Bridesmaids Come in all Sorts of Different Ages, Sizes and Styles

Copyright (c) 2011 Alison Withers

When bridesmaids span a range of ages, shapes and sizes it can be difficult to find a dress to suit them all, especially if they all have very different tastes and styles.

A mixture of small girls, teenagers and grown women will not all look good in the same style of dress and will feel very unhappy wearing something that feels completely wrong to them, which is not something a bride wants on her wedding day. With some thought much of the anguish can be avoided.

There has been a long-standing convention to have bridesmaids dressed alike and it goes back to ancient superstitions. The idea was to distract and confuse any evil spirits who attempted to disrupt the wedding because they would not be able to identify who out of those all dressed alike was actually the bride!

These days, brides still want a particular colour theme, or perhaps a particular fabric, for their bridesmaids and but it is more about style and with an eye to the wedding pictures than about superstition.

It helps if the bride has already chosen her wedding gown and has a clear idea of the theme and colouring of the wedding. Family relationships being what they are, he bride may not be entirely free to choose who her bridesmaids will be, but may be able to avoid awkward situations by limiting the numbers of bridesmaids.

Even though there may still be a mixture of ages, sizes and colourings, it should still be possible to have an overall theme and to make it flexible enough to suit all ages. It is wise to talk to the chosen bridesmaids to find out if there is anything they would feel particularly uncomfortable wearing.

Next step is to establish the colour of the dresses and the length first, and then find a few different styles you like. Then the bride can consult her bridesmaids as to which ones they like. There is nothing wrong with having different styles for each bridesmaid in the same fabric.

This will let the littler ones indulge their passion for frills, while the teenage bridesmaid can choose something she feels is more appropriate for her age and size and the adult bridesmaid can find something appropriate to her preferred style.

Another way to keep everybody happy may be to choose a very simple dress shape or style in the chosen colour or pattern then have a dressmaker experienced in bridesmaid alterations to alter, adapt or embellish the dress in a way that is appropriate for each age group.

Modern bridesmaids often choose separates because two-piece styles gives a wider scope of tops in the same colour and fabric and can be chosen to flatter different builds and body types. Again an experienced dressmaker will be able to do bridesmaid alterations to ensure everything fits perfectly.

Organising a wedding is stressful enough and anything that can help make the process simpler and smoother is to be welcomed.


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Using the services of a dressmaker experienced in bridesmaids alterations can help when bridesmaids come in all ages, shapes and sizes. By Ali Withers.