There's some debate on the re-wearability factor of a bridesmaid dress. Most BMs don't end up wearing their dress again, and I'd hate to ask my BMs to spend too much money on something they're going to wear once. On the other hand, what if going for re-wearability means sacrificing aesthetics?
Let's look at some contemporary contenders for the versatile BM outfit:
- The Little Black Dress. Every lady has one or needs one in their closet, and there are so many ways to dress one up or down. No one looks bad in a LBD. While I love the general idea, I'm reluctant to go with this because potential-MIL is a little superstitious and will say it's bad luck to wear black to a wedding, and WTH, your bridesmaids are wearing black? Hell no. I'll give this one up for peace with the MIL.
But look how nice it is when the accessories pop from the black!!
- Convertible dresses. Personally, I think it's a very nifty idea to be able to wear the same piece of fabric 10+ different ways, and it's a great balance of variety and uniformity. Plus, I think this is a project my mom could whip up inexpensively in not too much time because she's sewn samples of these before for a local designer. But a lot of reviews of these dresses mention that these dresses don't look great on bustier ladies, and they say it's difficult if not downright impossible to wear a bra with most of the styles. That's pretty disappointing, and I'd hate to have to tell my BMs they can't wear a bra.
But they look uniform and pretty, no? Except for maybe the completely strapless on the left over there.
- Two-piece outfits. I'm not a fan of the ones closer to formal, traditional two-piece dresses (example). However, what I do love is the version with a pencil skirt paired with a frilly top and maybe a colorful sash, like pictured below:
This is probably better suited for something closer to the casual side of the spectrum, but I'm sure you can dress up the pencil skirt/frilly top combo to fit a more elegant, formal wedding.
