Wedding Need "bridesmaids" dresses... please help!

[Dee*Jay]

My best friend from law school has asked me to stand up in the commitment ceremony he is having with his partner at the end of June. There will be one other woman standing up to and we need to coordinate our outfits in some way. This is entirely up to us -- the men have no preference in terms of style, and the only mandate we''ve been given is NO BLACK (damn!). My friend is wearing a kilt and I was thinking of taking a color from his kilt as inspiration but it''s navy, dark green, and red... so maybe not. What about a sage green or light blue? Oh, and the other lady and I are VERY differently shaped; we''re both short but she''s thin and does not have a big chest, I am *not* thin and I *do* have a big chest (let''s make this as difficult as possible, right?). Being summer and all I think a sleeveless might be in order (?) but I like the idea of a wrap to cover up the pudge of fat just above my elbows (and even at my thinnest it will NOT go away--why is that?!). We''re going to make a shopping expedition on the 16th but I would like some advice ahead of time before I''m faced with the sea of dresses and launch into pure panic... If it helps any we''re going to a mall with Lord and Taylor, Macy''s, and Nordies, but any non-anchor stores you can think of that would have stuff like this is fine too (Ann Taylor -- don''t they have a line called "celebrations"?). In a perfect universe we will buy something off the rack from the eveningwear department and not have to go the route of like a David''s Bridal or something like that.

Help me please...

 

[ladypirate]

What about JCrew? They have some really cute dresses, like this one that I think would look good on a variety of body types. Plus, it doesn''t look too "bridesmaidy" so you could definitely wear it again.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Oh, I always forget about J.Crew -- thanks for reminding me!

That dress raises an interesting point... the event is in the evening and is formal; what length do you think would be appropriate?

 

[jas]

Ann Taylor also has really great BM dresses...and various shawls, bolero jackets, etc. to cover up what you want...awesome colors too! At Old Orchard they have the celebration line to check out (I believe...if not, there's always the downtown store.)

My BMs got them from there...chocolate, but they have awesome blues and greens and other colors as well...my BMs were a variety of sizes and shapes and they all looked great! (Admittedly, some tailoring was needed for those with daintier chests)

Good luck!

 

[VRBeauty]

Since it''s a formal wedding I think long or longish would be in order. And since you''re attending two men, sophisticated seems more appropriate than frilly. I''m thinking a crisp, white evening shirt over a slim or slightly flared dark skirt... but I don''t know your age, and that look might be too old for you.

If you''re not able to find anything off the rack and end up going the bridal store route, Siri has some wonderful, sophisticated styles and they use natural fabrics.

http://www.siriinc.com/sod-5951.html
http://www.siriinc.com/br-9454-06.html
http://www.siriinc.com/br-9727-9723.html
http://www.siriinc.com/mb-5802.html

And they have a nice shawl:
http://www.siriinc.com/mb-9718.html

 

[Gypsy]

Comes in sage and navy... might work.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2976492/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014146?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014146&P=4


I think this one looks lovely and flattering depending on the way the top falls, but Tadashi usually works for me and I''ve got a large chest.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2899966?refsid=54630_3&refcat=0%7e2376776%7e2374325%7e2380800&SourceID=1&SlotID=1&origin=related



Looks really flattering.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2853870/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014146?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014146&P=4

Love contrast color to the tartan:

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2885166/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014146?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014146&P=5


Doesn''t look fabulously flattering but would match up with the tartan!

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2947222/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014146?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014146&P=5


I generally have the best luck with Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor.

http://www.lordandtaylor.com/gifts/OnlineShopping/LT?DSP=4&PCR=21:200000:202763:201218:201315:201311&IID=2021899&c=1 Navy

 

[Dee*Jay]

First of all, thanks to all for the great suggestions so far -- I really appreciate it! Unfortunately we haven''t made much progress since I started this thread...

Can anyone think of anywhere where we could go and buy nice dresses just off the rack? So far I''ve tried Talbots, Ann Taylor, Macy''s, Nordies, Lord & Taylor, Bloomies and J. Crew. What am I missing??? Note that they have to carry petites. Ack! The ceremony is only 6 weeks away and we have no idea what we''re going to wear!!!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 5/12/2008 10:22:49 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
First of all, thanks to all for the great suggestions so far -- I really appreciate it! Unfortunately we haven''t made much progress since I started this thread...


Can anyone think of anywhere where we could go and buy nice dresses just off the rack? So far I''ve tried Talbots, Ann Taylor, Macy''s, Nordies, Lord & Taylor, Bloomies and J. Crew. What am I missing??? Note that they have to carry petites. Ack! The ceremony is only 6 weeks away and we have no idea what we''re going to wear!!!

Depends on what you want, but Anthropologie carries some petites (mostly online) and have a ton of cute bright summer dresses.

 

[AmberGretchen]

What about Banana Republic? White House Black Market? BCBG Max Azria?

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 5/12/2008 10:51:19 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
What about Banana Republic? White House Black Market? BCBG Max Azria?

Isn't White House Black Market black and white only or do they have other colors?? I love that store though.

I like Ann Taylor for Petites maybe this one D http://www.anntaylor.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=14148&N=1200017&pCategoryId=190&categoryId=198&Ns=CATEGORY_SEQ_198&showAll=Y&defaultColorNameFromCategory=Dark%20Turquoise&defaultSizeTypeFromCategory=Petite

or this one from Talbots
http://www1.talbots.com/talbotsonline/product/itempage.aspx?item=E123887&PFID=2803&BID=&h=P&sk=P

or this http://www1.talbots.com/talbotsonline/product/itempage.aspx?item=E198887&PFID=1464&BID=&h=P&sk=P

 

[mercoledi]

If you need petites, Ann Taylor and J crew are good bets but they don''t carry the bridesmaids stuff in the stores. At least for J Crew you can call ahead and they''ll send out the styles you''re interested in to your local store so you can try them on. I don''t know if that works for AT too, but it''s worth a shot.

Nordstrom has a decent petite selection too, but again you''ll probably save yourself a lot of trouble if you call ahead and have an associate pull things that are most appropriate for your event rather then getting lost in the the store.

Good luck!