Unless you give her free reign to pick the dress, let’s face facts. She will NOT wear it again. So if it’s going to be a one-off, why not buy something as inexpensive as possible?
Yesterday Creature Comforts had a feature on when to save and when to splurge for weddings, and her illustration included a bridesmaid dress from Forever21. Brilliant!!
If your ladies can rock a short skirt (the longest of these models is only 33″ from the shoulder, warns the Amazon…), there are some surprisingly great options.
(It’s red, it’s silk, and it’s $30)
(And I love the modern style of this $23 satin sheath.)
(Picture this $20 beauty with killer heels at a vintage-themed wedding.)
(This basic v-neck with a lovely back comes in 5 colors and is only $13.50.)
With prices like that, they might even have money left over for a clutch ($16) and some jewelry ($5 and $4).
As always, let’s hear the shout-outs to your own favorite wedding bargains!
Those are nice, but I cannot imagine any adult wearing the shorter ones. Seriously - they do not look like dresses to me!
I admit, I still shop at Forever 21 for my trendy clothes tops and jewelry to wear out on the town, but let me say one thing about their dresses… The fabric is very often so thin it is see-through and looks pretty cheap (bad stiching, ect.). I foung $98 dresses on Nordstrom.com that look beautiful and didn’t break the bank.
You made such a great point about bridesmaids dresses! I love your out-of-the-box thinking 
Oh and that clutch is too cute.
Our bridesmaids rocked dresses from White House Black Market - they looked fantastic and were a steal for <$50. They all loved them!
i love love this!
I think retail shopping is *genius* for BM dresses, and honestly, I’m not sure why more brides don’t do it! The only reason I can think of that it wouldn’t work out would be sizing. For example, if most retail range in sizes 2-14, and you have a plus-size BM this might not work out. But Nordstrom.com has great prices and size options. My BMs were very happy.
A warning–we looked into the forever 21 route for my bridesmaids and the dresses were really see-through.
I love F21, but as you pointed out, their dresses tend to be way too short for weddings (see e.g. the “LA Wedding” in 27 Dresses). Otherwise, I totally would have gone this route!
ive had my eye on that 2nd to last blue dress….but i was wondering if it was TOO short or TOO see thru… i def plan on going the retail route for my maids. there are TONS of cute maggy london and london times dresses at macy’s, nordies, etc that all go on sale and could be far under $100.
I found cute BM dresses at Target.com! They’re really some of the only ones I found in the color I was looking for anywhere. They’re sorta 50s style w/fuller skirts, but I like them. The girls liked them well enough and they loved the price - only $39.99 on sale!
I highly suggest hitting up Steve & Barry’s and checking out the Bitten line. It rotates SUPER fast but for around $20 you can usually find a very nice simple black sheath that would be killer as a BM dress.
Old Navy also sometimes has some dresses that could be glammed up easily to be BM dresses as well!
That was my only rule for my sole maid - it has to be something you WILL WEAR AGAIN in a light blue. Now she took that and had a custom designed gown of silk duponi that I don’t even want to THINK about how much is cost but I tried LOL!
Tulip, you should consider writing a bargain finds on the internet blog. I love your finds!
Nice finds!
wow those are some great finds! i was planning to go to macys or nordstrom to look for bridal shower dresses but looks like forever 21 will be my first stop!
Mine are from Target! The girls are really excited about them. They aren’t going to look super formal, but I’m okay with that because of the $35 price tag!
I wore Forever 21 as a BM in my best friend’s wedding last summer. She actually found dresses that hit the knee and they were only $30.
I wore the v neck in red for our e-session and loved it so much that I was seriously considering as a Bridesmaid dress also. For those brides that are curious there are some pics of our e-session on my website http://www.lan-pham.de
And for that price it is a real saver too!
…oh and it is not really a see through as some of you may fear
sorry here is the direct link
Those dresses are cute, but some of them are just way too short. I shop for my regular clothes at Forever 21 and other stores like that, but most of the time their dresses are so short that I can only wear them as shirts! (And I’m only 5′5″ so it’s not like I’m really tall).
Not sure if you are still checking this but there are some cute options here (admittedly on the shorter side of the spectrum):
@beanchar: Great find, thanks! I’ve never heard of them, but now have my eye on a couple of blouses…. 
I got mine at forever 21 - they were under 12 dollars and freaking gorgeous.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/aevan/wedding/c7e7dc283fd2.jpg
they’re lovely and slightly shiny and if I cover the satin bow at the center, exactly what i wanted. They come down to the knees and they’re definitely not see through and all my maids love them!
Mrs. Tulip, DC
Age and Occupation: 36, Retired
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Counsel/DOO for Small Gov't Contractor
Engagement Date: August 8, 2007
Wedding Date: March, 2008
Venue: Still Looking!
About Me: In all my dreams of the man I'd someday marry, I never pictured anyone as perfect for me as Mr. Tulip. So now we just have to make it through the craziness of the wedding and the moving in together! I love crafts, sewing, jewelry making, and photography, so am looking forward to this chance for DIY fun. When not wedding planning, I'm playing with our dog and 4 cats, Ebay shopping, or watching too much TV (often simultaneously!).
Tulip, you are a bargain shopping goddess. I bow down before you in awe!