Why are all bridesmaid dresses sleeveless?

So um, Amy's getting married in August. August 6th, to be exact. And Sara and I are her bridesmaids. Amy is family, one of my oldest and dearest friends, a true Doda to Malka. She was my "Mayberry;" the friend that cut across the neighbor's yard, came into your house through the sliding glass doors that were your dining room, and made a b-line for your fridge BEFORE saying "Hi, Mrs. A; Hi, Mr. A!" (she actaully said that, I'm not protecting the innocent here, this is a direct quote). The friend that I don't have to hide a SINGLE THING from. I can TRULY just be me with Amy.

So, I am prepared to do the UNthinkable. Because I love Amy as if she were my own sister.

I am going to wear....










a DRESS.

And not JUST a dress.

A Bridesmaid Dress. BUT, yet again, here is another reason why I love Amy. She told Sara and I that her colors were blue, and that was the only restriction. Because it "matched the boat." She is getting married on a boat. In August. It will be pretty awesome, actually. So Amy gave Sara and I free reign. Sara's pretty keen on "kobalt blue velvet." Since I've never been a bridesmaid before, I said, Sure! I'm game, I trust Sara to know the right thing to do here. Now I really don't HAVE to wear a dress, but Amy let the word slip out a few times, and well, here's hoping that you only get married once, right? So I'll be looking for a Kobalt Blue Dress.

Now, Sara wants to go shopping at "the Century," and don't get me wrong, I LOVE that place, but their plus size selection is, well, limited. So I started looking at places that specialized in these types of clothing devices. I can sum it up in ONE word: sleeveless.

Um, HELLO! I have Eastern European Jewish arms - I don't "do" sleeveless.

So here's where you, the lovely internets come in. I need help in finding a decently priced, kobalt blue dress that would look nice on me. It's just all a bit too much to look for, since I generally have NO idea where to start.