One thing both generally have in common is the assumption that these dresses will be in a solid color… but that’s not in any way required.

I’m not personally all that wild about this particular Betsey Johnson dress worn by the bridal party above… but I really like the idea behind it. I think it might be fun to see more weddings where the bridesmaids wear stripes or floral prints or polka dots. It’s festive, and my guess is that a lot of women who will never, ever, ever on pain of death wear that shell pink chiffon evening gown or the emerald green taffeta ballgown again might actually haul this little sundress out of the closet and wear it for a variety of occasions.

So, yeah, I’m going with LOVE on this trendlette. I’d like to see a lot more of it.

I can guarantee one thing: make your friends wear this and they will drink themselves under the tables to forget they ever knew you.

In short: HATE!

Not every bride gives even that much direction. Here, for example, the only thing that matches about these is the bouquets are the same color/shading as their dresses. Even with that, the lady in very pale pink on the right and the girl in the aqua number have bouquets that aren’t a precise match.

The dresses are every color of the rainbow, the hems hit everywhere from mid-thigh to floor-length, there are strapless, and halter, and spaghetti straps, and one even has cap sleeves. Most of the shoes are black with a mid-heel… but the girl in the pale pink seems to have ivory shoes. Their hairstyles are different. Though most seem to be wearing their hair down, there are a couple who appear to have put their hair up. In short, there is absolutely not one thing these women have consistently in common other than the fact they’re holding bouquets and standing with the bride.

Me? I love this. Every one of these women looks happy, confident, and rather fabulous in her own right, which makes for great photos. These all look like dresses they can wear again. How often does that happen? And while a glance makes it clear that each woman has her own look, it all seems to work happily together.

Yep, this is made of love.

What do all of you think?

WHAT IS HAPPENING???

First impressions, from my end: NOOOOOOO. Do not want. Maybe I’ll write a letter to Dessy letting them know that a huge bias ruffle trim at the neck – paired with what looks like a giant elastic belt, no less – isn’t going to flatter any bridesmaid ever. Look, maybe I’m just against this because I was a little kid in the 80s and the fashion of the day scared me. But I don’t think so. Hating the nouveau 80s bridesmaid dresses with a passion over here.

Would YOU wear it willingly? Or subject your bridesmaids to it?

Beautiful, no?

Remember during Bridesmaids Week here at Manolo for the Brides when I posted two pics of gorgeous bridesmaids dresses that didn’t match and were anything but plain? Well I still love patterned bridesmaids dresses, months later, and really do think that more brides-to-be should consider dressing their ‘maids in polka dots and florals and stripes and swirlies! I actually posted about patterned bridesmaids dresses back in 2009, hoping it would become some hot new wedding trend, but it never did catch on like I hoped. Maybe this is my year? What’s your take on bridesmaids dresses in pretty patterns?

Image: Maggie Heinzel-Neel Photography

Merrily mismatched red shoes from Ampersand Photography

Balloons and blue dresses via Green Wedding Shoes

Works with darker blues, too, as proven by Josh Liba

Leg warmers! Eeeee!

From Heather H. Photography

It even works on flower girls!

From Martha Stewart Weddings

With that in mind, here are nine bridesmaids’ dresses for under $100 – they’re all different, but what they have in common is that none of them are sold as ‘bridesmaids’ dresses’.

The top three are from Nordstrom, the middle three are from Chadwicks, and the bottom three are from Target (and also very patriotic, for some reason). Almost all of them are available in other colors.

Brides who want to outfit their bridesmaids on a budget should look for special occasion dresses, party dresses, and formal dresses at shops that aren’t geared toward weddings. The only thing to be aware of is that inventory can run out, so if you find a bridesmaids dress you love at a non-weddingy store, check to make sure it’s still available in the sizes your bridesmaids will need. If it is, let your ladies know they need to buy ASAP – it can always wait in the back of a closet until it’s time to visit a seamstress.

In a lot of cases, your bridesmaids will pay a lot less for a better quality dress if you avoid the dreaded W word while shopping around for their frocks. Will you be shopping outside of the box for your bridesmaids’ dresses?

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone outside of the realm of busybody biddies who has a problem with colored wedding dresses, but I’m loathe to believe that they’re overtaking white wedding dresses in terms of popularity. When, after all, was the last time you attended a wedding where the bride wore purple and the bridesmaids were in white (like in this pretty picture from Simply Bloom Photography)? But frankly, I LOVE the idea. Why not take the usual wedding color template and mix it up a little? It’s not like anyone at the wedding will have trouble identifying the bride!

Would you consider wearing a colored gown and dressing your bridesmaids in white?

If you want more info before making a call, here are the deets: These are all crafted to size from sculpted silk, and come in colors like champagne, mocha, rust, deep blue, and black. For brides who don’t like the sound of any of those colors, never fear! Lilipad Creations will custom dye silk for a batch of bridesmaids dresses. Oh, and I’m not entirely sure (it’s hard to tell in the pictures) but it seems like this dress also has an asymmetrical bust line.

As for what I think, I’m torn between really loving the shape of these bridesmaids dresses and not being entirely thrilled with the color selection. Except for the black option, of course – but I know not everyone is a fan of black bridesmaids dresses. And the price, $379, might be a lot for some bridesmaids to swallow. Or am I thinking too much like a frugal person and not enough like a bridesmaid?

So when I see what is basically the same dress – or the same idea of a dress – in wedding gown form from Isadora Clothing, I have to share it with you.

According to Isadora Clothing, there are nine ways to wear a convertible wedding dress, from strapless and backless to semi-sleeved and plunging.

I wish that we could see the backs of all these convertible styles – because I think the backlessness of the convertible wedding dress is what gets to me the most. In theory, it’s such a fun, easy, awesome idea, but in reality, those of us who rely on rebar bras to keep everything from bouncing out of control or swinging to and fro should probably stay away from this sort of thing. Any chance any of you out there are wearing one of these, or something similar, on your big day?