Lilly V asked:
I have only two bridesmaids and one of them is a plus size. She is a size 20 in regular clothes. That is all fine and dandy, but the dresses she is sending me (emails mostly) that she thinks they should wear, I think are totally not flattering on her body type at all. The other maid it would be fine on, she wears a size 8 regularly. The dresses she is sending me are very short…above the knee. Strapless or spagetti straps and just not flattering at all. Plus, they are just not fitting in with the formality of the wedding. An evening affair. Could you please help me out and maybe send me links to dresses that you would think could work well on a larger frame. First of all, I do not want her looking ridiculous, but I also don’t want her looking ridiculous in my wedding pics. I hate to sound horrible, but that is the way I feel. I myself am not a small girl by any means. My dress is a size 14. I just think that here are more flattering looks out there. If you have seen dresses that you think would work well or have worn ones yourself, please send me a pic. Oh by the way, this is my dress:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=2660&prodgroup=10
I have only two bridesmaids and one of them is a plus size. She is a size 20 in regular clothes. That is all fine and dandy, but the dresses she is sending me (emails mostly) that she thinks they should wear, I think are totally not flattering on her body type at all. The other maid it would be fine on, she wears a size 8 regularly. The dresses she is sending me are very short…above the knee. Strapless or spagetti straps and just not flattering at all. Plus, they are just not fitting in with the formality of the wedding. An evening affair. Could you please help me out and maybe send me links to dresses that you would think could work well on a larger frame. First of all, I do not want her looking ridiculous, but I also don’t want her looking ridiculous in my wedding pics. I hate to sound horrible, but that is the way I feel. I myself am not a small girl by any means. My dress is a size 14. I just think that here are more flattering looks out there. If you have seen dresses that you think would work well or have worn ones yourself, please send me a pic. Oh by the way, this is my dress:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=2660&prodgroup=10
Same color, champagne. This is an evening wedding at an Itallian Villa style property. http://www.vizcayapavilion.com/
Any help would be appreciated, and again, I have no problem with women of size, I just want us all to look our best. The dresses will be either a wine color or sage green, I have not made up my mind yet on that, but those are the two colors I am stuck between. Thanks in advance for any help..
There’s nothing that says your bridesmaids have to wear the exact same dress these days. What I did with mine was give them an outline of what I wanted (color, bridal salon, length) and let them pick the dress (and shoe) that best fit them. This way, the stress of choosing a dress was off me and on them, plus the girls each have a dress they can wear again!
this would look nice. With people that have a little extra on them simplicity it best!
If you’re going to have a “belt” have it up at the breast area. Nothing hugging the waist or the hips.
Have a flowing feel to the dress.
Well, you’re the bride. So, in reality, you have the final say on the dresses. I’d pick a dress that is going to flatter everyone’s body type. If you have to stay away from strapless to maintain that, then that’s what needs to be done.
I understand where you are coming from. I’m not a small girl either. I’m a size 12 in pants. My best friend is quite large and I don’t know her size. I’m thinking around 18, maybe even 20. I’m a 12 and she is much, much larger than me. I understand that you want everyone to look neat. As a bigger girl, I have a difficult time finding clothing that fits well, flatters and looks neat and well-put together. So, I understand your dilemma with a bigger bridesmaid.
Have you thought of a styles like this?
I’d stick with a long dress, possibly an a-line. I’d also do some sort of straps or a halter. It’s much more flattering than strapless.
Bigger girls tend to look better with bigger straps…perhaps a halter style with a flowing skirt on the longer side. This would also look well on a girl of any size. Hope this helps!
This dress is gorgeous and will look good on all shapes and sizes. I would include a wrap. Many times strapless is more flattering then small straps that cut you in half..it will also depend greatly on this girls body type, hourglass, apple, pear etc.
cant get this to save :
Top Style: 8480
Iridescent taffeta V- neck halter
Sizes: 2 to 26
Price: $ 59.00
Color: Cabernet
——————————————————————————–
Skirt Style: 8224
Taffeta A-line skirt. Available in extra length.
Sizes: 2 to 26
Price: $ 79.00
Color: Cabernet
Wow, I’m SO disappointed in how many dresses are strapless! Truth be told I know that most large women should not wear a strapless dress (I was a size 20 at my wedding, my bride’s maids were a size 6 and 10).
If your wedding is at night the dresses should definitely be LONG, and given the venue it is all the more appropriate to be as such. My bride’s maids dress were by Alfred Angelo, and I like some of their more conservative stuff like these dresses:
They also have separates, so you could have your girls wear the same skirt, but different tops. Here’s an example:
All in all I really think you should go with what YOU think looks best, instead of trashy/inappropriate. Best of luck to you!
These are gorgeous dresses! we might buy these for my uncles wedding if we find them at a little cheaper price…go to macys…they have this dress.tried it on today! ABSOLUTLYGORGEOUS!!
Go with an A-line or empire waist, and I think a halter would look the most flattering.
I myself fluctuate between a size 14 and a size 16 (depending on the brand) and halter’s are flattering on almost everyone.
A plus-sized girl most likely needs a lot of support in the chest area, and just simple straps or strapless dresses can be murder on us big-chested girls, halter’s hold you up, and A-line’s will pull the attention off of your mid-section.
As for color, go with whichever is darkest of the 2 colors, since dark colors will look slimming on your bridesmaids, meaning better wedding pics for you.
And definitely go with LONG dresses. Short dresses will hit your plus-seize bridesmaid on either the calfs or the knees, neither of which is a particularly flattering spot for women who don’t have toned legs. A short dress might give kind of “mushroom effect” to your bridesmaid, by making her legs look like the stem and then the dress “puffs” out at her widest spot (hips and thighs).
ADD* definitely stay away from strapless. They will emphasize the shoulders, making them look VERY wide, and they might even possibly push up some of the upper-arm/armpit fat in a kind of weird “roll”. My wedding dress was strapless originally, and we had some 1.5 inch wide straps added (to hold it up and to get rid of the “roll”).
I think that cocktail length can be quite pretty (and dressy) if you decide it is acceptable for you. As an above poster said often bigger girls have bigger breasts so strapless dresses are hard to do. I’m a smaller girl with a big bust and I will not be doing strapless at my wedding under any circumstances – but that’s personal preference (and the dress you picked out is beautiful).
If cocktail length is acceptable then I like this dress which comes in plus sizes and regular sizes and come in the same colours you mentioned:
An empire waist is also preferable, and something that would float away from the body – A-line. Here are a few others I liked:
Also something to consider is Alfred Angelo separates. By choosing this option both bridesmaids are able to pick the style of top and skirt that best suits them while staying in your approved colour pallet. Or you could have them wear the same skirt and different top – or they could pick the same. I think separates are nice option that most people overlook.
You can play around here:
Good luck!
I am being MOH to my friend next year, but I am a size 16, however I have found some flattering styles to wear, for example:
—Prom-Dress–HSX871-_p29828.html
Which suits as I have a large bust and hips but no waist.
Something like this may be appropriate for your bridesmaid(s):
—Prom-Dress–HSX169—Start-From-3-Units–Free-Shipping_p24122.html
This would flatter your bridesmaid and draw attentionto her body as a whole, not just focusing on one thing which could make her look big!
I’m not quite sure if the problem is that you need a dress for both of them or if you’re supposed to be approving each dress that they’re wearing, and they are independently making bad choices. What I did for my bridal attendants (all female) was that I had everyone tell me what they would be willing to wear. As it turned out, they were all ok with sleeveless dresses. I took the information that I had been sent, and then made a list of what was OK in a dress. (My list was along the lines of not form fitting, ankle-length, wide straps). Perhaps you could consider what the problems with the dresses your bridesmaids are picking are, and then giving guidelines that should avoid those problems.
You are being very considerate, which is really nice. I went through the same thing with my bridesmaids – but they found a lovely dress which flattered both the smaller women and the plus one. It had a short sleeve, and the best thing of all was a basque waist.
Some ideas – and by the way, I like wine for dresses – you can match lovely flowers and decorations using that colour, including sage as an accent – and do not have strapless for them!
I think this is a great site, with options -
This is really beautiful -
I like this, too
As a three time plus size bridesmaid, I will tell you that the best dress I’ve worn was a simple, strapless, thick satin dress. The other dresses I wore were okay but one was very fitted (not very flattering) and the other was chiffon and not AT ALL flattering. Yes, it’s flowy but it also lays on every bump and bulge. Keep it simple, keep it long, and make sure they try them on for you to see!
Good luck to you!
You need to give her some guidelines – just tell her that the wedding is going to be fairly conservative and she needs to look for dresses with some kind of wide strap or sleeve, and they need to be cocktail or tea-length (anywhere from just below the knee to mid-calf).
If the only dresses she can find are strapless/spaghetti strap, just have your girls (both of them, for fairness) wear a light pashmina wrap or little jacket over their dresses during the ceremony and for the formal photos. This might be a good way to compromise.