Tuesday, December 21, 2010

You'll Wear it Again?

Joselyn Vaughn loves looking through fashion magazines and seeing all the outfits she wouldn’t be caught dead in and a few that she really wishes she could afford. Luckily her characters can wear them.

“You’ll be able to wear it again.”

Isn’t that the biggest lie you’ve ever heard? Who wears their bridesmaid dresses again—no matter how flattering they are?

Horror stories abound of awful costumes women will don for their sisters, aunts, nieces, cousins and good friends. I was lucky enough to have two flattering dresses for bridesmaid apparel.

One was a knee length navy blue satin with pink and white flowers for an outdoor wedding. The pattern was a simple bodice and A-line skirt and flattering for all involved. It really had the possibility of being worn again for the proper occasion. However my husband and I aren’t the type to go to fancy restaurants or parties. A fancy evening out for us involves food that doesn’t come wrapped in paper and by that I mean the Chinese buffet.



The second dress was a two piece in shimmery yellow. A sleeveless top with princess seams and pearl buttons down the back. The skirt was a fuller A-line with a light petticoat underneath to give it shape. The color could have been problematic, but the August wedding meant all seven bridesmaids were well-tanned and looked wonderful.

While this one seems more likely not to be worn again, I have, in fact, worn it twice more—for dress up days at the library. (Before kids, I was the reference librarian at our local library.) One Halloween, the entire reference staff dressed up as pageant winners, complete with ribbon sashes. I was ‘Miss Reference,’ another was ‘Miss Information’ and the last was ‘Miss Anthrope.’ We got a lot of chuckles from patrons and got to wear tiaras all day. What could be better?

I wore the yellow dress again for something similar. I tried to wear the blue dress for one of these occasions, but it had shrunk and I could no longer zip it. Unfortunately, the yellow dress has suffered a similar fate and shrunk while hanging in the closet.

I keep the dresses, though I doubt I will ever really wear them again. My daughters may have some fun with dress up in the future. There are so many great memories with each one of the weddings and the friends involved.

Have you worn a bridesmaid dress again? What was the occasion?


Joselyn Vaughn writes contemporary romances for Avalon Books. Her latest book, Courting Sparks, was released in December 2010. For more information, visit her website at http://joselynvaughn.com or find her on Facebook.

8 comments:

Laineshots said...

Nope, I've never re-worn a bridesmaid's dress. I also haven't re-worn my "mother of the groom" dress. I do see a trend, now, of brides telling their bridesmaids what color to wear, and leaving each girl to choose a style that flatters her. I hope it grows in popularity.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

The only bridesmaid dresses I've re-worn were from my sister's and sister in law's weddings--my sister in law said just for everyone to wear a black dress (easy!) and I was my sister's only attendant and just wore an evening dress. :)

Traditional bridesmaids' dresses? No way!

Joselyn Vaughn said...

I think the pick a color trend is good. Even if you don't wear the dress again, you at least have a style that looked good.

Joselyn Vaughn said...

I forgot - I'm also sharing holiday cookie recipes on my blog. Http://joselynvaughn.blogspot.com.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Mary Ricksen said...

Never had to worry about a dress for being a bridesmaid, I never was one!
But I am with you on the big nite out thing. If it ain't McDonald's it's a thrill!

Maryannwrites said...

The only wedding attendant outfit I was ever able to wear twice was a suit I wore to be the "Best Man" at a good friend's wedding. LOL He did not have anyone to stand up for him and I was honored to be his witness. He was a writer, too, and we got very creative with the whole thing. I wore a suit and fedora and did all the typical best-man things like offer the toast, etc. It was a small wedding at a courthouse and we went to a nice restaurant for a dinner afterward with just a few very close friends. Thanks for bringing back a sweet memory.

Joselyn Vaughn said...

I think small weddings are great! You get to enjoy the guests. Our wedding was in the middle of a blizzard and people were in a hurry to go, so we really didn't get to celebrate with everyone.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

I've been a bridesmaid three times. The dress I wore for my sister's wedding became my prom dress, I shortened the skirt of the suit I wore for my best friend's wedding and wore that a couple of times to other weddings, and the last dress was so ugly I didn't even want to wear it to the wedding that it was meant for!

My own wedding? No attendants - we eloped :)