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Repeat Offenders: Bridesmaid Dresses

by The Mamasource Community
Photo by: Shutterstock

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REPEAT OFFENDERS: BRIDESMAID DRESSES

Is ‘flammable’ the kindest word you can use to describe an old bridesmaid dress currently taking up valuable real estate in your overcrowded closet?

In honor of TLC’s new reality show, “ Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids,” and for a bit of fun, we checked with members of the Mamapedia community to see if they really did wear a bridesmaid dress for the second time. Enjoy!

Cupcakesweet from Leawood asks:
A comment in the “Flower Girl Dress” post made me laugh. One of the replies said, “Bridesmaids can keep their dresses for life & have many opportunities to wear it again…” LOL! I’m not poking fun at her at all, but that logic is funny.


About a month ago, I watched “27 Dresses”. There was a running joke about how the brides always felt they picked out dresses that could be re-worn. I’ve also recently watched season 7 of “Bridezillas” and heard them say it on almost every episode. One lady had tea length dresses that were aqua with a yellow sash and yellow hanging slip. WHERE are those women going to wear those dresses besides her aqua-yellow wedding?

So, did any of you or anyone you know EVER wear their bridesmaid dress again?

K W. from Santa Monica answers:
My friend said my bridesmaid dress needed to be floor-length and canary yellow, but that I could pick it so that “I could wear it again.” With those specs, how would that be possible?

Mindy T. from Stormville answers:
I’ve never worn a bridesmaids dress again after the wedding. Really, how many formal occasions do you have to wear a long evening dress?

My mom (who married in 1952) actually had her wedding gown shortened and dyed black and wore it to a fancy occasion.

Tracy M. from Tampa answers:
I have been in 5 weddings that I can think of and I have NEVER worn one of those damn dresses again!

Shelly S. from McKinney answers:
I eloped, but my cousin’s bride had all her bridesmaids wear their favorite (modest) little black dress. No one had to spend any money on the dresses, and everyone looked confident and amazing.

Gamma G from Oklahoma City answers:
Yes, yes I have….. I was in my first wedding at 18. The guys wore top hats, their tuxedos had tails, and they carried canes. The girls wore a ring of baby’s breath in their hair, carried parasols, and their flowers were attached to a pretty fan. My dress had an empire waist, some pin tucks on the bodice, long mutton sleeves where the cuffs buttoned about half way up. I wore this dress multiple times for pioneer days, old-fashioned days, and back then we could wear long dresses to church and not look out of place.

Lucky from Hoffman Estates answers:
Yes, I did chose bridesmaid dresses that could be worn again! They were long black strapless dresses with the slit in the back. Both my sisters had them shortened. One wore hers to homecoming with lots of bling, and my other sister wore hers on a cruise. I do have to pat myself on the back…I did a great job :)

♛Queenofthecastle♖ from Villa Park answers:
OMG, yes, I TOTALLY thought my bridesmaids could wear their red, floor length with a kick train, corset-laced, off-the-shoulder dresses again. WHAT THEY HECK WAS I THINKING?!

Jennifer S. from Green Cove Springs answers:
I have never worn a bridesmaid dress again. The worst one I ever had was a sherbet orange and bubblegum pink atrocity. It looked like two Care Bears threw up on me. Awful.

S B. from Keller answers:
Only one dress, but it had to be altered just a bit to work.

The other three dresses…NO WAY. One was pretty, but hot pink…almost neon. One dress was nice, but not flattering for me. And the last one…hmmm. Picture Snow White, only in all blue with a white floppy hat and white gloves. Seriously. It was 1990, but I don’t really think that’s a good excuse!

Laurie A. from Austin answers:
No…No…No… They all screamed ‘bridesmaid.’

The other problem is that they are not “classic” and by the next year or two they are totally out of style. If you are wearing a bridesmaid dress forever, you need to have a really good friend tell you the truth: get rid of it.

✤Melissa✤ J. from Milford answers:
I’ve only been a bridesmaid once. My best friend was nice enough not to use the line “you can shorten it & wear it again” because she knew we were all wearing dresses in the shade ‘Victorian Rose’ – a fancy name for ‘Barney Purple.’

Tracy K. from Grand Prairie answers:
No such luck for me. I have a couple of gawd-awful dresses I was forced to buy and ended up donating to the thrift store. Oh, just remembered. One of my brides required I buy clear acrylic heels from Walmart for her wedding. I thought – yeah, I’ll wear these again…at my stripper audition!

Luvmygirl from Albany answers:
I like to use them for Halloween. There’s one I wore a few times- as a Zombie Tooth Fairy and another as the Butterfly Queen. :)

Christy J. from Haltom City answers:
LOVE 27 dresses. Totally know what you are talking about, too. snicker 
I actually told my bridesmaids "You will probably NEVER wear this again, so have fun, mess it up and make it look like you had the best night ever

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Do you have a bridesmaid dress horror story? Please comment below to dish the details.

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