My plan was simple. We would buy three black dresses off the rack for my three bridesmaids that would be re-wearable. Since one of my bridesmaids was pregnant, we decided to wait until early January. Once she had her adorable little girl, Maggie, she wanted a few weeks to recover and then we could go shopping.
We met at Oak Tree in Bloomingdale’s for lunch. Beforehand, I checked out J. Crew. They don’t keep their celebrations line in the store and didn’t have any cocktail dresses either. Earlier in the week, I visited BCBG and found nothing that would work. Two stores were already crossed off the list!
After lunch, we hit up Bloomingdale’s. While we found a few possibilities, but ultimately, this season’s short hem line severely limited our options. I wanted the dress to be either tea length or floor length because my dress is so formal.
Our second stop was Black House White Market but we totally struck out. Our final stop of the day was Ann Taylor. The Celebrations Collection is amazing!
Everyone loved this dress. It is universally flattering as V necks with wide strap dresses are on most girls. I also like that you can see their red shoe.
The Long Strapless dress. It looked great on 2 maids but terrible on one. Who wants an unhappy bridesmaid? Once they tried it on, I was pretty set that I wanted a floor length gown to match with the formality of my dress.
At this point, we weren’t sure what to do. We left, looked at Nordstrom, and then called it a day. When I went home, I checked out Ann Taylor’s website and realized that there was another dress— the Christine Long!
Christine Long- The pearls and bun make the dress look a little prudish. I called up B. and asked her if she could go back to the store to try it on for all of us.
This is it! Christina Long is very chic and will look perfect for our formal evening. Other details to keep in mind…
The dresses come with a built in sash. Since I don’t want them to be cookie cutter, I’m going to have them each tie the sash a different way. One maid loves this bow. Another plans to wrap it and tie for a minimalist look.
I also think a brooch in the middle of the sash is a great way to add some bling. I’m going to hold off on purchasing the brooches until I purchase their bridesmaid jewelry.
Another great detail– the ruby red Nine West shoes! Very sassy and makes the dress less bridesmaid-y yet just as formal.
Honey Bee Weddings 