Is this unflattering for a bridesmaid?

[Froum]

My bridesmaids range in size from 8 to 12. No one happens to be plus size.

Would this dress flatter most of the women do you reckon?

We are late 20s

i have chosen to show the image of the plus size model as I think it highlights that it works on bigger sizes. What do you think?

😂

U OK hun? 😐

Try pretty lavish online

I think the style of dress you like is lovely and modern, definitely not matronly. The issue is the fabric. It’s very unflattering and shows everything, bumps, underwear, bony bits the lot.

Love the style but unless decent material that will cling particularly if any lumps of bumps. Best think to do is buy and try!

A lovely wedding I was at had all the bridesmaids in dresses they had chosen for themselves, within a particular colour palette. @Froum , with your male party in navy, what about giving your bridesmaids a selection of colours that would work both with navy and with each other, and asking them to choose their own dresses? Saves you a job and they’re happy wearing them? I think your mushroomy dusty mauve would work as well as paler blues and dusty pinks, as long as the tones are right.

I think this dress is absolutely stunning and goes perfectly with navy in my opinion. I agree this looks good on darker skins but think it would look equally as beautiful on pale skin.

I’m a size 8 and this dress would be my worst nightmare! Being a smaller dress size doesn’t automatically mean you have Jennifer Aniston’s body.

That dress? I'm all for equality but letting blind people design dresses is a bit too much.

Sorry, but I don't like this dress at all. It's not remotely flattering, least of all on the plus size model. Too 'booby' and shapeless. I wouldn't be happy wearing this.

I am tall and very slim. I wouldn't wear this. Yes, it's the bride's day but the bridesmaids should still be allowed to look and feel good and I'm afraid I wouldn't. Sorry.

Hi OP

I love the colour of the dress. I initially didn't like the style of the dress from your first post but I think that seeing it on the second model perhaps the first one is just ill fitting.

It sounds like if your bridesmaids use tan anyway for big occasions then there's no issue with the colour of the dress not suiting.

I personally like styles which you have described as flouncy, but that's because I'm not svelte and I feel it hides my "problem areas". Otherwise though, if I did have a body like the model in your slimmer model version of the dress, I would like to wear cuts like the one you prefer. I suppose it depends on how confident your bridesmaids are with their figures and whether they do already wear similar styles?

I do feel for you though, I tried to have a look at what is out there in the colour that you like and the style that you like and there's not a lot. Do you like any of the dresses in the wedding section at Ghost?
www.ghost.co.uk/bridesmaid-dresses

I found these as potential alternatives
https://www.johnlewis.com/jolie-moi-multiway-halterneck-maxi-dress/p112995687?s_share=jlappdroid

https://www.azazie.com/gb/products/azazie-denice-vintage-mauve-sheath-pleated-stretch-satin-floor-length-bridesmaid-dress/36227849

https://www.azazie.com/gb/products/barbie-azazie-sangria-v-neck-empire-dropwaist-stretch-satin-a-line-bridesmaid-dress/237819

But ultimately, I think, if you like the dress you've found, go with it. If that's what is going to make you happy seeing it on your big day, and you feel it works with all the colour schemes etc then so be it.

Hi @Froum - have a look at the Dessy group dresses, such as these ones here Dusty pink dresses. Yes, some are a bit more "traditional" bridesmaid style, but there are also some sleeker, more modern ones (I love the one-shoulder cowl neck). You can search by pretty much any colour.

Why not organise a shopping day with your bridesmaids at some wedding dress shops? Again, I get that you perhaps don't want traditional bridesmaid dresses, but by trying some on you'll get an idea of what styles and colours suit your bridesmaids and you can then narrow down your online searching.

You said your wedding is understated. It could work well then to find a fabric you like and then give your bridesmaids the choice of style. Either find a seamstress that would give you a good deal for several dresses, or let them choose from any shop, but you having final veto to check they all match, or find 2-3 you like and they choose. Different cuts in a similar fabric can look more informal and classier than 'uniforms' and then everyone is comfortable in what they're wearing. A choice of two coordinating colours with matching accessories could also avoid having to ask for fake tan. TBH, being told to wear fake tan would annoy me, even tho I use it sometimes. It would make me feel I was being treated like an ornament.

That dress is not very flattering and not a good fit round the bust area

I love this blue one & think it will go well with the groomsmen in Navy suits.

Have you thought about maybe getting dresses made so you have input in the style all of your bridesmaids will suit? Look at materials you like in the colour you want & price up how much it would cost to have dressed made. It's sometimes cheaper than off the peg.

@Froum I did find it interesting that, of all the boards/topics, you chose to post this on AIBU rather than Style & Beauty or even Weddings. Not all posters were rude, and you did refer to people being “triggered” – which could come across as dismissive or even provocative, especially given that “triggered” has real implications in mental health contexts. So I’d say there was a bit of provocation on both sides.

@ARainyNightInSoho I must admit that I did mention earlier that one of the dresses looked faulty — that was an honest opinion, not intended to offend. But if the OP feels that others “lack manners and basic civility” for expressing their views, it’s worth noting that she was quite direct in criticising certain dress styles herself. If she’s entitled to her opinion, others are too — it works both ways.

That said, I’m glad OP can now recognise it’s a fairly trivial non-issue in the grand scheme of things 😅😋.