Among everything else that I don’t have done in the 5 months til our wedding are bridesmaid dresses. I spent some time on Nordstrom.com last night in the search of the ultimate cocktail dress to function as a bridesmaid dress that isn’t a tube topped, shiny solid blob of color. I love this yellow one. It’s sweet and somewhat retro, it’s yellow….but it’s $498. Now is the time I’m about ready to believe in the talents of, and but perhaps moreso the thriftiness in getting a seamstress. Here’s a $178 alternative. The one on the right I couldn’t find on the Nordstrom’s website this morning, but it comes in this amethyst color for a screaming $62 and in champagne for $44.90.
Nordstroms has a lot of great cocktail dresses in their junior’s section around the $68 price mark. Very few of the rest of these are “junior” dresses, but I thought I’d throw this chart out there for reference:
#3 also comes in black at a decent $118.
#4 is promising and runs $138
I used to be so against the sickly shiny sheen of bridesmaid dresses, and I’m horrified to think that they’ve grown on me, but I’m kind of drawn to #9 for its bold color, silk dupioni fabric, the full skirt action, empire waist, and I think it would complement my dress well. I also like #8.
#14 would be more appropriate to complement a grecian inspired wedding dress, but I’m really drawn to these simple, summery dresses.
I can appreciate #18-32 but I would not force these upon my maids, mostly because of the boob-revealing halters and unflattering sheath silhouettes.
A plain little number from Banana, and a sweet little ebay number for around $40 that touts itself to be Anthropologie but I almost doubt it.
I scouted this Alfred Angelo purple dress (I’m sure it’s available in all colors of the rainbow since it’s an actual bridesmaid dress…it’s one of the very very rare dresses that is given a solitary $ on the knot….so I’m betting it’s even under $100. I do like the neckline on the pink one..
Which ones do you like? You guys can probably tell I’m all over the map with my choices, and I don’t have a narrowed down vision or focus. I’m basically trying to find something with future wearability that is flattering on girls who aren’t 6 feet tall and size 0. If all else fails, I’ll get them each to buy their favorite little black dress and call it a day.
Those are all really pretty actually! Definitely all over the map!
But when I was looking at #3-6, my first thought was, alteration nightmare.
I had friends that were in a wedding with the chiffon on top…theirs had 3 layers. It cost them $130 to hem since them hem had to be done 2-3 times. Just something else to think about when picking the dress too!
I wore #10 to my shower this last weekend and got a bazillion compliments on it. It fit perfect and was incredibly figure-flattering.
I think number 4 or 25 could potentially be the most flattering for a variety of shapes. The purple dress is cute, but it’s debatable on how well it would hide bulges, etc. The pink one might be slight better as it is a princess cut, which is generally quite flattering for most body types. Good luck!
One of my girls is wearing #25 (different color) and the other two are wearing different dresses by the same line (Maggy London). I actually also have a #25 myself 
They’re great. No one’s needed much alteration, so I can’t speak to that, but they are flattering, are well made, and drape nicely, so I recommend that line. Plus, they can often be found at Nordstrom Racks for ridiculously cheap.
We just ordered a whole box of Nordstrom dresses for FI’s daughter to try (including 4, 12, and 20). I think a nice advantage of Nordstrom is that unless your BMs have really nonstandard measurements, they should be able to find a dress they can wear without alterations, excepting possibly length. I would caution you a little bit about almost anything from the Juniors section. First of all, they are all very short. Most of the little babydoll style dresses are running less than 30 inches in length total, which makes them very, very short unless you are pretty petite. On FI’s daughter, who is 5′9″, they were scary short. Also a lot of the Juniors stuff was pretty cheaply made, and looked it.
As for satin, practically every other dress seems to be stretch satin, so it is apparently in style. (The rest of the dresses are chiffon!)
#12 is what my bridesmaids are wearing… it’s super pretty on them and it has pockets!
the one thing to keep your eye on if doing the nordstrom bm route is that they sell out of some sizes pretty quickly. i picked them out early, but the two tiniest girls (size 2s) didn’t order right away. by the time they did (just month or two ago), only size 8 and above were available online. they ended up finding a 4 and a 4 petite by having a nordstrom representative check with all the physical stores, but it was pretty nerve-wracking. the moral of the story is to make sure the sizes you need are available and that they’re all ordered right away.
we’re kindered spirits! i too was all over dress No. 1 last night until i saw the price…. :-(.
18, 27, 31 in no particular order..but I wear too mich black so I am attracted to that.
FYI, a LOT of the dresses that you posted from Nordstrom (16, 11, 12 for sure) are only in a few limited sizes so I doubt that you will be able to outfit your whole bridal party. 
i was all over the place with BM dresses too and saw quite a few I liked on Nordstrom. I ended with a dress from Arden B. They have some really cute spring/summer stuff right now, I suggest checking it out as you never know what is going to click for you.
i also suggest ann taylor loft and loehmann’s. i got 3 bridesmaids dresses @ loehmann’s for 29.99 each–they were marked down from 100, and they were chiffon–very flattering on the figure. ann taylor always has a few good dresses that are not too revealing, depending on the time of year–and they have tons of sizes since it’s a big chain.
Your No. 2 is here: http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2875201?refsid=162960_3&refcat=0%7e2378467%7e2378483%7e2377032%7e6008190&SourceID=1&SlotID=1&origin=related
They’re calling it Vintage Blue… just thought I’d let ya know since I clicked on that link–it’s so cute, but I think would look terrible on me (I’m shopping for a BM dress to wear right now)
can you list a direct link for number 33 please? I can not find it on the br website, and I would love to try it for my sister.
also- #7 is elusive as well:) I thought I had good searching skills, but I’m stumped!
thanks!
Love #14 and #4, I think that style top is very flattering on most tops, especially if you’re lucky enough to be larger than an A or B. They are very similar to the one I got for my BM. I also think that if you’re going for the empire waist (which everything seems to be right now) the chiffon hangs much straighter avoiding the oh-so-unattractive pregnant look when you’re not actually pregnant.
Where is #31 from?!?
i’m sorry i can’t find 33. i was worried maybe it was actually from target or jcrew, because i think i was looking there at the same time, but i can’t find it
i love that you are looking for non-bridesmaid bridesmaid dresses! so much more practical. i want to, too, it’s just so hard to find specific colors!
Mrs. Milkshake, Seattle/Vancouver, BC
Age and Occupation: 23, Pharmacist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Pharmacist
Engagement Date: May 2007
Wedding Date: August 2008
Blogging Since: December 6, 2007
Venue: Victorian Mansion
About Me: Despite the fact that I’ve invested many long years of my life studying the sciences in college, I’m glad to be out of there and I would never do it again! I’m super artsy at heart - I run an indie craft site, I grew up shooting and developing my own film, doing jazz and ballet, and the whole gamut of art classes. I’ve been called a Jane of all Trades… but I was also told many years ago not to make my passion my career because it’d suck the fun out of it. Hence my choice of day job. We live in Seattle but are having our wedding in Canada to be fair to all our family and friends.
I just ordered #9 for the rehearsal dinner. It is a beautiful dress in the picture. The fabric is lovely in person, but the cut is very hard to wear. It has deep pleats on the bust. I am not overly large up top but neither am I small (Large B/Small C cupped) and the pleats stuck straight out over my curves. Additionally, the body of the dress has a slight flare outward halfway between the empire waist and the skirt pleating- strange. I am so disappointed.