Weddingbee Blog

After unsuccessfully searching high and low for patterned bridesmaids’ dresses that met my very picky standards, I expanded my search to include solid dresses as well. With this expansion, approximately 17 bagillion more dresses became options. In order to narrow down the search, I decided to try out a new criterion: sleeves/straps!

I really like the look of non-strapless dresses, and I think quite often they are more flattering and more comfortable. Plus, I wanted my girls to be able to get down on the dance floor without worrying about a wardrobe malfunction!

The first solid dress that stole my heart was the Miraflores dress from BHLDN.

Mr. Dalmatian liked the sleeves, but wasn’t sold on the bow. The bow is actually part of a reversible belt, so it can be worn on the back. This brought the dress up to “OK” in Mr. D’s book, but Mama Dalmatian was worried about the fit being too little girl-ish. As much as I didn’t want to admit it at the time, I could see her concern. To top things off, I wasn’t entirely sold on the more muted pink as opposed to a bright pink. So the Miraflores dress got moved from my potential bridesmaids’ dress folder to my I-love-this-dress-and-will-buy-it-if-an-occasion-arises-for-me-to-wear-it folder.

My mom, however, could not escape the BHLDN website without making a purchase. Can you blame her? I mean, seriously. She bought the Beribboned Dress in garnet for MOH K to try on while we were home in Chicago for a visit.

I wasn’t initially drawn to the dress because I thought it was too simple, but it was a brighter pink, it had straps, and the shape seemed like it would be flattering on a lot of different body shapes. When MOH K tried it on, however, we discovered that the V-neck was very low-cut, and there was a pretty high risk of a wardrobe malfunction in this dress! Into the return box it went.

Since my online searching had been fruitless, I was more than ready to go to some stores—I knew there had to be something out there and I was ready to roll up my sleeves, dig through some racks, and find it!

So MOH K, Mama Dalmatian, and I headed to Eva’s Bridal in Chicago, which is where we had found MOH A’s stunning bridesmaids’ dresses a year before. It was a fun return visit because last year I had been the one modeling the dresses, and this year I got to be the one picking them.

We had a dressing room full of dresses and began going though them one by one. Many were immediately eliminated, but a few made the short list. The first was Bill Levkoff Style 129. I loved the fabric flowers, and the fit was really cute! However, it was more of a party dress than bridesmaids’ dress, and it doesn’t really have a classic, garden, vintage feel to it. Do you agree?

Personal photo of MOH K in Bill Levkoff Style 129

Our favorite was this sweet little dress with a cute bow. Now this is the classic, garden, vintage feel! It hit at kind of an awkward length so we would have to get it shortened, but it was definitely in the running! Yes, I realize it doesn’t have straps, but the scalloped neckline totally makes up for it.

After hitting up a J.Crew that carried their bridesmaids’ collection, and a Macy’s bridal salon where we tried on an Alfred Sung dress that we had loved online, the Jasmine dress with the scalloped neckline was still the favorite. (The Alfred Sung dress was also very low-cut.)

Stay tuned—we had just one more stop for the day, and then we made a decision! That’s right, we tried on all of these dresses in one very long shopping trip. MOH K was a saint for sticking with me all day!

Did you have a bridal-party representative trying on dresses for you?