Why Do They All Say Polyester?

I needed a break.  The kind of break where you chill with a girlfriend, gripe about life, and then spend all your allowance in one place.   Em and I also wanted to check out bridesmaid dresses, so we killed two birds with one stone by meeting at the Jackson Outlets.  We hit up Bridals by Michelle Renee to try on some Alfred Angelo dresses. The dresses were arranged by color and length, so we had to go a dwess huntin' for the alfwed angewhoas.  We made out better than Elmer Fudd though.  We soon had 5 dresses of varying lengths and styles.

Like a good blogger, I had my camera in my purse.  Like a bad blogger, I never took it out.  We got carried away with our girl talk.  Life, love, ups and downs - in and out of dresses.  Then no pictures.  So sorry. I did make note of the styles we tried on though.

Dress 1 wasn't an Alfred Angleo, but it was pretty cute, so we decided to try it on anyways.

 This Dessy D445 style was super cute on, but there were two draw backs.  In person, the taffeta was quite shiny and we weren't sure if we liked it.  We didn't hate it, but it wasn't a pro.  The sweet heart neckline was cute and good for my figure, but it was also coming up a little low.

Dress 2 we picked out because of the length and the bow.

 Style 7128 was cuter on the hanger than on my body.  The bow looked a little juvenile and covered up my waist.  The puckers on the skirt were right over my pooch area, unnecessarily drawing attention.  Not our favorite, but on the right girl, could be great.

Dress 3 drew us in because of the obi style sash and wrap around skirt.

 Style 7126 hugged me in all of the right places.  It accentuated my waist, the skirt had some interest, and the sweetheart neckline was more modestly cut.  

To contrast some of the satin we were choosing, we decided to try Dress 4, this longer chiffon dress.

 Style 7076 looked quite pretty on and had a flowy quality.  I don't think the straps were Emily's favorite and the looser fit all around wasn't my favorite, but it's a lovely dress.  Now that I've been married, I'm much more conscious of wearing empire-ish waists and baby doll tops because people start to assume I've been baking if you know what I mean ;).

Dress 5 was a last minute addition and caught our eye with a lace up back.

Similar to the third dress, this Style 7131, was very flattering around the waist.  The layered folds on the bodice lay very prettily and the lace up back would make for easy alterations. 

Dresses 3 and 5 made it to our short list.  Em is still thinking about the length, but I would be very happy with either dress.  We felt like it was almost too easy.  We were in and out in about 30 minutes.  It could also be because we were woefully unprepared.  We hadn't poured through the website and we weren't looking for specific styles.  Neither of us are very girly, so we didn't know the fabric types.  We finally resorted to looking at the tags, which all said, "Polyester."  I used my best wedding blogging skills, to then guess at the proper names.

While the dresses were fun, the best part was spending time with Em, especially since we missed this experience during my wedding.  Even if you're not into dresses, I would recommend spending an afternoon hanging out with your best girls as you prep for your wedding.

What was your bridesmaid dress shopping experience like?  Any other Alfred Angelo bridesmaids out there?