Bridal party dresses trend to vibrant colors
By Cathy Willoughby
Correspondent
Bright, jeweled tones, in fancy fabrics, highlight the latest in must-have dresses for the bridal party.
Area bridal shops are ready to showcase the newest ways to outfit the attendants, from the flower girls to the mother of the bride (or groom).
For the bridesmaids, new, hot, intense color is appearing on the dresses and sample fabrics arriving for the upcoming seasons.
“Strong, intense colors, what I would call the jewel tones,” said Chris Distel, owner of Lace & Elegance, which has locations at 2044 S. SR 53 in Tiffin and at 15273 US 224 in Findlay.
“They are all looking for something different than a prior wedding they have seen or been to,” she said of today’s brides. “They are all more intense, stronger colors than in the past. And we are getting more requests for short dresses, and the single shoulder style.”
There always is a number of people who are looking to outfit their bridesmaids in dresses they could use again.
“But not every wedding is trying to pick something they can use again,” Distel said.
In most cases, the bridesmaids are more involved in the selection of the dress they will wear, Distel said.
“The bride may still make the final decision, but she will take input from the girls,” she said. “The color will be the same, but there may be a mixing of style, letting the girls have the say so that they can wear something that is more flattering on them.”
Distel also has seen many dresses in prints, whether bold florals or smaller accents on a solid color.
“Usually a basic color, two-color prints, like black and white, or perhaps jade green and white, but not so much with the multicolor,” she said.
For junior bridesmaids who wish to wear something that reflects the same style and color of the bridesmaid dresses, mini-versions of those dresses often are available.
“They might have straps, matching jackets and sleeves,” Distel said. “In the Tiffin store, we have the original versions of the flower girl dresses, the poofy dress for the little ones.”
The bride has the control, Distel said, and although there are some who will tell their attendants to “pick any dress they like in red,” brides more often are wary of giving their attendants too much freedom. Plus, due to the shading differences in colors, that suggestion works best with black.
Distel has been in the bridal business for 16 years now at the Tiffin location, and the third year in Findlay.
Some trends in bridal dresses, as with other fashions, come back from the past.
“When we started, the bubble hem was just coming in; it came and went,” she said. “It was a hit in the late ’80s, early ’90s, and now it’s back again.”
Materials have remained similar, Distel said.
“Satin, chiffon and taffeta. Satin and chiffon are almost neck-to-neck in terms of favorites. For the mothers, we also have jersey knits and crepes.”
Prices for the attendants’ dresses start at around $110, said Distel, and can run as high as $240.
“We carry different lines at both locations, so we have about 500 actual styles at both,“ Distel said. “So there are different colors, styles and prices for a selection.”
“We carry mother’s (dresses) at this location, we have over 400 mother’s styles in stock, so there is lots of selection for moms,” Distel said. “They can have the long dress, a full jacket, just depending on what they need.”
Mothers’ dresses range in price between $100 and $350.
“Sometimes, they want to match the brides, so they will be given a list of things they want them to wear,” she said. “They try to fit into that category, so we try to make every color available for the moms.”
To have the perfect dress ready for the wedding day, Distel recommends ordering dresses for brides three to four months before the date and, for the bridesmaids and other attendants, from two to four months ahead.
“That’s depending on the company, from the point of ordering to getting it in,” she said. “We like to have at least six weeks for alterations. Sometimes, people don’t realize how much time it takes to get something in or to get it altered.”
Rachel Breneman, owner of The Bridal Shoppe, 110 N. Sandusky Ave. in Upper Sandusky, said she has seen bridesmaids dresses of a shorter length than in years past.
“I have seen more of the shorter tea-length, cocktail-length during the last three years,” she said. “I’m also seeing a diversity of colors — fushsia, azures, bright greens. And more calls for them to be reasonably priced, which shows that they are more budget conscious, with the wedding parties smaller, with less people in them.”
Breneman is familiar with the trend of brides allowing attendants to choose their own dresses.
“Usually, they stick with the same brand, so the colors are true. If they are all from the same company, we can have them made from the same bolt of fabric,” she said. “It’s still popular to do because that allows the bridesmaid to pick out a dress that is good for her body, in a price range that is good for them, and that has usability for later.”
“That’s something that bridesmaids have always hoped would happen,” Breneman said, of having the ability to use the dress after the wedding. “But we don’t really dress up anymore, we don’t really need a dressy dress.”
For the flowergirls and junior bridesmaids, people are looking for something inexpensive, yet coordinating with the wedding party.
“The flowergirls may have a white dress with a wide sash to match the bridesmaids,” Breneman said, “but on a dress they can wear later. Some prefer a real fancy dress that coordinates with the wedding gown.”
“The junior bridesmaids are a little bit older than flowergirl age, and they want to be like the bridesmaids,” she added.