Bridesmaid Attire Different Cities

woodsje18

What is the best advice for finding matching bridesmaids dresses if all the bridesmaids live in different parts of the U.S.?

manateehugger

Pick a designer that is carried in a lot of salons nationwide. Alfred Angelo, Dessy Group, Mori Lee, Jasmine, David's Bridal, etc.

erinlin25

Ditto.... or pick a color and say find a dress in this color.

missdelilah

If you pick a specific dress in a specific color, you might want to make sure the dresses are placed as a single order, as the color can vary slightly between dye lots. It depends on how fussy you are. Loads of salons will set you up with an online ordering portal, and you can have your ladies try on the dress anywhere that carries it, then come back and order it through the boutique you've chosen. Bridesmaids dresses often take a couple of months to make, and after that point, the shop can ship the dresses out to your BMs regardless of where they are.

MandyMost

When my friend did this, she found a designer that was carried pretty widely, and even checked to make sure it was carried in bridal shops in all of our cities. We could each go try on the dresses and get measured. She then ordered them all at the same shop she bought her gown, because she got a discount that way. When they came in, she picked them up and shipped them to each of us. We could then get them altered to fit anywhere we wanted.

You could also just have everyone order their own dress at whatever store they try it on at. 

manateehugger

missdelilah said:

If you pick a specific dress in a specific color, you might want to make sure the dresses are placed as a single order, as the color can vary slightly between dye lots. It depends on how fussy you are. Loads of salons will set you up with an online ordering portal, and you can have your ladies try on the dress anywhere that carries it, then come back and order it through the boutique you've chosen. Bridesmaids dresses often take a couple of months to make, and after that point, the shop can ship the dresses out to your BMs regardless of where they are.

Dye lots are largely a thing of the past. Dyes are now computer mixed. Any differences with be negilible. Salons perpetuate the dye lot myth because they want to scare brides into making their BMs all order from them.

missdelilah

manateehugger said:

missdelilah said:

If you pick a specific dress in a specific color, you might want to make sure the dresses are placed as a single order, as the color can vary slightly between dye lots. It depends on how fussy you are. Loads of salons will set you up with an online ordering portal, and you can have your ladies try on the dress anywhere that carries it, then come back and order it through the boutique you've chosen. Bridesmaids dresses often take a couple of months to make, and after that point, the shop can ship the dresses out to your BMs regardless of where they are.

Dye lots are largely a thing of the past. Dyes are now computer mixed. Any differences with be negilible. Salons perpetuate the dye lot myth because they want to scare brides into making their BMs all order from them.

Really?  I was told this by both salons and manufacturers.  

manateehugger

missdelilah said:

manateehugger said:

missdelilah said:

If you pick a specific dress in a specific color, you might want to make sure the dresses are placed as a single order, as the color can vary slightly between dye lots. It depends on how fussy you are. Loads of salons will set you up with an online ordering portal, and you can have your ladies try on the dress anywhere that carries it, then come back and order it through the boutique you've chosen. Bridesmaids dresses often take a couple of months to make, and after that point, the shop can ship the dresses out to your BMs regardless of where they are.

Dye lots are largely a thing of the past. Dyes are now computer mixed. Any differences with be negilible. Salons perpetuate the dye lot myth because they want to scare brides into making their BMs all order from them.

Really?  I was told this by both salons and manufacturers.  

It may depend on the manufacturer, but I'd be shocked that any major BM dress designer doesn't computer mix. Besides, you could order all from the same salon and the same time, and the dye lot still may not be the same if the manufacturer ordered it from a different factory or happened to change dye lots in the middle of your bridesmaid dresses.

Will it be 100% perfect? Maybe not. Will it be noticeable? Nope. 

lurkergirl

This is my situation too.  One of them is even out of the country!  She did try on a dress and get measured while she was here over the summer, but ultimately it was easier on all of us for me to just pick a color palette and let them go with that.  My southern family grumbled a bit because it isn't traditional, but they got over it. 

atlastmrsg

Pick something useful and wearable from a national retailer, like cocktail dresses from Nordstrom, J Crew, Banana Republic, etc.  They may even have a store in their city.

You don't have to do the bridesmaid-y bridesmaid dress.