STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Collette · Chanel

Cost of Bridesmaids Dresses

monica · Kenneth Cole

i think $230 is a bit much to pay (imo) and maybe that's b/c i'm saving for a house..

but of course, everything is relative and i would pay it if one of my girls were getting married.

i was a BM last year and our dresses were from david's bridal (i'm sure you've already looked there)

what color are you looking for?

Collette · Chanel

I'm looking for a deep burgandy color. Bordeaux, something ike that. We tried David's Bridal, House Of Brides that route and first of alll the services completely sucks there and all the dresses looked really cheaply made. Was V disappointed. This is becoming harder then finding my wedding dress.

Elle · Hermes

Have you checked out www.theknot.com ? They have a large selection and you can search for dresses in different price ranges, the lowest is $150 or less. Here are some dresses and websites you might be interested in, all in that $150 or less category:

www.alvinavalenta.com

www.davinci-bridal.com

www.davidsbridal.com

www.jessicamcclintock.com

www.jimhjelmoccasions.com

www.watters.com

www.rayliadesigns.com

www.edenbridals.com

www.venusbridal.com

www.marysbridal.com

www.billlevkoff.com

www.alfredangelobridal.com

www.impressionbridal.com

www.morilee.com

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

have you given jcrew a look? I'm most likely getting my moh dress from them, and their dresses are 100% silk and the styles are nice. The prices are a little lower than $200 (for some, others are more expensive), but the quality is good.

$180

ETA: I think asking them to spend +$200 is a little too much. Don't forget they have to get shoes, too. That's probably another $50. Also, they might have to kick in for the shower, bachelorette, etc. Just something to think about. I'm sure you're sensitive to that, though.

-- Edited by Starstuff at 13:58, 2005-02-02

DC Shopper · Dooney & Bourke

I think that $230 is pretty expensive, but my bms and I are pretty young, a few are in school, and a few are getting married soon after me. My bm dresses cost about $150 with a discount code from J Crew. You might want to look there, but it may be too informal for you. I really like these, and they are all under $200 I think, although none come in burgandy:

I had a hard time deciding on dresses, too, because my favorites (from thread) were almost $300. Have you looked at Watters Brides? They have reasonable dresses and they are very cute. They run maybe 150-230, but if you can buy them at the same place you got your dress they should give you at least a 10% discount.

Also consider ordering them from netbride.com. I'm in a friend's wedding and the Jim Hjelm dress she picked out was $200 at the bridal shop. Another bm found the same dress at netbride for like $130 - a hell of a lot cheaper!

LA Gal · Kenneth Cole

I think $230 might be too much for some and ok for others - it just depends on your you and your bridesmaids.

If you're really worried about cost and can afford to, you could always pay for the dresses. Or offer to split the cost somehow.

My bridesmaids wore Bill Levkoff dresses, which I found to be in the middle range of bridesmaid dresses (I think they were just under or around $200) - but the material was nice and they looked well made.

www.billlevkoff.com

smash · Dooney & Bourke

my bridesmaid dresses are by Siri - www.siriinc.com - and they are $200, but the shop i ordered them from gave us a 10% discount since we ordered all of the dresses from there. so they ended up being $180.

i think you could be upfront with your bridesmaids and ask them what they can pay. if you find a dress that you have your heart set on but it is more than your bridesmaids can or want to pay, then you could always pay the difference. if they are willing to pay $150 each, max, then if you have your heart set on the dress that is $230, you could pay the extra $80 for each dress.... just a thought.

JoceyBaby23 · Gucci

I dont think I would pay more than $150-160 for a bridesmaid dress.. Please have sympathy on them.. They are required to pay for some many other things for you! I think anything over $200 is a little unreasonable, unless your girls are independently wealthy!

nyc_shopgirl · Dooney & Bourke

I agree $230 is a bit too much too pay. Most of the time the girls will not be wearing this dress again so it is pretty steep for a one time wear. Look at designers and see if RKbridal.com bridesave.com or netbride.com can order them you can save a lot of money that way.

My future sister in law had to pay $400+ for a bridesmaid dress for her cousin's wedding and that was discounted from $900 now THAT is VERY unreasonable

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

I would pay it if I really liked it and I could DEFINITELY wear it again. That being said. If you find a dress that you really like get the style number and request a quote from netbride.com. I did that with the wedding dress that I love (just for fun of course) and the quote was only $418!!! You may be able to get what you want for a steal. Everyone wins!!

Kenneth Cole

I don't think $230.00 is too much money, come on, that is low to average!!! I mean, they are part of the wedding.

My brides maids are paying $450.00 for their dress!!! which isn't bad, at all!!!

kenzie · Chanel

I think that $230 is a little steep. I wouldn't really want to pay more than $150 for a bridesmaid dress.

e_doli · Dooney & Bourke

it depends on the financial situation of the bridesmaids, so i would ask them what they are willing to pay.

IMO, $230 is a lot to ask them to pay for a dress. the costs really add up when you consider shoes, shower, bachelorette, gifts ...

watters has less expensive options, jcrew too. depending on the formality of the wedding, you could also check out regular stores (gap, banana). for my friend's wedding, we ended up finding the perfect dresses at gap (and on sale for $29.99 -- it was a beach wedding so it was casual).

kenzie · Chanel

quote:
Originally posted by: m
"I don't think $230.00 is too much money, come on, that is low to average!!! I mean, they are part of the wedding. My brides maids are paying $450.00 for their dress!!! which isn't bad, at all!!!"

Low to average is very relative. For me, given that I am saving for a car, a house and grad school, $230 is not low to average (it may be in the grand scheme of things, but that's not reality for 'average' people). I know many people my age that are not in the position at all to spend that much money on a bridesmaid dress (especially considering all of the other costs that bridesmaids incur for a day that is all about someone else). Unless all of your friends have money trees growing in their backyards, I think it's good to ask them what they can afford to pay and do your best to stay within that budget.

jestillman · Kenneth Cole

quote:
Originally posted by: m
"I don't think $230.00 is too much money, come on, that is low to average!!! I mean, they are part of the wedding. My brides maids are paying $450.00 for their dress!!! which isn't bad, at all!!!"

if someone asked me to pay that much for a dress i would wear once i would say thanks, find another bridesmaid! Or at the very least not expect a gift!

Elle · Hermes

I would never in a million years spend $450 on a bridesmaid dress, nor would I ask anyone I love to do so. There are plenty of gorgeous dresses for less than $250, many under $150 actually. I plan on trying to stay as close to the $150 mark as possible, and will probably end up paying anything in excess of $100 myself.

-- Edited by LMonet at 16:57, 2005-02-11

Alikat · Kate Spade

I agree that you should ask your bridesmaids what they are comfortable paying... maybe if you can find a dress that they could wear again, they might be willing to spend a bit more. Though I'd never pay more than $250 for a dress.

My friend wore a dress from Aria http://www.ariadress.com/

She absolutely loved it. They are all around $200, all of them come in silk and there are tons of color options.

lsubatgirl · Gucci

I would ask for a price range everyone is comfortable with and then shop around. You might be able to find a copy dress for less or even the pricer one online for less like others suggest.

I think my limit will be around $150-175 for my bm dresses when that time comes.

Andrea Julia · Coach

I think that if you are going to pick bridesmaids dresses that are more than, say $200, you should help pay for them. Of course, this amount is all relative to the financial situations of your bridesmaids. I think that anyone would be disillusioned to expect to spend less than $150 on a bridesmaid dress (student, entry-level worker, whatever), but I think that if all your friends make tons of money, the cutoff amount before you pay for the dress yourself can be higher than $200.