Well, actually, that is the title of the film I’ve rented tonight, but I’ve come to realize as of late, brides are stepping out of the conventional box and becoming more daring & open in terms of wedding attire.
My sister Megan was married in August of 2007 and she asked me to design her dress and the bridesmaid’s dresses as well (I ended up doing all of those, my mother’s and the flower girl’s) and it was quite an endeavor.
I realized that there wasn’t much out there in terms of chic, stylish or affordable “bridal party” dresses and that a gaping hole exists which is screaming to be filled! So often do I get emails from women who want something special for their wedding that at times I’ve pondered going into the bridal business (gag me with a spoon- just a little retro humor- but seriously, brides can be nightmarish) but now I see there is certainly a market for it. The dress sizes of my sister’s entourage varied from 2-14, a seemingly daunting task for the little sister seamstress I am, not to mention maid of honor, so I had to come up with something that would be flattering on all of us, and most importantly, beautiful. My head was on the chopping block yet I felt as if I had a knack for conceiving silhouettes for the proper body type so I took the challenge and ran with it.
My first inclination was to design a different dress for each girl that will make her look fabulous, guaranteed. Then I screwed my head on a bit tighter and decided to design a dress that would work on everyone. This meant first off that I would use a stretch-knit. My sister & I went to Mood and she fell in love with a celadon knit that slightly glistened in the light and was just the right color to compliment her hydrangeas and the sea of Cape Cod, where she was to be married. Once we had the fabric choice down I draped some toiles and decided to create a bandeau top dress which had boning on the side seams to keep the shape, and that clear, plastic tape along the top edge to keep from slipping. We danced all night without playing tug-of-war with our frocks! The empire waist worked well on all body types involved and each girl said she loved the dress and would wear it again.
I am not going into detail about my sister’s dress because the point I wanted to bring up is that lately I have been approached by women who have been given fabric chosen by the bride and it is up to them to create their bridesmaids dress themselves. I would never put that task into my maid’s hands, but hey, I’m a control freak, but the bridesmaids feel incredibly liberated that they wont be stuck in some ugly, puffy, frumpy ensemble.
I found the task quite fun, assisting the bridesmaid in creating something she’ll love and will be able to wear again. It works for everyone; the bride has her color-scheme and the maid has her chic new dress she designed.
If anyone is looking to tap into this realm of fashion, I say go for it, the doors are wide open! I would love to hear your stories too, have you designed any wedding attire?
Jan 6, 2009, 10.08 AMby Corwin1
I made the bridesmaid dresses for my own wedding. It was actually the first sewing project I had tackled in years. It was not short of some interesting drama, but they looked wonderful and the phtotos turned out great – they in my creations. I knew what I wanted, and found the fabirc of my dreams. It made it all worth it.
Jan 6, 2009, 01.03 PMby cosmoblue
I made my wedding dress and my whole Senior Thesis project was a bridal party in denim. I love doing bridal wear, but I don’t always love working with brides.
Jan 6, 2009, 01.15 PMby erdronen
My mom actually made my bridesmaids’ dresses! It didn’t hurt that she had 3 daughters in it, that she either had to buy or create for :) My sisters and I found some designs on the internet (somewhere around 20!) ranging from designer looks from the runway to traditional dresses we saw at bridal sites. We brought all the pictures to my first shower (5 months beforehand), and let everyone decide on the one they wanted. Miraculously, they all liked the same one- a Monique L’huillier look from her Fall 2005 collection. Beautiful, flowy, kiwi green dress. So, my mom took on the daunting task of re-creating the look for a bunch of different sizes and shapes (even my sisters all have quite different builds, although they are similar sizes, and there were 2 other girls besides). If I had sewn/ had been in town at the time I would have loved to be involved more, and I so wish I could have been! She did a great job with them. Thank you Mom! Here are some pictures :)
Jan 7, 2009, 05.53 AMby sunnyb64
I’m actually (somewhat) in the process of making some bridesmaid attire right now— not quite to the same extent, but one of my friends is getting married in March and I’m making jackets to go over the dresses. (We’re reusing the same bridesmaid dresses from when another friend, whose wedding the current bride was in, got married this past June. So at least I can say I wore this dress again!) So needless to say, I’ve had bridesmaid dresses on the brain. I’m nowhere near needing to think about my own wedding (need to find the guy first!) but I’d already been thinking that, if my sanity can manage it, I’d love to do something like what you described— just get some great knit fabric, like a silk jersey or something, and work with my girls to get something that would look great and that they actually would wear again. (We’ll see if it ever actually works out, since one of the only things I’ve always wanted for my wedding was to make my own dress.) I guess the starving musician in me thinks it’s ridiculous to pay so much money for a dress that I’m only going to wear once—especially since the average bridesmaid dress is a little lacking in the style department and several of my friends would have the same one!
Jan 7, 2009, 10.24 AMby alisondahl
It’s so great to hear these stories. My mother made her dress & the bridesmaids dresses back in 1973 for her own wedding, we still have her dress, she used a white eyelet fabric over cotton, with an adorable empire waist and sleeves that bell out. Very 70s!
These days, I find it far more special to have something made by a friend, mother or tailor than finding something off the rack that is too expensive… Thanks for sharing;)
Jan 12, 2009, 05.55 PMby teresa
I just read this article today and I have so many bridal attire stories that I can’t put it all down here, so you’ve inspired me to write them all down and save them somewhere else besides my own head. In general I’ve done from bridesmaids, to maid of honor, to flower girls and finally only a few months ago, I made my own dress! I just posted it under my creations. My husband and I wanted something non-traditional and minimal for our wedding, and I built on the same concept for the dress. The pleated corset top sets off the metallic gold threads in the fabric and the skirt was cut from one rectangular piece that I pleated into shape.
Jan 14, 2009, 07.44 AMby balcsgirl
They all look so lovely! I’ll bet it was a beautiful wedding… too bad the 2nd pic didn’t show up… all I see is a red x underneath the pic of the bride w/her maids on the beach. My paternal grandmother was a seamstress and owned a bridal shop where she made most of the dresses in her store. I couldn’t sew a lick until she died… a few weeks after her funeral, I had this incredible urge to sew and just started sewing like I had been doing it for a long, long time… weird, huh?
Anyhoo…
Great job! Makes me want to renew my vows – I got married in jeans & a sweater at the courthouse!!
Mar 11, 2009, 02.21 AMby Myk
I love wedding dresses. I made one for the last project in school and it was a pain in the a$%, but after seeing the result, it was worth it :). Your sister looks radiant in her wedding gown, the bridesmaids all look comfy and pretty.