Bridesmaid Dresses

As a bride, it's your privilege to select your attendants' dresses, but take our advice and don't be a dictator about it. You should select a style, color, and fabric, but many of today's brides are letting their 'maids choose the cut that flatters them best. It only makes sense, considering that one of your bridesmaids may be 5'1", busty, and voluptuous while another is a six-foot-tall beanpole with no boobs. Those bridesmaids, in turn, have the responsibility of choosing a cut that compliments the bride's wedding gown, is comfortable, and is attractive.

Don't forget to take your girls' budgets into consideration. While you may have fallen in love with a $600 designer frock, you may have friends and family who are currently scraping by on rice and bean budgets. The Internet is a wonderful resource for finding gorgeous bridesmaid dresses at great prices. We also recommend that you thumb through the more popular wedding magazines, such as Brides and Modern Bride.

So how do you go about choosing bridesmaid dresses? The first thing you should do is brush up on the latest trends.

Styles
A-line dresses look great on all different body shapes and sizes, and never really stop being popular. The hottest styles right now are two-tone, two-piece floor length styles...mostly sleeveless (sorry, wintertime bridesmaids!). Also very popular are column style dresses -- floor length gowns with halter tops or skinny straps criss-crossing over the back. Another big trend involves buying a coordinating shawl to accompany the dress, particularly with the barer styles or in colder seasons.

Colors
Platinum is very hot at the moment, but paler colors like light yellows, sand, and taupe are also chic. There is a trend toward burgundy and hunter for fall weddings. Black is always in style and always a popular choice among both brides and their bridesmaids, but don't overdo it lest you look like a funeral procession. Many of the designers today are also using better quality fabrics like dupioni silk, silk chiffon and satin, velvet and crepe.

Combinations
Another trend is to choose a manufacturer that offers different styles in the same fabric and color and letting each bridesmaid chose the style they look best in. You can set some simple ground rules -- no dresses above the knee or no strapless dresses, for example. Another popular and pretty trend -- especially for spring and summer weddings -- is the "color run." That means that each bridesmaid wears a different color of the same dress.

Although today there are fewer rules about colors, styles and seasons, it is always wise to use common sense. For example, it would not be wise to choose a short cut and strapless bridesmaid dress during the winter, while a heavy material during the summer in an outdoor ceremony will give your 'maids heat stroke. In hot weather, soft and flowy materials are best.

Good luck, and happy shopping!

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