Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Size Does Make a Difference



Posted: Tuesday, May 03, 2005

by
Kitsch Purses

We choose are friends and inherit our family, yes? And hopefully, we have chosen those friends based on their loving natures, vibrant personalities, and generosity of spirit. And with any luck, our family members possess those same traits. The majority of us probably haven’t based our decision to be friends with someone based on their looks or the shape of their body. So, in all likelihood, we have friends and family members that come in all wonderful shapes and sizes. Therefore I ask you, dear readers…why do we persist in trying to force these women, who are as varied in personality as they are in dress size, to all fit into the same style of bridesmaid dress for our wedding? I remember being in a wedding once as a bridesmaid and looking at the photos after the wedding. It was looking at a photo taken from the Guinness Book of World Records. You know, the pictures that have the tallest woman in the world standing next to the shortest one--or the heaviest woman next to the thinnest. Yes, there we were in all our wedding splendor looking absolutely ridiculous--each one of us wearing an identical dress that suited not one woman’s body type. Why does the tradition exist that each bridesmaid wear the same dress? The main reason is so that the bride can further stand out from the crowd and not be upstaged by anyone else in the wedding party. The traditional thinking has been that if the same dress is worn by all the bridesmaids, there is consistency in the look and the eye is never pulled away from the bride by looking at all the different shapes and styles of the bridesmaid’s dresses. However, this thinking of universality usually fails more often than it succeeds. If you were to randomly read the minds of guests attending the wedding as the bridesmaids went down the aisle, I would bet that the thinking wouldn’t be "Ahh, there goes Catherine looking so pretty and not upstaging the bride at all." But instead, "Oh, poor Catherine, she just doesn’t have the bust to fill out that strapless gown." And "Oh, and there goes Anne...I can see now why she wants that breast reduction. She’s about ready to fall out of that dress!" And what has been accomplished? The very thing that we were striving not to have happen--attention has been taken away from the bride and diverted to the fashion faux pas' making their way down the aisle. So what is the solution? Many brides (having suffered through the indignities of having to wear the wrong bridesmaid dress) are now opting for consistency of just color, not style. They understand that the spaghetti strap dress that does wonders for their sister’s toned shoulders makes their best friend look like a linebacker. Savvy brides realize that when their bridesmaids look good the entire wedding party looks great. Now, a word of caution. Don’t give your bridesmaids free reign. Tell them from the beginning what your requirements are. Should everyone find a tea length dress in lavender? Floor length in teal? Be specific. Accompany them when they go shopping for their dresses or, if that isn’t convenient, have them bring their chosen dress over and model it for you. From the beginning, let them know that you have veto power over any dress that they select. This is still your wedding and your approval should be given over each and every dress. And don’t wait until the day of the wedding to see their dresses. The last thing you need is a bridesmaid sauntering down the aisle in a minidress. Because if we admit it...all of us have that one friend or family member who might, just might, like to upstage us on our wedding day. :)

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