Bridesmaid gowns restyled as sleek and rewearable
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
Bridesmaids' dresses long have been the Rodney Dangerfields of the fashion world: They get no respect.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
Not only that, they usually have no life. They are worn for a few hours, under stressful conditions, then given to Goodwill, or tossed into a box destined for the attic.
At Masako Formals in Kaka'ako, bride-to-be Caroline Yap tries on a wedding gown that is one of her seven choices. She and bridesmaids Kelina Isaacs, left, and Ruth Marie Wong have been friends since their elementary school days at St. Andrew's Priory. Yap is still undecided on her bridesmaids' gowns.
That's changing, however. Brides are getting practical about their choice of dresses for attendants. They're seeking dresses, or even separates, that won't cause stress for their bridesmaids and can even be worn again.
Designers say the way has been eased by improvements in dress styling because of technology that allows manufacturers to produce cleaner, stronger colors and better fabrics at lower prices.
Culture-watchers have also observed that with older wedding parties these days, it makes sense to have the bridesmaids dressed in more sophisticated outfits. No more frou-frou peach-chiffon confections.
However, brides interviewed for this story said it's still not easy.
There are often size issues (one bride said her bridesmaids range in size from 2 to 22). Geography is frequently a special factor for Hawai'i bridal parties, because members may live on the Mainland or overseas.
And then there's cost. Here, it's the custom for brides to pay for all of the bridesmaids' dresses, although on the Mainland, members of the wedding party pay for their own outfits.
Picking the dress
Several brides shared the lessons they've learned while shopping.
• Wendy Kawano, of Makiki, advises brides who are planning to use mail order or Internet sources to allow plenty of time for mistakes.
"You may need the option of returning things and finding something else," said the soon-to-be fashion-design graduate at Honolulu Community College, who is getting married in August.
When she ordered a bridesmaid's dress from a catalog one year in advance, she discovered on its arrival that it was too similar to her wedding gown.
"It was pale yellow, while my gown is ivory," Kawano said. "The styles were similar, too, so they competed with each other."
So she sent it back and took her bridesmaids shopping. At Cinnamon Girl, they found a simple sundress that can be worn again. It was easy to match with the flower girl's dress because of the signature mother-daughter Cinnamon Girl approach.
• Lauren Moriyama of Salt Lake, also getting married in August, used the Internet. Because her bridesmaids live in Maryland and California, she had them look up Cinnamon Girl's styles on the Web. They all agreed on a spaghetti-strap dress with a square neckline in deep red.
It was especially important to Moriyama that her bridesmaids like their dresses because one of them was in a wedding last year and hated her dress so much, she wanted to burn it.
• For Honolulu artist Angel Vardas, 27, "My bridesmaids' dresses were a nightmare. My first inclination was to say 'The color is pink. I want you to find whatever you want in pink.' That was the worst idea because it became a burden for them," she said.
In the end, they all went shopping together and found a skirt (at Cache) with a bustle in the back that echoed the silhouette of her wedding gown, and a pink top at Ohelo Road that was "creative and not standard."
Vardas said: "It's safer to compromise and pick out something for them because it's a lot of pressure on them trying to second-guess the bride."
• Julie Blue, 22, a University of Hawai'i fashion major, is allowing plenty of time to find the right dresses for her bridesmaids: She doesn't plan to wed until she graduates in another year or two.
Because she will get married on the beach, with a casual reception at her home, she is thinking of a nautical theme. She's been reading bridal magazines and perusing catalogs in her search for a navy-and-white strapless dress to flatter all of the wedding party's figures.
Expert advice
Elsie Fernandez, who teaches a class called "Custom Bridal" at Honolulu Community College and has her own private label, Elsie Designs, said Hawai'i brides prefer simple silhouettes. She said the average bride here has three to four bridesmaids, following one traditional guideline calling for one bridesmaid for every 100 guests.
Fernandez finds the most popular color choices for bridesmaids' dresses are black, cocoa brown, chartreuse and navy — regardless of the season.
She suggests her custom clients choose polyester crepe because it's washable. Another of her favorites: matte silk satin, also known as peau de soie. She advises against regular satin because it wrinkles easily and spots if it gets wet.
Fernandez said the bridesmaids should have someone knowledgeable about clothing measure their bust, waist, hips, length from waist to floor (wearing shoes of the same height that will be worn during the wedding), and arm length. That information should enable the bride, with help from trained salon staff, to figure out whether a dress will fit.
Mai-Scherelle, a Paris-trained fashion designer who teaches pattern making, does a lot of custom wedding gowns but said most brides choose ready-made dresses for bridesmaid — in simpler styles in light colors.
Designer Anne Namba said her bridal clients usually choose bridesmaids' dresses that are the same theme, color or style as the bride's gown, "but not all of the above." Most important, she said, is that all the gowns should have the same feel. "If the bride is having a simple, clean look then the bridesmaids should follow suit. It should all look cohesive."
