Why are bridesmaid dresses so expensive!

[sarah4]

Either i am not looking hard enough or they just dont exist but i cant find half decent bridesmaid dresses that are reasonably priced. I have three bridesmaids and all of them want straps. My colour is midnight blue and would prefer knee length dresses. The only ones i can find that i like are on dressy.com but i think they are a tad expensive for a dress they will most likely wear for one day. Anyone got any good sites that they have used in the UK or know of any shops which hire out bridesmaid dresses?

[Mrs_R_to_be]

I know, they are so expensive! Have you tried debenhams or bhs? X

[Pretty_Wrong]

You could try looking on the high street instead of bridesmaids dresses specifically. That's what I'm doing. Also eBay- sellers like this one have some lovely options http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1950s-styl...item3a679cd71e

[FutureMrsAdie]

Try www.sexyher.co.uk Ive had a few dresses from here and the quality is amazing!

[cat6184]

I was just going to suggest debenhams too, they've got some lovely dark blue ones in there just now. I got my bridesmaids dresses from there as i've got 4 to buy and waited till the last discount day and got all 4 for £270 instead of £400 so worth keeping an eye open x

[sarah4]

I just had a look on the BHS and the Debenhams website, think ill get my flower girls out fits from there. I have just come across a good website called dressingpod.com and they have the dress i have been looking for. Although it is an American site which i am a bit worried about but will order and see. x

[loobieb2b]

Hi i got mine on ebay and only cost me 40 pounds each, best bet is to look there.

[clarabanana]

I fell in love with a dress on dessy.com and after seeing those everything else was rubbish to be perfectly honest. The dress was £240 and i have three bridesmaids so it just wasnt going to happen. I'm now having dresses made, a friend I went to uni is a dress maker and agreed to do very similar dresses for about £100 each and she will do 3 different dresses for each of my bridesmaids, which is what i wanted anyway. Im lucky that I know someone who can do it for me but there are a couple of girls having their wedding dresses made (special sundae is the obvious one), depending on where you're based maybe you could speak to their designers and see if they would do your maids. Got to say i was worried about making them at first but so far I've loved the whole experience of shopping for material and silly things like zips! The first one will be fitted soon and im so excited about it.

[nearlymrsT]

I fell in love with a dress on dessy.com and after seeing those everything else was rubbish to be perfectly honest. The dress was £240 and i have three bridesmaids so it just wasnt going to happen.

I've been wondering how much Dessy dresses are. Is £240 about the average? They have the perfect colour for us but I know the bridesmaids probably won't wear them again. I have £150 in mind for each dress

[lil_jo84]

I was the same when looking for my dresses, then I found perfect ones in TKMaxx for £40. I wouldn't eliminate the high street shops such as Jane Norman, TKMaxx, etc if you have the time to look round x

[clarabanana]

I've been wondering how much Dessy dresses are. Is £240 about the average? They have the perfect colour for us but I know the bridesmaids probably won't wear them again. I have £150 in mind for each dress

I only asked about this particular dress, which was style 6617 from the aftersix range. Not sure if that was average or not but it is a short dress, I would assume long dresses would cost more.

[ESP2B]

The Dessy dresses my BM tried on were around £200 from memory, think there must be a variation.

[sapphireblue]

M&S online have dresses in midnight blue short and long styles with matching boleros. Also coast have short/long in different styles if you dont want to pay then you probably have to go high street, online or have you thought about a dress maker? if you are in glasgow check our Little Deeva I think its called that or maybe little diva ? They make beatiful dress and have a shop in town

[sarah4]

I think the dressy dresses are averaging about £200 a dress. I personally think that is too expensive for a dress my bridesmaids will never wear again. Ill have a look at all the places you ladies have suggested. Its always great to get some ideas from you all! :-) x

[amoricksen]

Coast have some lovely blue dresses in their bridesmaid collections and less than £200, some around £145

[MissMac]

The BM dresses I wanted were almost £200 each. I ordered from Netbrides, a US website. Dresses worked out about £75 each. Was really impressed with their service and communication too. Dresses I got were from the alfred sung collection on Dessy.com

[sarah4]

thank you missmac thats really helpful! I will have a wee look x

[soon 2B mrs wilson]

Hi, I got my 3 bridesmaid dresses on ebay and i was £132 for all 3 that was including postage. I will admit was a bit scared that they wouldn't turn out looking like the picture but they turned out to be ten times better! it is worth a try.

[sarah4]

I had a look on ebay last night and was pleasantly surprised how nice the dresses were. Have a few in mind that are not costing a fortune :-) x

[Poppit]

Hi

Did you know that you can buy Dessy dresses (providing you have enough time) from America for much cheaper? Try the dress on here and just order them online once you know what you want. I think delivery is about 7 weeks (maybe longer) but full length dresses come in at around £130 which is great compared to the £200 odd that you are charged here.

Hope that helps a bit. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

[April2013]

The BM dresses I wanted were almost £200 each. I ordered from Netbrides, a US website. Dresses worked out about £75 each. Was really impressed with their service and communication too. Dresses I got were from the alfred sung collection on Dessy.com

what was the quality like?

[MrsAtoB]

I got my dresses in Coast Sale; knee length, royal blue with cream sash, love them so much and got both for £200.

[MissMac]

what was the quality like?

Exactly the same. We tried some on here before buying online. Pics in my newlyweds report

[FutureMrsMac]

I bought mine in a department store in Northern Ireland for £42 each (they were half price) and the girls look amazing in them! Ti be honest I didnt see the point in spending hundreds on dresses they'd wear once; it's like many other things-dresses labelled "bridesmaid" are ridiculously marked up in price just because they're "wedding"!! I've now got more to spend on their accessories and gifts.

Try Coast, Debenhams, Phase 8, Frasers, M&S.

[MrsCov]

I only had one bridesmaid to buy for so went for Dessy. Full length was £280. Had I had more bridesmaids to buy for I would have shopped around, bought via the USA but my sister loves the style, the quality is great, colour is spot on and it is actually a style she says she'll wear again.