Choosing Your Own Bridesmaid Dress: Is It As Awesome As It Sounds?

Yesterday I posted on instagram about my bridesmaid dress shopping woes and had NO idea it would cause so much conversation. SO many of you DM’ed me to both commiserate and offer advice.

Here’s the scoop: I’m in a wedding this summer! Instead of picking out a uniform dress for all the bridesmaid we were given a [seemingly] simple criteria:

• black gown
• not strapless

Sounds easy, right? And also sounds a lot better than buying a dress in a bizarre color you’ll never wear again. But… turns out it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. Which is why I turned to instagram yesterday for advice 🙂

I’m turning this into a blog post not to complain — I’m aware that as a petite female I have a lot of privileges in the shopping department — but to share some of the words of wisdom y’all bestowed upon me yesterday via instagram. So let’s chat bridesmaid dress shopping when you get to choose your own dress.

I started with the usual suspects and my go-to places for dress shopping: Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom. I’m weird and prefer to do my dress shopping in person (can I still call myself a millennial?) so I hit up the above department stores while I was in LA last month. I tried on a few dresses but nothing really fit right or looked good. Which is when the panic began for me…

Keep in mind the wedding isn’t until July… but I’m a planner and don’t like to do things last minute.

After passing a David’s Bridal on my way to work (there’s one in Chelsea!) I decided to check out the traditional bridesmaid dress route. Y’know, when the same dress comes in approximately 50 different colors. My appointment at David’s Bridal yesterday was a total fail whale. I do not recommend visiting them unless you 100% know what you want to try on — and it’s not an online exclusive. Also be warned that their sizing is AWFUL. The exact opposite of vanity. Do not be alarmed if you’re trying on a dress a few sizes bigger than you usually wear. Ignore that stupid number and just go for fit.

Post David’s Bridal fail is when I turned to all of you on instagram. And that’s when my DM’s EXPLODED with recommendations. Who knew you were all so passionate about bridesmaid dresses??

Here’s what you all recommended:

▶︎ an OVERWHELMING amount of you recommended I order from Lulus

I’ve never purchased anything from Lulus (once again, am I really allowed to call myself a millennial?) but SO many of you told me you’re obsessed. The price is insanely good… but you all assured me it’s not too good to be true and the quality is still solid. I’m sold! (more on those purchases below!)

 

▶︎ BHLDN

aka Anthropologie’s bridal outpost. A ton of you also recommended I check out BHLDN. I’ve been a bit weary because I’m not all that in love with the black dress options they show online, but I do love all things Anthro so have faith their stuff would be good. If my Lulus order doesn’t pan out I’m going to try and book an appointment at the NYC store.

 

▶︎ White House Black Market

I totally forgot about them but found a few fabulous sweet 16 outfits there back in the day.

 

▶︎ Lord & Taylor

Yes they still exist! And are currently having a sale according to one of my friends

 

▶︎ Show Me Your Mumu

Another online hub I’ve never heard of before. Some of the other bridesmaids in this wedding got their dress from here.

 

▶︎ Rent the Runway

It’s been a few years since I’ve done Rent the Runway (read my review here!) but never thought to use them for a gown. Because I’m so short I know all gowns inevitably need to be hemmed, so I figured Rent the Runway was out of the question. A few people mentioned that you can get something temporary tailored. Say. What.

For me I’m still not sure this is the best route for this wedding, but I’m 99% sure it’s the route I’m going to go for yet another wedding I’m attending this summer as a guest. Finding a cocktail dress that fits my body off the rack is a bit easier.

 

▶︎ J.Crew

I’m pretty sure you can set an appointment up at their bridal showroom in NYC to try on bridesmaid dresses.

 

What I Ended Up Ordering:

I decided to order a few dresses from Lulus in a few sizes:

One // Two // Three

I’m especially rooting for dress number two. The reviews for it are super positive and promising. Fingers crossed one of them is a winner otherwise it’s back to the drawing board. I also put my name on the “waitlist” for a few other dresses that are no longer available in my size.

I think once I find the perfect, winning, dress I’m going to be SO happy I got to choose my own style  — it will hopefully be a dress I can wear again and again. But right now I’m overwhelmed by having to make decisions 😂