Wednesday, March 21, 2007

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.

14 comments:

Robin said...

You're a true friend! ;)

Me said...

I'll happily wear dresses/makeup etc, but I'm afraid my sleeveless days are a few years behind me now. And I have never, and will never, do strapless. Maybe finding a nice wrap or shawl to go with your dress could help you feel more comfortable? How about getting that sewing machine of yours out?

Anonymous said...

Since I am in my money mindfulness challenge and not buying things on the Internet for myself, I am delighted to seek out possible options for your consideration!

There's a royal and a navy option with these, but not in velvet:
http://www.greatformalz.com/product/30COPRB70531
http://www.greatformalz.com/product/30CO4015

This is probably too light of a blue, but pretty and inexpensive:
http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?GrpTyp=SIZ&ItemID=10c828a&RefPage=Products&StoreRegNo=&catalog_base=&firstpage=&CmCatId=EXTERNAL|MP|40057|40037&cmOrigID=112D57E&cmPosID=1

This is a dark blue called "marine" by the designer:
http://ullapopken.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_71212
That site also had 2 velvet dresses, but one was more of a teal and the other was black.

I think this is the prettiest one I've seen so far, and it comes in navy and is on sale:
http://www.onestopplus.com/clothing/Candlelight-and-Champagne-Georgette-2-pc-jacket-dress-Solids.aspx?PfId=52388&DeptId=11586&ProductTypeId=1&PurchaseType=0

Finally, because I must stop myself before I go completely overboard, here's a daring but beautiful deep blue velvet option:
http://www.curvety.com/P/TESSA-VELVET-GOWN-IN-OCEAN-BLUE(283).aspx

Good luck!

Just a trumpet player said...

Have you tried Alfred Angelo ? They do have many pretty dresses with sleeves...

And I, too, won't "do" sleeveless; however tying a matching shawl around your arms and down your back can also do wonders...

Targetgirl said...

I also like the shawl idea. And I also noticed that almost all bridesmaid dresses are sleeveless. What the heck? The only problem with the shawl is that you may want to ditch it when dancing and whatnot (you know they can get kind of annoying) and then you are left with what you were trying to avoid in the first place.

I have no assvice on where to go, but I do want to wish you luck finding what you need. Also, lucky duck that you get to be in a wedding on a boat! In August! That will be FUN.

Anonymous said...

embrace your fabulous arms!!!!

All of you is beautiful.

But on point- what IS up with all of the sleeveless action going on in dresswear? You should at least have options!

Dillards online has some nice things (& are not as $$$$ as a Macy's or Bloomies would be.)
xo

Gus and Clay's Mama said...

I second the recommendation for Alfred Angelo (they even have cobalt blue, although I don't know about velvet though . . .)

~M said...

Have you tried David's Bridal? They have a great plus sized section.

~M said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I love shopping with other people's money!

http://www.igigi.com/shop/index.cfm?currentpage=1&fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=91&fromcat=0&disptype=5

S said...

Shell-

David's might do well-they actually have mix and match seperates (skirt and top) and they DO have sleeved options...

Seriously, for our Saturday date we should just go shopping here in Jersey......can you say "NO SALES TAX ON CLOTHING AND SHOES"???

I know you can...

:)

S said...

Oh, yeah, one more thing.....

Velvet in August might not be the best option, since you'll sweat your asses off (it IS summer, after all)....

Just a thought.

PS-David's has a great selection (I'm on the website now)-PLUS they have shrugs and wraps that you can wear over the dress or seperates that look like they're part of the dress......

Oooh, I LOVE to shop!

Anonymous said...

I am a plus-sized gal and found a nice bridesmaid-ish dress at Nordstrum's website. Worth a try?

Jessica said...

I want to cry that I can't wear short sleeves in the 2 weddings I'm in. It's so freakin dumb. They only make dresses for skinny little things. Anyway I totally hear ya on this one!