empire waist and deep pockets, to the simple Isaac Mizrahi for Target strapless pencil sheath in ebony, designers everywhere are focusing on superb silhouettes, flattering fabrics and elegant colors.
"It used to be that wedding fashion existed in a parallel universe offering bo-peep sleeves and dropped-waist poufs that had no connection to the fashion trends," says McBride. "But ever since Vera Wang designed one of her first collections, a dress with a black hem that sent shock waves though the bridal industry, women have been demanding wearable bridal fashion."
The much-revered Vera Wang continues her fashion-forward bridal design with her bridesmaids' dresses. Her Spring '09 Maids Collection features sophisticated yet understated cocktail dresses in the new color palette of taupe, blush and navy, and highlights unexpected fabrics such as cotton, which is fresh and can be worn anywhere.
"I can't help but think of other women when I design," says Wang. "As a woman designer, I think it's almost impossible to separate design from the actual relationship that we have with our own bodies and, therefore, what we design. Our Maids Collection continues to move forward as a dress collection; these dresses are designed based on fashion and can definitely be worn for another event."
With bridesmaids' dresses sometimes coming in at more than $300, especially after alterations, the ability to wear the gown again is added incentive - sometimes a requirement - for a bridesmaid to smile pretty for the camera. Designers have responded to this need with a more open eye toward customization, allowing brides to mix and match their bridesmaids' dresses within a particular cut or color scheme.
At Alfred Angelo, designer Michael Shettel has created a new line of jersey knit bridesmaids dresses in six sleek silhouettes and nine colors, including both earthy and jewel tones.
"These dresses drape beautifully in the jersey fabric," says Amanda Sheronas, director of public relations for Alfred Angelo. "They are versatile enough to suit a variety of wedding themes or looks but are also flattering on a wide variety of body shapes."
For the same reason, Allison Howard, senior director for Corporate Partnerships in Los Angeles, went with the company After Six, known for clean, contemporary looks, for the bridesmaids dresses for her August 2004 wedding. She chose the color red, and then let her four girls decide on the dress style.
"I wanted to stay in the $200 price range because I was not covering the costs of the dress, but I truly thought the girls would be able to wear them again - and all have told me they have," says Howard. "It is outrageous to me that a bride would pick one dress for all her bridesmaids, especially if her bridesmaids range greatly in size. One style does not fit all."
Howard is just one of many modern brides who not only want their bridesmaids - their friends - to look lovely, they also want to make sure the honor of being a bridesmaid isn't too much of a financial burden.
No longer merely the purveyor of polos and cashmere sweaters, the dresses in J. Crew's Weddings & Parties collection have quickly become all the rage among über-chic brides who appreciate classic sophistication with a twist. From the bold strapless Jillian party dress with a cotton cady fitted bodice, printed slub-silk A-line skirt and a neat satin bow at the waist, to the elegant silk chiffon, sleeveless Abigail dress with a scoopneck, deep V at back and full skirt with allover mini-knife pleats, "bridesmaids" are offered dresses that most women would be thrilled to wear any night of the week - and they are meant to.
"We are trying to get people to think out of the box a bit," says Heather Lynch McAuliffe, senior director of public relations for J.Crew. "We wanted women to have more options in terms of bridal clothing that felt more approachable, affordable and not so old school but ... still timeless and elegant"
Incorporating polished Solbiatti cotton, silk tricotine, French Solstice lace, Clericci Duchesse satin, Italian linen and Shameeza hand beading, to name a few, J. Crew designers use the same mill and fabrics houses that the world's most famous high-end designers also go to for their fabrications, says McAuliffe, but the cost for bridesmaids dresses frequently is under $200. Selling online so that dresses need not be stocked in stores is a way they can keep down the costs.
A reasonable price and simplicity of purchase are certainly appealing, but at their core, every bridesmaid simply wants to feel beautiful. To that end, Walt Disney Co., the company with the undisputable corner on the princess market, now boasts the Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings line, designed by Kirstie Kelly, available in over 130 boutiques worldwide. Inspired by Disney's famous leading ladies, each collection is meant to emulate the mood of the bride by evoking the mood of the princess. But what bridesmaid doesn't want to feel like a princess, as well? Or at least a really chic lady-in-waiting.
Far from frilly disasters, the fun but elegant offerings include an airy strapless, satin face chiffon "Belle" dress in Golden Rose, with pleated bodice and velvet sash with removable pin, and a flirty, strapless, bubble-hem "Ariel" dress in Blue Breeze, with a cloth flower in the center front.
"One of our three best-selling options is a little black dress with deep pockets from the Cinderella collection," says Paulette Cleghorn, marketing director for Kirstie Kelly for Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings. "But there are currently 40 choices of color and five different fabrications, each combined with the mood of the princess in mind. They are chic cocktail dresses that could be worn anywhere, perhaps an afternoon wedding in the Hamptons or an evening wedding in New York."
From couture designers to online boutiques, designers have realized what their customers want - to look beautiful, smart and stylish.
"The bride and her bridesmaids want to dress for their own red-carpet or runway moment," says McBride. "No one pleaded louder than all the girlfriends who had to wear specialized prom dresses as bridesmaids. Women demanded fashion, and it's been delivered."
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