The Real Deal - Your Questions Answered!
Dear Stacy, How do you deal with bridesmaids that are all very different sizes? I’ll have one at my wedding who is very tall (over 6 feet) and skinny, and another that is about 5′1 and more stocky. Then I’ll have three that fall somewhere in the middle! Their jeans sizes range from 6 to 18 and their cup sizes range from A to D. Sigh. I do want to get something that they can feel happy wearing!
I totally feel your pain! I’m actually going to be a bridesmaid later this year and at that time, I’ll be 30 weeks pregnant. I will be standing next to several other bridesmaids who range from size 0-6!! I’m tellin’ ya… I have some perspective here, and some ideas that I think might help you.
I have seen pictures from weddings where the bridesmaids are all across the board in terms in sizes. Sometimes it is just sad for the girls to have to sqeeze into or be swallowed by an unflatteringly fitting dress.
Several dress makers have recently created some new options to make dressing a variety of sized women much easier.
David’s Bridal has a large line of separates for the entire bridal party. The inspiration line is pictured here. This dress option allows you to choose different tops with a varying amount of coverage and fits. Somewhere in here is a dress that is cut for every body.
The Create Your Look line allows you to choose both top and bottom. A bride chooses the color of the gowns and then the bridesmaids can purchase whichever top and skirt they prefer. There are a limited number of choices, but a larger figured woman with a a D-cup might prefer a gown with straps and a longer skirt, while a short and slender woman might want a strapless top with a shorter skirt.
David’s Bridal is also a nationwide chain allowing your bridesmaids to go in at their leisure, wherever they live and order their gown. They are also much more affordable than some of the designer dresses you will find in boutique stores.
Alfred Angelo also carries a bridesmaid dress line called Separates. These dresses can be made in different colors! I really like this dressmaker. I think they have nice gowns, bridal and bridesmaid that are attractive, well-priced and made for REAL bodies.
The main thing to look for in a bridesmaid line is SEPARATES. This allows people to choose from a variety of tops and bottoms. If your bridesmaids are more confident and comfortable on your wedding day they will most likely enjoy the day more and be smiling in your photos.
Eden Bridal has a Mix & Match line accomodating a variety of tastes and sizes.
You can also find separates for Bridesmaid gowns with Mori Lee, Alfred Sung, and Essence of Australia.
And that is only naming a few of them!
seaparates, bridesmaids, gown, wedding, bride
August 15th, 2007 at 9:48 am
I just wanted to chime in because I have the exact same problem with my four BM’s, but I absolutely HATE the look of separates. So I wanted to suggest you can also find a designer with a line of a few dresses that all come in the same fabrics and colours and just choose the fabric and colour yourself and let each girl pick the style that works the best for them.
Also, if you really want them to match, an A-line style tends to look good on almost everybody. Just find out if your girls are okay with strapless or spaghetti straps (busty girls might be self-conscious in these types of dresses) and decide from there if you want an A-line strapless, with spaghetti straps or with wider straps.
August 15th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Thanks for the advice! I’m not sure if separates will work for more, but it’s a good idea, so I’m definitely going to consider it.
August 15th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
A company exactly like Laura mentioned in her comment is Aria (ariadress.com). I used them for my bridesmaids because they had a ton of different dresses (and some separates) that you could get in the same fabric. I actually chose a range of colors for them so they will look good together, but not the same because I personally don’t like the way same-dress bridesmaids look at all. And I also chose Aria because they offer natural fabrics (cotton and silk) and the dresses are made in the USA without sweatshop labor