23 March 2011

THE {other} dress

as it turns out, finding the perfect bridesmaids' dress poses a much bigger challenge than finding the perfect wedding dress, or at least that's the case for me.  i've been back and forth with my amazing attendants for over a month now and still nothing.  originally, we had pretty much decided on the silk taffeta blakely dress from j.crew in dark pacific.  they sent me a color swatch {it was perfect!}, it met my comfortable and non-strapless requirement {looks so feminine!}, and everyone seemed to like it.  plus, jamie on the j.crew bridal hotline was over-the-top helpful and sweet. i couldn't wait to do business with them.


and then i saw a picture of it on "real" bridesmaids in the southern living wedding magazine and it looked awful.  universally unflattering, to the point where i couldn't tell whether or not several girls were pregnant. yikes.  no way i'm asking my ladies to shell out $250+ for a dress that may or may not even look good.

so i looked again.  my requirements are:
1.) navy blue
2.) NOT strapless
3.) $200 or less

here are my current top three:


via, in midnight

i also sent the following dresses to the ladies.  {in hindsight, i realize this is an overwhelming number of choices!}




via, in midnight

via, in ink



as you can see, i am drowing here! please help me and let me know which ones get your thumbs up/thumbs down.

on a positive note, the groomsmen's ties arrived today and they are SO perfect! i'm searching for a picture of them and will post soon. MCW, you're going to love them :)

9 comments:

MMJ said...

I just got married this past September and LOVED the dresses my girls wore so I thought I'd share. They were by Lula Kate and each one picked their own style (5 different styles total). The dresses were gorgeous and well-made. Best of all you can mix and match different tops and skirts to find a combo you like! I cannot speak highly enough of these they were great!

Wahoo said...

I own the J.Crew Blakely dress in 2 colors and I adore it. So feminine and super flattering. Perhaps it was just a bad photo? I'd strongly reconsider!

MCW said...

I like the pink one...ruffles around the boob area can be hard if any of your girls have larger chests.

Pink Champagne said...

Love anything with a ruffle around the neck - so feminine and elegant at the same time! And I just adored working with JCrew for my bridesmaid dresses - I always felt like the bridal consultant on the other end was my BFF when I would call. :) Good luck deciding!

LPC said...

I love the Maggie Chin. On the other hand, I very much like the one color, different dresses look for a wedding. Which also allows your bridesmaids to pick the style that works for them.

katie lake said...

I may have posted this on your last bridesmaids dress post but my BM dress fits all your requirements. It is by an etsy designer. Here's the link.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65812920/reserved-for-katie-midnight-dress-64

pve design said...

I love either JLM dress. My bridesmaids wore navy too, long navy sheath dresses and carried a white garland....which later went on the stairs.
pve

Stitchfork said...

Number 3 with the pockets! But I also like the same color, yet different styles idea.
Cathy - who wore quite a number of bridesmaids dresses back when, and all of them only ONCE for those weddings!

EKS said...

Priscilla of Boston has some great dresses, too.