According to legend, when bad fairies roamed the land and spent their time casting spells on virginal maidens, someone created bridesmaids. The bridesmaid’s job was distracting those bad fairies away from the actual bride (rather than the modern requirements of arranging hen weekends, checking lipstick and holding bouquets) so white bridesmaid dresses were invented as a decoy tactic. Sneaky, eh?
Fast forward a thousand years and fairytales fell out of fashion. Weddings changed. Maybe we don’t want to marry someone who kisses us without consent. Perhaps we’d prefer to marry a princess instead. White bridesmaid dresses lost their lustre, too. TBH, with a veritable rainbow of shades to choose from, it’s fair enough that last century’s bridezillas would want a few more options…
But now? Well, hasn’t the world changed? Again. As weddings are back, back, back this summer, 2021’s brides are doing things differently. Smaller ceremonies, high street wedding dresses, dried flower bouquets and now, white bridesmaid dresses are back too!
From a style point of view, white is perpetually fresh but choosing this simple non-colour is the easiest way to let your maids pick a dress style, shape and silhouette that suits their bodies and personalities to give your wedding party an individual feel – while the photos still look coherent.
Thinking practically, white is also the easiest shade to dye if you do fancy a change after the wedding, which means you’ll get more wear out of the dress (ticking off our constant quest for sustainable style.)
It’s also good to know that if there are any malevolent spirits lurking, they’ll just get confused by the blur of white dresses and move onto somewhere else to sprinkle their spells.
But which are our favourites? There are styles to suit every type of wedding – and bridesmaid – this season. ASOS has an epic selection of high street bridesmaid dresses. Their satin slip dress, with square collar, is minimally chic while their backless dress is sprinkled with sequins for an evening wedding. So many high street and online brands are creating specific bridal ranges that can be interchangeable with bride and maids – but just check if your bride is ok with you choosing something actually bridal first.
Self-Portrait is always our go-to for special dresses. We would say I Do to their midi-length lace dress for a registry office ceremony while Isabel Marant Etoile’s ruffle trim cotton dress would be ideal for a county wedding with a cottage-core vibe. We Are Kin’s strappy backless maxi dress is sweet yet sexy. So, which will you choose?
After more wedding content? Head this way for summer wedding guest dresses to rock at your friend’s nuptials, over here for chic wedding suits for women if you don’t want to wear a dress and in this direction for long sleeve wedding dresses to drool over.
For more from Glamour UK Fashion Director at large Alex Fullerton, follow her on Instagram @alexandrafullerton