# Help me find bridesmaids dresses online? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 20, 2009, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141 "2009-03-20T09:54:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/21 "2009-03-21T02:50:00Z")
My daughter’s bridesmaids got theirs at David’s Bridal. We looked online, liked the options and then the girls went and were able to find what they wanted. My other daughter is maid of honor and her dress was right about $100, but they definitely had things on sale and online for under $100 along the same lines that you’re looking at. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/22 "2009-03-21T03:05:59Z")
Well, first I missed the edit window and then the board went down. Maybe this one will work. Anyway, was just adding that there are quite a few David’s Bridal’s in OH. Their website does show the dresses on models, too. Lots of choices under $100, but doubt you’ll find anything in the $50 range. Unless you want to all go shopping at consignment stores/Salvation Army and yes, I’m serious. Find the same shade and slightly different dresses and it could work. My younger daughter’s Girl Scout troop were hosting a Princess Dance and they had to be in gowns, so they all trucked down to a large Salvation Army in the area and came away with beautiful gowns for $10! My daughter liked hers so much, she’s wearing it to an upcoming prom. The gowns, like many, were probably only worn once and they were stylish and in excellent condition. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/23 "2009-03-21T10:49:14Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I found a site in China that will make the same dress for $70 with a turnaround of about 3 weeks, and research online seems to suggest that they aren’t a scam, I just worry that it’s some sort of horrible sweatshop or something. Though then another part of me, the really cynical side, says that the same sweatshop is probably making the ones the retailer sells, too… Don’t worry. A nice silk dress from a Chinese tailor in China will cost around $15-$25. It’s an okay living. I only make $100 a month and I do okay. Anyway, anyone doing custom work is almost certainly a small business, and you’d probably be making people’s lives better by ordering from them. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/24 "2009-03-21T16:16:38Z")
> [@sugar\_and\_spice](#): > > I kinda agree with you on the jersey knit. FWIW I look at a lot of wedding pictures, IMHO you can’t go wrong with simple A-line dress in a nice color. What’s most important is that the dress actually fits, and simple dresses are easy to alter a little here and there. Jersey knit can look great but if it doesn’t look great there’s not much you can do to fix it besides buy Spanx. It’s not an issue of the body under the dress not looking right, it’s just that… t-shirt material is way, way, way too casual for a the wedding. I mean a girl in a t-shirt material dress standing next to a guy in a tuxedo would look absurd. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/25 "2009-03-21T16:18:39Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Don’t worry. A nice silk dress from a Chinese tailor in China will cost around $15-$25. It’s an okay living. I only make $100 a month and I do okay. Anyway, anyone doing custom work is almost certainly a small business, and you’d probably be making people’s lives better by ordering from them. Really? Because that’s the biggest hangup we have about ordering the dresses from them… ---
**Author:** ![KittenKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kittenkat/32/306_2.png) [@KittenKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KittenKat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/26 "2009-03-21T19:14:48Z")
A jersey knit does not equate to t-shirt material. A jersey knit is just a plain, flat knit. It can be wool, cotton, silk, rayon, just about any fiber really. If you’re passing on a dress just because it’s described as jersey, you may be doing the dress a disservice. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/27 "2009-03-22T03:26:30Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Really? Because that’s the biggest hangup we have about ordering the dresses from them… Absolutely. My [qipao](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/h-DJqs2Et__Adhx3lHrOPQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ3W3NiRsdywjAE&feat=directlink) (I’m the blond in black and pink) cost me around $15.00 at a nice little independent tailor shop. Inexpensive labor does not always mean exploitative conditions. A person making $100.00 a month can live modestly with no problems. A person who makes $400.00 a month in a small city will be rolling in dough. More than that and you are in “my penthouse condo has a personal elevator” territory (at least, out here in the sticks.) Think about how much money they will get from your order… Anyway, I think the worst of the sweatshops have moved to countries where the labor is cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/28 "2009-03-22T03:41:27Z")
I like what my sister did. Pick a few swatches of color and the bridesmaids buy their own dresses that match that. Screw uniformity. The bridesmaids get to find something they look good in and maybe even wear again. Since they’ve all picked dresses that match your colors, they all match. I’ve never seen a nice bridesmaids dress. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/29 "2009-03-22T10:05:31Z")
I also like this one (in burgundy) [http://www.amazon.com/Satin-Halter-Crystal-Formal-Bridesmaid/dp/B0009PDO0Y/ref=cm\_cmu\_pg\_t](http://www.amazon.com/Satin-Halter-Crystal-Formal-Bridesmaid/dp/B0009PDO0Y/ref=cm_cmu_pg_t) And while some people don’t like the bridesmaids to match, I want mine to. It’s not like I have 12 of them or something. It isn’t going to look like some army of clones or anything. **even sven** the site that I want to buy my wedding dress from is the same place in China that the other dresses we were looking at are at… I don’t think it’s a “little independent tailor shop”… I get the feeling it’s a very large operation based on their website… still probably not a sweatshop? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/30 "2009-03-22T10:10:49Z")
(this is the other one we were looking at… [China source for $70](http://www.lightinthebox.com/Empire-Halter-Ankle-length-Satin-Prom---Evening-Dress--HSX216-_p24730.html) (they will make it in different fabrics) vs [US source for $175 in jersey knit](http://s7d4.scene7.com/ir/render/AlfredAngeloRender/6586-600?wid=340&obj=main&color=131,0,77&sharpen=1)…) ---
**Author:** ![vintageloveletter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@vintageloveletter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vintageloveletter)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/31 "2009-03-22T18:00:04Z")
I would try going to Filene’s Basement. They usually stock formal looking dresses, especially around prom season which is coming up. They always have nice cocktails dresses if you choose to go that route. Oh, and they also have special bridal events. Check their website for dates/locations. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/32 "2009-03-22T18:24:02Z")
**sven** -(you look cute, btw, and I LOVE the dresses!)-I thought they were called _cheong sahms_? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/33 "2009-03-23T04:25:12Z")
> [@vintageloveletter](#): > > I would try going to Filene’s Basement. They usually stock formal looking dresses, especially around prom season which is coming up. They always have nice cocktails dresses if you choose to go that route. > > Oh, and they also have special bridal events. Check their website for dates/locations. The main problem with that is timing. The wedding is coming up fast. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/34 "2009-03-23T18:35:41Z")
My daughter got her bridesmaid dresses from David’s Bridal as well. Her wedding’s coming up in October and now I need to find a dress! Best wishes, Opalcat! ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/35 "2009-03-23T19:02:25Z")
[http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10051&storeId=10052&categoryId=-49997251¤tPage=0&subCategory=-49998492|-49997957|-49997251&pageSize=9999](http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10051&storeId=10052&categoryId=-49997251¤tPage=0&subCategory=-49998492%7C-49997957%7C-49997251&pageSize=9999) I second David’s Bridal - they really have a pretty good selection of dresses under $100. Their clearance prices run around $40-60, but even their regular dresses on sale are often $80 or so (and will have more sizes available.- click the ‘sale’ link and all the dresses are marked down to $79) ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141/36 "2009-03-24T01:34:04Z")
I ordered my wedding dress from JC Penney’s. They didn’t have my size in stock, so they whipped out the little book with the sizing charts and color swatches and said they’d have it in 3-4 weeks. It actually took 12 days. And the saleslady gave me the sale price on it (25% off!), even though she couldn’t ring up the sale until the dress came in and the sale would probably be over by then. If you ordered something now, or even by the middle of next month, you’d have it in plenty of time for the wedding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-bridesmaids-dresses-online/490141.md?page=1)