At this point, I'd wear a paper bag if they'd let me
September 7, 2010 8:13 AM

Please help me find a dress for my brother's wedding.

My brother is getting married in a month; I am the closest thing to a bridesmaid. I ordered this dress in dark purple, but it turned out to be too short, and I hate the material. It seems very stiff.

I'm about a size 8/10, with an hourglass figure.

What I'm looking for:

- a knee-length cocktail dress with straps or sleeves
- with a modest neckline (the neckline on the dress I linked to was about perfect, but I don't have a preference as to v-neck, scoop, etc. Just nothing plunging.)
- and an A-line shirt
- in dark green or dark purple (I wanted to wear brown, but was informed that that's not acceptable.)

I would prefer a softer, more flowy fabric. The wedding itself will take place outside, and the reception inside; I'll wear a wrap, but the dress needs to be somewhat autumn-appropriate.

And the added challenge: I'm baking the wedding cake, so I need something unfussy that I can move around in.
posted by punchtothehead to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (22 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
The fabric in this line is really nice and soft (bamboo), and both these dresses can be worn a variety of ways and come in lots of colors:

TranquiliT All-in-One Wrap Dress
TranquiliT "Luxe Bridal"

Click photos to see them styled different ways.
posted by hansbrough at 8:25 AM on September 7, 2010


J. Crew is your answer here. I can attest to the flowy-ness of their silk tricotine, having worn The Sophia dress in two weddings last month. It's also available in a gorgeous silk chiffon, for extra flowiness. The Cecilia is a bit more modest.
posted by amelioration at 8:28 AM on September 7, 2010


How about this BCBGeneration taffeta business? It seems lovely to me.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 8:29 AM on September 7, 2010


2nding J Crew. Their bridesmaid dresses are very wear again-able.
posted by natasha_k at 8:30 AM on September 7, 2010


J. Crew has this one in a dark mossy green (the lack of enthusiasm by the model notwithstanding).

This one looks perfect. Other options from Nordstrom: here, here, here, here, here, here... okay, I'm going to stop, but the combination of Nordstrom and a brand like Maggy London is probably what you need.

This one is a lighter but still muted purple, and it looks really pretty and comfy.
posted by Madamina at 8:31 AM on September 7, 2010


Thirding J. Crew.

Also, if you prefer a more jersey-type material, Ann Taylor tends to have a lot of wedding-appropriate dresses in jersey knit fabrics. I've bought dresses from there for wedding garb in the past. I don't like the quality as much as the quality of J. Crew dresses, but they are still pretty nice and they don't cost quite as much as dresses from J. Crew.
posted by kataclysm at 8:42 AM on September 7, 2010


I wore this in a wedding earlier this year, and have worn it twice since. This may not be dark enough, but definitely meets the "flowy" requirement. This one is a little more classic, should be plenty long enough, and no worries about a plunging neckline -- but would look awesome on an hourglass figure.
posted by ThatSomething at 8:47 AM on September 7, 2010




amelioration - I had looked at those dresses, especially the Sophia, but I was unsure about the tricotine. I'm worried that it's a little shiny - how did you think it compares to chiffon?

The dress I linked to is silk chiffon, and I was shocked by how much I hated it. It seemed very...junior high homecoming-esque to me.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far; I'm leaning toward J. Crew.
posted by punchtothehead at 9:08 AM on September 7, 2010


Maybe some possibilities from Nordstrom:

Ralph Lauren

Maggy London

Maggy London again

Suzi Chin
posted by houseofdanie at 9:32 AM on September 7, 2010


Yeah, I had a bridesmaid dress from that Ann Taylor collection and while inoffensive, it wasn't rewearable at all. If you have this much control over your dress, it might as well be something you like (preferably love).

Keep in mind that just because you're a bridesmaid doesn't mean you have to wear a bridesmaid's dress. As long as you keep it somewhat demure and probably stick to a solid color, you're good. If you are at all chesty AVOID RUFFLES in that area. At least as someone with a similarly self-described figure, I find them horribly unflattering.

I love the look of the Suzi Chin linked above, in dark green. You'd want to make sure that particular green is one you can wear, but it would look great with gold jewelry. It's a good autumn color but could also be worn at Christmas or in the summer. The "spiced wine" purple from J Crew is also gorgeous, although I think their dresses may end up being lower-cut than they look in the photos. Not sure, just make sure it's returnable. Depending on your particular tastes, you may want to at least peruse the dresses at Anthropolgie - this one looks appropriate to me.
posted by maryr at 9:37 AM on September 7, 2010


The dress you linked to says it's made from taffeta, which would explain why it looks junior-high homecoming-esque!

Nthing J. Crew, especially anything made from trictotine or chiffon.
posted by cooker girl at 9:38 AM on September 7, 2010


The OP's original dress is described in the link as "silk taffeta."
posted by virago at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2010


Or, on preview, what cooker girl said.
posted by virago at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2010


Errr, I take it back. The one I linked is really the only appropriate one from Anthropologie. But I repeat the "it doesn't have to be from a bridal collection" advice.
posted by maryr at 9:42 AM on September 7, 2010


Er, yep, sorry - it was taffeta, not chiffon.

I think I'm going to buy the Sophia, but head up to Nordstrom's this weekend - I really like the look of the Suzi Chin dresses. I'll update again with my final decision; thanks again!
posted by punchtothehead at 9:54 AM on September 7, 2010


Here are some more options from YOOX that may meet your criteria: this dark green dress and this purple wool sheath.
posted by sophie at 10:08 AM on September 7, 2010


Is it going to be hot where you are? I tried on this ponte knit dress a few weeks ago. It's a poly/rayon/lycra doubleknit so it's very comfortable but stable knit. It could be too warm if it's hot out though.
posted by vespabelle at 10:10 AM on September 7, 2010


I just got this dress from Ann Taylor to wear to my sister's outdoor, Houston, autumn wedding this weekend. It looks kind of ho-hum on the website, but on an hourglass figure (like mine) it really looks great. It's also not nearly so short on a normal-height person - on 5'1" me, the hemline hits just below the knee. With some nice accessories, a wrap, and cute shoes it'll really dress up nicely. It's also super comfy.

Good luck! You're lucky that purple is one of your possible colors, because it is all the rage right now. I couldn't wear purple because I already have a purple dress and wore it to my brother's wedding last year; and let me tell you what trouble I had finding something not-purple in stores.
posted by misskaz at 10:24 AM on September 7, 2010


There are some great suggestions here -- I'm jonesing for some of them, and I'm not even in the market for any dressy dresses. I wish I weren't hundreds of miles away from a Nordstrom ...

Good luck with your search. I'm not surprised that you found the taffeta difficult to work with. One of my friends has a taffeta bridesmaid's dress that we all laughed at -- she said it looks like a heat shield.
posted by virago at 11:37 AM on September 7, 2010


You don't need to be near a Nordstrom's. I've ordered a couple dresses for weddings from them online and had incredible luck. They have a huge selection of dressy dresses. You can click on your body type, and all the suitable dresses pop up. That feature works very well in narrowing down the dresses that will look good on you.
posted by Elsie at 12:39 PM on September 7, 2010


I ended up stopping by an Ann Taylor brick-and-mortar shop tonight and picked up this little number, which is less blue than it looks in that picture.

Thanks for all the leads; I'm still going to pick up a few of the dresses linked to for other upcoming weddings.
posted by punchtothehead at 1:20 PM on September 8, 2010


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