Decades of dresses: Fifty years of bridesmaid dresses

By Allecia Vermillion GateHouse News Service Posted Jul 29, 2009 @ 06:23 PM

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While today’s bridesmaids generally wear simple, classic styles, bridal attendants of the past weren’t always so lucky.

Cornelia Powell, creator and editor of the online magazine Weddings of Grace, says there were good reasons behind the oversized sleeves, funny hats and bright polyester styles of yesteryear.

Take a look at bridesmaids’ styles of decades past, and the societal factors that influenced them.

1960s

Until the late 1960s, bridesmaids’ dresses featured hourglass shapes and a pointy bustline. While lace or adornment was minimal, full skirts and short, tailored sleeves were popular. Bridal parties often wore small hats, some with small tulle veils of their own.

1970s

This free-spirited decade marked a major departure from traditional wedding styles. A fashion-forward bride “wouldn’t dare ask her friends to dress in that nonsense,” Powell says.

1980s

Princess Diana’s 1981 wedding had a major influence on this era’s bridal styles. Simple and unadorned was out; lace, giant puffed sleeves and billowing fabric were in. The decade’s prosperity and the international craze over the royal marriage meant weddings themselves also became more elaborate.

1990s

This decade’s enduring trend was the strapless dress. The daring neckline became popular in the late 1980s and shows no signs of going away. Bridesmaid styles generally improved during these years, as mainstream fashion designers started doing wedding apparel.

2000 to today

As brides increasingly let their attendants choose dresses, bridesmaids started looking sexier and showing more arms, back and décolletage, Powell says. Though the focus is still on the bride, her friends also get to look feminine and lovely.