Bridesmaids Dress HELP

SoonToBeSweet

I just posted this in attire, but I figured you all have had such great advice so far, maybe you could help me out?

We started dress shopping, but... I have one maid in England, one in Arizona and one in Virginia. Plus they are all different body types.  Since I am selecting black dresses, I figured it would be easy to tell them to select a black tea length dress of their choosing so they are all different styles, but do I need to have them pick the same fabric so it won't look strange? My dress is silk so should they be in silk? THANKSSSS!!!!

ahuette

It just depends on what look you're going for.  I let my BMs all pick their own dresses as long as it fix the requirements - purple, floor length from DB.  I picked a specific designer as I didn't want the color to be off.  But black is black - for the most part - so maybe with black designer wouldn't matter. 

I vote -  let them pick their own dresses, espeically if they are different sizes and body types.

amandasw

This is tough - mostly because I think that black can look really different in different fabrics.  For that reason I'm really tempted to say that you should tell them a fabric.  Doesn't have to be silk, by the way, even if your dress is. 

One idea would be for you to go to the fabric store and just get swatches of something and mail it out.  That way, they have something in hand to go looking around and it doesn't have to be identical, just similar in sheen/weight/etc.  I would suggest something like this rather than saying a type of fabric because it's more about how it looks than what it's called (and "light-weight cotton" can mean different things to different people).

Tygirljojo

I agree with Amanda and her idea of sending them fabric swatches. 

whatchamahu

I did a similar thing, let each bridesmaid pick their own black tea-length dress. But, I did specify the fabric. I had a friend get married and two of the girls had a different material but in the same color. It looked fine in person, but in pictures (due to the flash) two of the dresses looked like a completely different color. I guess that their fabric was just more reflective or something, but if you are worried about them all looking the same in pics I would specify. IMO.

melissa82

I would pick a fabric. It doesn't have to be silk just because your dress is, though. I would just go more toward the season--e.g., satin might be too heavy if you're having a summer wedding.

You could also see which designers are available in both the US and UK, and just tell them to order a black dress in [insert fabric here] from that designer. That way you know for sure the blacks will match. (Or you could have the UK girl order from a shop here that ships internationally, too...not sure if the shipping makes that too expensive.)

SoonToBeSweet

thanks for the good advice as always!