"Do you have any suggestions for bridesmaids dresses?"
Before starting Loulette Bride, I worked in almost every realm of the fashion and bridal industry, including designing bridesmaids dresses for a stint. And, as with almost everything I have shared with you guys about my time in the fashion industry, my experience creating bridesmaids dresses left me, well, unimpressed with bridesmaids dresses.
To sum up my thoughts on traditional bridesmaids dresses: they are designed to be cheap, an environmental bummer, and no one wants to actually wear them. Subtlety was never my strong suit.
Bridesmaids dresses are made to disposable. They are a one time use garment that the wearer never wanted to buy or wear in the first place. Sorry brides, I know this is hard to hear, but no, your wedding is no different. Your friend does not want to shell out $400 + alterations for a dress she will not wear again no matter how much she loves you.
The true cost of that bridesmaids dress that your friend is spending $300-$400 on actually costs, at most, $35 from the overseas factory in was made in. Yes. You read that right. That $35 includes labor, fabric, shipping, taxes, and duties.
So, after the one use of this dress, your friend can either keep this dress in her closet to “wear again,” which we all know won’t happen, or try and resell it. Reselling is an option, but it can be tough if the dress is already hemmed, altered, and dirty from dragging around a party all night. Also, most consignment and clothing resale stores don’t usually take bridesmaids dresses at all since they are so hard to resell, so most bridesmaids dresses inevitably end up in the trash. That dress is undoubtedly made from polyester or some other synthetic fabric that costs about $1 per yard, which can take up to 200 YEARS to break down in a landfill. See? Environmental bummer.
So, what are our modern, eco-friendly bridesmaids options?
Luckily, gone are the days of traditional matchy-matchy bridesmaids attire anyway, so dressing your bridesmaids can be an opportunity to have some fun, and find something that your girls actually love and want to wear! Embrace colors, prints, vintage, mixing and matching, and don’t be afraid to play!
Select a color (or color palette) and let your friends choose their own gowns! I love this option, because it lets your friends find something they love in their own budget, AND alleviates you of any work! To make sure everyone looks cohesive, your best bet is to send a palette of a couple color options, so you can embrace the difference of tones of all the dresses.
Curate bridesmaids dresses yourself by searching for vintage or secondhand pieces! I understand this option take a bit more fashion savvy, but it is a fun option if you are willing to hunt! I did this for my own wedding, and I found all my girl’s gowns for well under $100 each at vintage stores and on Tradesy! Other second hand sites and stores I love are Poshmark, ThredUp, Amarcord, and Gossamer. You can find gorgeous ready to wear pieces, or find specifically bridesmaids gowns on resale sites.
Allow your girls to rent their dresses on Rent the Runway! You can let them choose something fabulous fo themselves, or select it yourself! But either way, it is a fraction of the cost of a bridesmaids dress and solves that whole one time use issue.
If you do want to select a dress and keep all your girls in the same exact look, check out some eco-friendly, ready to wear brands like Christy Dawn, Made Trade, DOEN, Reformation, Whimsy and Row, and Maison de Mode. With ready to wear brands (aka just regular clothing brands) you can be sure that the dresses you select are responsibly made, and more in line with something that your girls can wear again!
My suggestions above are also great for Mother of the Bride! So, for all the ladies in your wedding (including YOU!), use all your bridal fashion moments as an opportunity to be creative, shop consciously and sustainably, go shopping outside the bridal norms, and find something fabulous!