Bridesmaid gifts: tote or cosmetic bag ideas?

fallbride57 · January 2014

I have some ideas for the gifts I am going to give my bridesmaids, but need ideas for what to put them in. I was thinking either a cosmetic bag or some kind of tote? (The gifts would fit in a medium size cosmetic bag) I would rather spend more money on the stuff inside so I am looking for reasonably priced totes or cosmetic bags… any suggestions?

banana468 · January 2014

I think you need to go for what each BM likes uniquely. My own personal taste is that I can use cheap totes for a variety of things and I only use my one makeup bag so an additional one would be wasted.

Just remember, the important thing is that the gift is unique to the recipient.

logana1 · January 2014

If you're a coupon person, Joann Fabrics and Michael's have reasonably priced plain totes in many colors (Michael's more so than Joann's on colors). Pick them in their favorite colors and embellish them maybe? There's also many companies that do personalized ones, like 31, but those can get pricey.

antoto · January 2014

Zazzle has some cute totes and a bazillion different options.

I feel like totes are usually more useful. Most women already had a makeup bag.

KatWAG · January 2014

Surprisingly, I found my make up bag from West Elm. I think it was $15.

singinchick13 · January 2014

I actually saw some adorable little cosmetic bags at the dollar store the other day. My plan is to get something like that, or a tote, in a color or pattern each one likes and then use transfer paper to personalize them myself. This is a much cheaper option and you can use any graphic printed off your computer as long as the fabric you print on is a light enough color. My MOH and I were also talking about this for the bachelorette party (ie. "Team Bride") graphics on whatever piece of clothing the girls would like.

AddieCake · January 2014

singinchick13 said:

My MOH and I were also talking about this for the bachelorette party (ie. "Team Bride") graphics on whatever piece of clothing the girls would like.

Oh, please don't.

antoto · January 2014

AddieL73 said:

singinchick13 said:

My MOH and I were also talking about this for the bachelorette party (ie. "Team Bride") graphics on whatever piece of clothing the girls would like.

Oh, please don't.

Some people like that stuff, and as long as the bride/moh is buying them and not forcing them to buy it themselves then it is fine. It's personally not my thing either, but I think it's poor form to judge someone else for this.

AddieCake · January 2014

antoto said:

AddieL73 said:

singinchick13 said:

My MOH and I were also talking about this for the bachelorette party (ie. "Team Bride") graphics on whatever piece of clothing the girls would like.

Oh, please don't.

Some people like that stuff, and as long as the bride/moh is buying them and not forcing them to buy it themselves then it is fine. It's personally not my thing either, but I think it's poor form to judge someone else for this.

It's not fine if they don't want to wear it.

singinchick13 · January 2014

"whatever piece of clothing THEY like." This is voluntary and specific to each girl's preference, because let's face it, handing everyone those cheap plastic sashes to go out in is just plain tacky. It is also optional, and yes it was her idea she is very crafty and loves doing things like this. No one has to wear it if they don't want to. I didn't 'have' to wear a stupid sash that said 'flower girl' at FI's friend's bachelorette last year when I was pregnant(didn't even have to attend, though they wanted to include me), but I went along to support the bride. I absolutely do not expect people to do that for me.

ei34 · January 2014

I'd prefer a tote bag. I can never have enough. (I have one small makeup bag for my tiny makeup collection so I'm all set on that front.) I feel like a makeup bag is the kind of thing you need one of, whereas totes always come in handy. Just my opinion of course..

antoto · January 2014

AddieL73 said:

antoto said:

AddieL73 said:

singinchick13 said:

My MOH and I were also talking about this for the bachelorette party (ie. "Team Bride") graphics on whatever piece of clothing the girls would like.

Oh, please don't.

Some people like that stuff, and as long as the bride/moh is buying them and not forcing them to buy it themselves then it is fine. It's personally not my thing either, but I think it's poor form to judge someone else for this.

It's not fine if they don't want to wear it.

Agreed. I just didn't see where she said they didn't want to wear it! Lots of girls (particularly the younger ones tbh) love that stuff.

climbingsingle · January 2014

Lots of girls love that stuff? Seriously? If one of my friends told me I had to wear a Team Bride piece of clothing, I'd assume she was joking.

Anyway, I think a cosmetic bag is a great idea. Maybe include a GC to Sephora or something like that. That way your girls can get whatever they like.

antoto · January 2014

If lots of girls didn't like it there wouldn't be such a large market for it, would there?

AddieCake · January 2014

singinchick13 said:

"whatever piece of clothing THEY like." This is voluntary and specific to each girl's preference, because let's face it, handing everyone those cheap plastic sashes to go out in is just plain tacky. It is also optional, and yes it was her idea she is very crafty and loves doing things like this. No one has to wear it if they don't want to. I didn't 'have' to wear a stupid sash that said 'flower girl' at FI's friend's bachelorette last year when I was pregnant(didn't even have to attend, though they wanted to include me), but I went along to support the bride. I absolutely do not expect people to do that for me.

Yeah, but you're asking them to put "Team Bride" or something ON it, right? And not everyone uses those plastic sashes or other bachelorette party crap. You make it sound like that's the only other option, when people can, in fact, just go out w/o any of that stuff.

JennyColada · January 2014

antoto said:
If lots of girls didn't like it there wouldn't be such a large market for it, would there?

I think the only girls that like it are the brides.

And let's be real, lots of stupid shit sells like hot cakes. Haven't you ever watched late night TV?!

singinchick13 · January 2014

@AddieL23

No we were not going to ask them to do it, MOH was just going to let them know about her idea and anyone interested is welcome to participate. Those who don't want to absolutely are not expected to. We are all in our mid 20's and love doing stuff like this, a few years ago for my birthday we did something similar but pretty much just decorated some tank tops with fabric paint. And we've all done the birthday tiara out to the bar thing, it's fun to set yourself/your group apart. I'm also the first in our group to get married so they are all beyond excited and up for anything.

singinchick13 · January 2014

@AddieL73

****** sorry wrong number above

kmmssg · January 2014

Jennycolada said:

If lots of girls didn't like it there wouldn't be such a large market for it, would there?
I think the only girls that like it are the brides. And let's be real, lots of stupid shit sells like hot cakes. Haven't you ever watched late night TV?!

The bolded would include a large part of the wedding industry.

chibiyui · January 2014

kmmssg said:

Jennycolada said:

If lots of girls didn't like it there wouldn't be such a large market for it, would there?
I think the only girls that like it are the brides.

And let's be real, lots of stupid shit sells like hot cakes. Haven't you ever watched late night TV?!

The bolded would include a large part of the wedding industry.

Or The economy in general.

MrsChicGeek · January 2014

ArtsCow.com has awesome cosmetic/totes/various items that you can customize! ANd when you first sign up, they give you discount codes that allow you to get free things, you just have to pay for shipping. I plan on ordering my BP some things and customize them with pictures that are unique to each one of them.

artbyallie · January 2014

singinchick13 said:

@AddieL23

No we were not going to ask them to do it, MOH was just going to let them know about her idea and anyone interested is welcome to participate. Those who don't want to absolutely are not expected to. We are all in our mid 20's and love doing stuff like this, a few years ago for my birthday we did something similar but pretty much just decorated some tank tops with fabric paint. And we've all done the birthday tiara out to the bar thing, it's fun to set yourself/your group apart. I'm also the first in our group to get married so they are all beyond excited and up for anything.

The problem with that though is the peer pressure aspect. If you ask your friends if they want to do this, of course they're going to say the polite thing and go along with it. I probably would too, though I'd be cringing inside and throwing the stupid sash/crown/shirt/whatever away the minute I got home.

I mean, nobody wants to be the one party pooper who says it looks stupid, even if that's exactly what she's thinking.

singinchick13 · January 2014

I absolutely understand all of your reasoning, I just don't see what separates a bachelorette from any other outing if there is nothing to signify it. Maybe that's just my personal point of view, but I have worked as a server for many years and served countless bachelorette parties young and old and they are always wearing a fake sash, pins, little veil, beads with shot glasses attached, etc. Many even bring their own penis-shaped straws right into the bar to drink from. I'm not saying everyone wants to do this, but half the fun of it is letting people know the occasion. I suppose bar culture is not necessarily applicable to the politically correct way of approaching these sort of events, but from my experience that is most certainly the convention. Btw I should probably clarify that I am the more conservative one of the group, and a teeny little "team bride" somewhere on a corner of their clothing is very modest compared to what some of them would have us wear (think string bikinis on top of our bar clothes in the middle of winter). Nothing outrageous is being suggested whatsoever. And, as always, participation is voluntary.

AddieCake · January 2014

singinchick13 said:

I absolutely understand all of your reasoning, I just don't see what separates a bachelorette from any other outing if there is nothing to signify it. Maybe that's just my personal point of view, but I have worked as a server for many years and served countless bachelorette parties young and old and they are always wearing a fake sash, pins, little veil, beads with shot glasses attached, etc. Many even bring their own penis-shaped straws right into the bar to drink from. I'm not saying everyone wants to do this, but half the fun of it is letting people know the occasion. I suppose bar culture is not necessarily applicable to the politically correct way of approaching these sort of events, but from my experience that is most certainly the convention. Btw I should probably clarify that I am the more conservative one of the group, and a teeny little "team bride" somewhere on a corner of their clothing is very modest compared to what some of them would have us wear (think string bikinis on top of our bar clothes in the middle of winter). Nothing outrageous is being suggested whatsoever. And, as always, participation is voluntary.

You can let people know the occasion without everyone being labeled with team bride or the typical b party trappings, though. At my bachelorette, I, and i alone, wore a tank top that said bride and our drunken "She's getting married!" proclamations certainly let people know. You make it sound like labels or trappings are the only way to let people know it's a bachelorette. I, too, worked in a bar for several years, and trust me, it's always easy to tell, with or without the shirts or other junk. I'm not trying to rain on your parade or make a big issue out of this b/c it's pretty low on my list of things I get up in arms about. I just don't care for the labeling.

PrettyGirlLost · January 2014

singinchick13 said:

I absolutely understand all of your reasoning, I just don't see what separates a bachelorette from any other outing if there is nothing to signify it. Maybe that's just my personal point of view, but I have worked as a server for many years and served countless bachelorette parties young and old and they are always wearing a fake sash, pins, little veil, beads with shot glasses attached, etc. Many even bring their own penis-shaped straws right into the bar to drink from. I'm not saying everyone wants to do this, but half the fun of it is letting people know the occasion. I suppose bar culture is not necessarily applicable to the politically correct way of approaching these sort of events, but from my experience that is most certainly the convention. Btw I should probably clarify that I am the more conservative one of the group, and a teeny little "team bride" somewhere on a corner of their clothing is very modest compared to what some of them would have us wear (think string bikinis on top of our bar clothes in the middle of winter). Nothing outrageous is being suggested whatsoever. And, as always, participation is voluntary.

Why does a b-party need to stand out? Who cares if other ppl know you are all out for a b-party?

Every time I have been out and a b-party wearing sashes, flashing lights, and penises trots in, every pervert with a dearth of morals makes a bee line for the group. You might as well wear little tank tops with rhinestone targets on them.

AddieCake · January 2014

@ PrettyGirlLost

Just so you know, when we have the do-over fake bachelorette Knottie gtg in Vegas, I am having the aforementioned penis straw.

singinchick13 · January 2014

@PrettyGirlLost

Honestly it's just for fun. Not a big deal, some people are over the top and some aren't. To each their own, we just figure you only get one bachelorette (usually), why not go all out? Of course it's not for everyone. Anyway that wasn't the point of my post I was just trying to demonstrate to OP how you can personalize things using transfer paper; you can put pretty much any image or graphic you can find onto fabric including bags, clothes, hats, etc. There are many different applications and it's very cost effective. Sorry things got out of hand!

PrettyGirlLost · January 2014

singinchick13 said:

@PrettyGirlLost

Honestly it's just for fun. Not a big deal, some people are over the top and some aren't. To each their own, we just figure you only get one bachelorette (usually), why not go all out? Of course it's not for everyone. Anyway that wasn't the point of my post I was just trying to demonstrate to OP how you can personalize things using transfer paper; you can put pretty much any image or graphic you can find onto fabric including bags, clothes, hats, etc. There are many different applications and it's very cost effective. Sorry things got out of hand!

I agree, it should be a blast! I just honestly don't understand girls wanting to draw that kind of attention to themselves from other guys out in a bar. It just seems too risky and I have seen a number of b-parties get out of hand because some guy got pissed bc he was buying the bride to be drinks and she wouldn't leave with him.

PrettyGirlLost · January 2014

AddieL73 said:

@ PrettyGirlLost

Just so you know, when we have the do-over fake bachelorette Knottie gtg in Vegas, I am having the aforementioned penis straw.

I'll get you a penis tiara.

sarahufl · January 2014

I think the B-party junk is more of an early to mid-20s thing. No way I want any of that junk at mine. I love tote bags, but just leave the wedding references off of them. I wouldn't use it again.

AddieCake · January 2014

PrettyGirlLost said:

AddieL73 said:

@ PrettyGirlLost

Just so you know, when we have the do-over fake bachelorette Knottie gtg in Vegas, I am having the aforementioned penis straw.

I'll get you a penis tiara.

One of my bridesmaids had one of those at HER bachelorette! I can't have THE SAME THING! Gah!

Bridesmaid gifts: tote or cosmetic bag ideas?

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