With all the hype surrounding the always-a-bridesmaid movie “27 Dresses,” Q wondered one thing: Do bridesmaid dresses ever see the light of day again after the marathon day of “I do’s,” champagne toasts and dancing the electric slide?
We asked for stories of how readers reused their bridesmaid dresses, and they showed us that for some, these dresses no longer hang in the backs of closets for all eternity. They re-emerge at school dances, holiday parties, other weddings, even in foot races. More on that later.
Heather Feeney of St. Charles had a “cute little number with a white sequined top and black velvet skirt” that walked down the aisle not once, but twice.
Feeney, a six-time veteran bridesmaid, wore the outfit as a bridesmaid to her sister’s wedding in 1993, and again in 1996 for a friend’s quickie wedding. The second groom, a military man, had to unexpectedly leave for California.
“They totally pulled the wedding together in weeks and I told her I had a dress that might work. She loved it and was so thankful to cross that off her to-do list,” said Feeney.
Runaway bridesmaids
Arlington Heights resident Trisha Dean has been a bridesmaid three times. Three weddings. Three dresses. And she never had a chance to wear any again — until it was time for the Cross Country Challenge at Busse Woods about 8 years ago.
“We came up with the idea of wearing [our old dresses] in this muddy race so we could throw them out without regret,” Dean said of the handful of members of the Arlington Trotters Running Club.
Dean (above) donned a pink, hand-made dotted Swiss gown. “I was probably 10 pounds thinner in 1972 than in the photo, so I wore the dress backwards over a jogging bra and polypro top for the run.
“We cut them short so we could run in them. As we passed other runners we’d say, ‘Wedding party on your left!’ [The dresses] were definitely ready for the garbage at the end of the race,” she said.
Four times a charm
Talk about beginner’s luck. Megan Horsch of Orland Park was a first-time bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding last June — and struck gold with her strapless crimson chiffon dress.
“I loved the color, and the length of the dress made it wearable to other events,” Horsch said.
“I have managed to wear it to three other weddings. It worked out perfectly for me because these brides were from different groups of friends: college roommate, family friend, grade-school friend and cousin.
“My parents were the only ones to see me four times at these four weddings — in the same bridesmaid dress — within five months.”
Next up: maid of honor for a new wedding. All Horsch knows about the dress, so far, is that it’s an indigo tea-length V-neck dress with rouching around the waist. “I missed the day that it was picked out. I never had the chance to try it on.”
Q hopes for another four-time winner.
All in the family
Twins Christina Martinez and Katrina Naber not only look identical but also share a taste in fashion.
When Katrina served as maid of honor at Christina’s July wedding, she knew her dress would soon move north. After the wedding, the bride wore it on her cruise honeymoon — to Alaska (right).
“The dress was purchased through the Internet and was pretty much a joint effort by the girls,” said their mother, Michele Naber of Roselle. “There were a lot of e-mails flying. [The twins wanted] an empire waist, some sort of straps, and the bride wanted to coordinate with the pink flowers in her gown.”
Oh, and, Mom has her eye on the dress too.
“I wear the same size as the girls — a little shorter but just as wide — and plan to borrow the bridesmaid dress if I ever need it,” said Michele.
Two for one
After the bride, the “Transformer dress” took center stage for Rachel Jordan at her sister’s wedding in 1992. “It is the perfect poufy purple velvet and shiny taffeta dress for a 1990s wedding. … The taffeta skirt was Velcroed around the waist. After the ceremony, all of us bridesmaids took off the ‘pouf’ to reveal a very nice velvet cocktail dress.” Jordan, of Palatine, wore the dress, sans pouf, to various college formals. “Does anyone make anything like this anymore? They should!”
Tuxedo function
Heather Smith of Naperville loved the black tuxedo dress she wore 9 years ago to her mom and stepfather’s wedding. “I envisioned myself wearing it to all sorts of fancy events. Of course, the problem was I was only 14.”
Turns out she was asked to a homecoming dance when she was a high school freshman. She shopped for dresses, “but they all paled in comparison to the perfect dress that already hung in my closet.”
Double-duty dresses
Betty Fridlund of River Forest saved her two yellow bridesmaid dresses and used them from time to time.
One memorable event was when she and her sister-in-law, who was similar in size, wore the dresses as guests at a cousin’s wedding in the mid-1950s.
Where are the dresses now? One went to a costume designer, and the other to her niece’s high school for theater.
We’re sure they still make quite an entrance.
Sensory overload
Amy Hohulin of Glen Ellyn wore her dress before the big day (“with the bride’s approval”). “The skirt had so many thick layers that the sales clerk must have missed the inventory sensor. I discovered it when I sat on it during dinner.”
That wasn’t the last bridesmaid dress Hohulin recycled. “My daughter wanted to be a penguin for Halloween this year. She wore the skirt upside down (tighter waist at the ankles). I was thrilled that my $150 dress did not go to waste!”
For a friend
Tammy Smit’s bridesmaid dress started life in a competition.
Smit, of Frankfort, sported a “pretty, big hoop-skirted gown” for a 1982 college pageant. Her friend was to be married a few days later when tragedy struck. The bride’s sister, the maid of honor, was the victim of a fatal hit and run.
Smit remembers: “At the last minute my friend asked me to take her sister’s place and stand up beside her. All I had on hand to wear was that hoop-skirted pageant dress. I was deeply honored.”
Of course, fashion takes an appropriate back seat when a wedding goes forward under tragic circumstances.
“That was the saddest wedding I have ever been a part of,” Smit said, “and I can guarantee not a person in that little church gave a second thought to what anybody was wearing.”
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Help ’em out here, brides-to-be
Brides always say “you can wear it again” when they select bridesmaid dresses. These brides and brides-to-be offer their advice for a sure-fire selection.
Listen up. Meghan Soens of Palatine tuned in to her bridesmaids’ opinions by making sure they each tried on the simple, tea-length black dress with white trim. “Even though my wedding was just 3 months ago, two have already worn it, another is wearing it to a wedding in the spring, and I borrowed one of the dresses to wear to a charity ball in April.”
Trendy turn. Although Jennifer Hall has never worn a bridesmaid dress more than once, she is determined to give better than she got. When Hall, a seven-time bridesmaid, takes her turn as bride this summer, she’s confident in her selection: “vintage blue” J. Crew dresses that are “affordable and cute.”
“One of my bridesmaids already said she’d wear it again,” she said.
Hall, of Chicago, recently donated an old bridesmaid dress to the Glass Slipper Project at a recent Gen Art/She Boutique event timed to the release of “27 Dresses.”
Simple pleasures. Abby Szklarek of South Bend said the brown strapless Nicole Miller cocktail dresses she chose for her bridesmaids “looked great on all the girls.” Her strategy: the socially mobile dress.
“[The dresses] are very simple and can be dressed up or down,” she said. The bridesmaids apparently thought so too. “I know one wore hers to a Christmas party, one wore to another wedding [as a guest] and the list goes on,” said Szklarek. “I wish I had one.”
OK, but it’s not as though Szklarek came away empty-handed. She did get the groom.
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Get that dress ready for a night out
Today’s bridesmaid dresses are nothing like the ostentatious outfits of the past. No putrid pink to match a Barbie house. No baby-blue floor-length gowns. Not only is the contemporary model eminently wearable, but also, with a little imagination, you and your dress can paint the town, well, anything but pink.
“There are so many changes in fabric and styling that make it so much more stylish,” said Brides magazine’s editor in chief, Millie Martini Bratten. “When you’re not wearing them with five other people, they can stand alone.” And stand out.
Now, if you want to get extra wear out of your dress, first things first. “It’s a matter of not wearing your hair up or carrying flowers.”
In that spirit, Martini Bratten shares her tips to take your dress from stand-by-your-friend fantastic to anywhere you want to take it.
* Appropriate venue. “A bridesmaid dress worn to a very formal wedding should go to a formal event. A cocktail dress to a cocktail event.”
* On the job. Dazzle the office by adding “a cardigan and nice pair of shoes.”
* Surf’s up. “With a sundress for a ‘destination’ beach wedding, put on a flat shoe” and head for the sand yourself.
* Personal flavor. “Style it more to your tastes. Add a shrug, and wear your hair the way you like,” rather than the lockstep march of the wedding party.
* New everything. “Change shoes and accessories and add an evening bag — and off you go.”
* Tailor-made. Take that long dress for alterations, and voila, debut your knee-length style.
— K.H.
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kharamis@tribune.com
IN HOME & GARDEN
Put those bridesmaid frocks to pretty use around the house.
