Thursday, January 26, 2012

Swanky bridesmaids dresses in regular AND plus sizes?


Dear ESB,

In June I am going to marry the totally awesome man of my dreams. He is SO awesome that he is even letting me pull off a ridiculous vintage circus inspired wedding, and has agreed to all my planning requests (Giant giraffe backdrop, tons of balloons, yard games, etc.) We even had a fun carnival themed engagement shoot.

I am having a ton of fun making crafty things and executing all of my plans, not feeling stressed about any of it.... Except regarding what the bridesmaids should wear.

I have three best ladies, and they are the raddest three ladies around. They are all smart and sexy, and have great individual style. While I am fine with them choosing their own dresses, they have decided that they still want to coordinate, and are hoping for something brightly colored, or sparkly, or vintage inspired... (In other words, something that will fit the wedding theme and make them look awesome).

We thought it would be easy for them to find coordinating dresses that they loved and looked good in. However, my MOH is a size 14-16, Future sister in law is a size 22-24, and my bestie cousin is a size 6. The four of us have been searching for MONTHS and haven't found anything that is even remotely attractive and available in BOTH standard and plus sizes.

Any chance you and your awesome audience can help us out?

sadly,
Circus Girl

*****

1. "vintage inspired" doesn't actually really mean anything. (more on that tomorrow.) i mean. are you going for the 1890's? the 20's? the 50's? you realize that ALL CLOTHES are inspired by the past, right??

2. RACHEL PALLY ALL THE WAY. These colors/patterns are circus-y enough for me. And definitely inspired by a vintage.


More importantly, RP makes excellent plus size dresses that coordinate beautifully with her main line.

I'll shut up about Rachel Pally now. And you can all stop asking me for bridesmaids dresses! kthxbye

Top photo by Frederick W. Glasier via Vintage Vivant

36 comments:

  1. Primary colours for bridesmaids worked really well in the best circus wedding ever.

    ReplyDelete
  2. #1. lets not nitpick, we all know what she meant.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm here to be negative and say no matter what, don't force them into Aria dresses.

    Rachel Pally is awesome. I have one of her caftans and I'm the plusest plus size on the block. That patterned one above is so good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great picks, ESB. I vote single-sleeve with leather belt. Boob-sling is questionable, but with some crazy accessories/hair/something might (might) be less "wtf?"

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is my favorite circus-themed wedding EVER, and it looks like their guests got the memo on "vintage inspired" attire. I think you should look into having your bridesmaids' dresses handmade using their individual measurements. These are quite darling (and she's an ESB sponsor, so she must be good!). Good luck! xo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. so with you on this one. finding something similar to that brides dress haunted me for months

      Delete
  6. I don't know...I'm just not feeling Rachel Pally. Maybe it's the jersey? I would love for all my bridesmaids to wear any of the Kate Spade dresses, but they are so so expensive. I'm leaning towards letting them choose from ASOS.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm loving Rachel Pally. Find coordinating color palettes & let them choose themselves, but also consider opening up the option of pants & jumpsuits. When I think of women's fashion in the circus, I don't see too many floor-length gowns... unless you're just the vacant 'stand & look pretty' assistant instead of the awesome trapeze artist.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Actually, I agree that 'vintage-inspired' is meaningless, and I never know what a writer means when they say that. But maybe deciding on what you actually do mean by that could help. 1950s style dresses with big underskirts could look good for example and tend to suit all sizes.

    If 'circus' is what you want they could all have red dresses with top hats (full size ones, not so sure about the mini ones...). Here's Malene working it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Chelsea, I've had my eye on that dress for ages!!! I want it to wear just around the house!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. me too, if only I could afford a $180 house dress

      Delete
    2. Yeah... can't quite justify the expense myself either. I might make one one day though...

      Delete
  10. On behalf of plus-sized women, I beg of you to give us a break from the dolman-style sleeves and ruched jersey. Do your friends a favor and get something structured and tailored so they can flaunt their curves instead of covering them with a tent. eShakti has plenty of styles to choose from, and for a few buck more they will customize each dress to specific measurements. You also have the option to change hems, sleeves, and necklines. Perfect for bridesmaids. Not much sparkle, but plenty of styles and colors.

    #bellyweek

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my goodness, this is exactly what I was looking for. With two larger-chested bridesmaids and two tall and slender bridesmaids, I have to say that this is a HUGE problem. And I want everyone to look fabulous! Thanks a ton for the eShakti rec.

      Delete
  11. Don't forget Asos, their Plus size line has some incredibly pretty dresses right now, and the selection is wide enough you can easily mix and match colors. My favorites are swingy yellow, pretty green and a sweet blue. I think the real key to getting the "look" of the wedding might be more in the details-some fabulous platforms, thick solid color bracelets, poofy top knots or cotton candy curls and great make-up.

    ReplyDelete
  12. how about picking a color or two and having them pick from whatever store they choose.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I forgot to mention... just don't do this to your bridesmaids, and you'll be fine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well you just peopled my nightmares, nicole. and the bride's mother *made those,* apparently, so those poor girls couldn't even think bad thoughts about them.

      count me in with the folks who thing "vintage-inspired" is meaningless on its own. let me decide what it means in this context on your behalf: let's have it mean SEQUINS.

      sequins,
      lmo.

      Delete
    2. That is some messed up shit. It's like when Beyonce's mom was designing all the costumes for destiny's child.

      Delete
    3. WOWZA. and the bride DESIGNED THEM too! she must really hate her friends. (also, good time in the comments on that post...)

      Delete
    4. when i took costume design in college, the first dress i "designed" and sewed myself was a trapeze. because it was EASY.

      Delete
    5. OMG, nicole, i've had the worst two days EVER and this was just the laugh i needed. that was the ugliest wedding i have seen in years. the groom's shoe laces match the cocktails !!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHA.

      Delete
    6. @ 17 beats - "And it was all yellowwwww"

      Delete
    7. the funny thing is, my mother and i were yukking it up over my cousin's THEME WEDDING, which is coming up this August. this shit strike's me as the bride's style. so many lols.

      Delete
  14. *think, even. anyway, sequins. this for the size 6 maid.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am late to this comment party, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned Shop Joielle. I am using them for my bridesmaids' dresses (plus my officiant is ordering a cute, non-matching dress), and ALL of their styles are available well into plus sizes. Plus they even have attractive maternity bridesmaids' dresses.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Totally depends on how literal you are gonna go with it. At this wedding, the bridesmaids (if they even ARE bridesmaids) wore patterns. At one of the ones linked above, they wore 50s-ish halter dresses in primary colors.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm not sold on the shiny jersey fabric that Rachel Pally uses...looks kind of cheap to me, yet the dresses are still priced fairly expensive. I think you should put your size 6 cousin in this adorable little Ring Master dress and the other two ladies in flattering LBDs. And all three should wear little top hats.

    ReplyDelete