right, please tell me why strapless dresses are the norm for weddings? I think they often look like a bridesmaid has wrapped a lilac towel around herself after a shower.

[oranges]

just coz its Friday night, I've had a g&t and this BUGS me. Brides usually look lovely because the dress, makeup and jewellery all works, but most bridesmaids do not suit strapless dresses.

i agree

strapless dresses make somepeople look butch

thank you! seen lots of pretty girls who would really suit a v-neck with little sleeves shoe horned into strapless dresses.

agree! strapless dresses flatter very few people I reckon. Straps or a halter so much more flattering.

isn't the point that they don't suit them? That most brides subconsciously don't want to be outshone by their attendants so dress them in something that's less than flattering just to make sure?

Or is it that the bridal designers have decided that strapless is the way to go and so brides have very litttle choice in the matter........

You are quite right. Strapless dresses do not suit many people - if you are skinny, they make you look scrawny, if you are not skinny, they make you look flabby. If you are generously endowed, they turn your breasts into an unappealing squashed sausage... I suspect it's done to make the bride look good. A tad unfair since she's the one in a very special dress who will look good anyway!

I suppose strapless is ok for civil weddings, but when I got married (a long time ago) it was considered very disrespectful for anyone, bride or b.maids or guests, to show bare shoulders in church. Cleavage on show was a definite no-no too.

I'm a bridesmaid for my brother's wedding in November - I'll have you know I look blardy marvellous in the strapless dress we've chosen!

No tattoos though and I am slim but not scrawny. The other 2 bridesmaids are the same.

Yes, but you are three very lucky people who fit into the very slim (ho ho) gap between people who are too thin to wear strapless and everyone else who is too big.

I went to a wedding recently where one of the poor bridesmaids had obviously been bothering the biscuits after her final fitting.

Poor woman had a back cleavage, clearly visible all the way through the wedding. She would have looked so much nicer with sleeves.

ROFL - bothering the biscuits!

Mind you, I polished off half a pack of les cadburys fingres last night, although not having a fitting till end of Sept...

In some photos they look like the bridal party are naked.

One bride I saw looked like an ice cream melting over the top of a cone as she had shoe horned herself into a strapless corset dress. It really wasn't flattering.

And they do tend to spend the whole reception howking them back up too.

nowt wrong with lilac bathtoewls I so hated this moment of my life!

I agree oranges, I had a rant recently on here about the fact that te strapless a-line ivory wedding gown has become a kind of uniform and I think the same applies to bridesmaids dresses. Aside from whether they are flattering or not, it's as if people think this style is the only thing that is allowed - soooo predictable. I think for my wedding I'm going to have all the bridesmaids in differnt dresses. Even (whispers) different colours.

I agree. I really, really don't suit strapless and think that actually very few people do despite the huge trend for wedding and bridesmaid dresses to be like this.

i CERTAINLY dont

Hmmm. I had five adult bridesmaids who had strapless dresses, but they all looked lovely. They did have stoles though, so didn't have to flash off their arms.
Me and my younger sister were bridesmaids for my older sister and we had strapless dresses - can post a pic of my sister, she looked lovely.

oh, strapless at weddings is such a cliche these days - from the bride to the bridesmaids to every female guest between 16 and 46. It is sooo dull.

and it is true, v few women suit the look. I am tallish and slimmish with pretty shoulders - but have ridiculous norks and thus cannot wear them. Lets campaign for the returan of puff sleeves for bridesmaids (evil cackle)

or leg o' mutton sleeves, as worn by Fergie...

Why thank you missmalory

I am quite in proportion - not skinny, average norkage etc, no back fat, no tats...I am very fortunate actually I can wear most things.

not halterneck though - looks awful on me

Funnily enough, sil's mother is trying to make her a jacket so she wont show her arms in church and was suggesting that the bridesmaids have one. I will refuse. Tis my local church and I know vicar well -= he does not have hang up about shoulders and we are not flashing our tits.

yes but no link attached