Two weeks ago I was invited to what I’m considering the ultimate female empowerment party with a locally based, female-run company called BridesMade. BridesMade, a company based out of Kitchener-Waterloo, is committed to making bridesmaids’ experiences better—at least in terms of the bridesmaid dress and self-confidence (because unfortunately, there’s nothing that can be done about bridezillas). Because no one, I repeat, no one, wants a bridesmaids dress that makes them feel uncomfortable or never sees the light of day after a wedding.
Best example of a forever-closeted bridesmaid dress? How about 27 of them in Katherine Heigl’s 2000’s Rom-Com, 27 Dresses.
You know the scene where she opens up her closet and 27 different bridesmaids dresses pop out thanks to 27 brides that put her in their wedding party…forever the bridesmaid, amirite? And none of the dresses are ones she will ever wear again unless it’s a costume party. Eek.
She must have felt so awkward wearing some of them in the first place, and again relives the uncomfortable feelings as she shows them to her colleague who of course, pokes fun at them and at her for wearing them.
Does Anyone Ever Wear a Bridesmaid’s Dress Again?
In the case of Heigl’s character, she takes her sweet revenge by making all 27 past brides wear their choice of bridesmaids dresses as they serve as bridesmaids in her wedding. But what does the average person do with all their accumulated bridesmaids dresses? Personally, I have a few and while they’re semi-decent, I’ve never worn them after the weddings. For some, its because my body has changed shape since the last time I’ve worn the dress…while others have just never sparked an opportunity.
Thankfully, with companies like BridesMade you won’t ever have to deal with awkward, uncomfortable, ill-fitting, closet-bound bridesmaid dresses again—just let all your future bride friends know about the beauty of BridesMade.
What is BridesMade Doing For Brides and Bridesmaids?
BridesMade evolved from the minds of founders Mallory and Kalleah, to give women a better experience being a bridesmaid in the infamous bridesmaid dress. They do it by providing bridal parties with dresses that are designed to fit a variety of body shapes and sizes. And not only are there a variety of styles and cuts, but there’s also an insane amount of colour selection and a few customization options.
At the Fit and Flatter Celebration, BridesMade gave a group of local women who put out messages of body positivity and local support, a sneak peak at their new MadetoFlatter Collection which should be hitting their online store soon! They come in 6 different sizes, and are an A-line cut which is a universally flattering cut on everyone! The waist also has an elastic feature which allows for the dress to expand when needed and a built-in corset feature that allows for variations in the waist and bust. And, at the end of the post, I’ll give you a little sneak peak of the MadetoFlatter collection. They also have their Infinity Dresses which come in both regular and plus sizes, and can be tied and styled in so many ways.
The Conversation With BridesMade
But what was extremely special about the Fit and Flatter Celebration was the conversations (and the food, but mostly the conversations). What’s really interesting is that in a group of around 26 women, every single of us has some type of dissatisfaction with how clothes and dresses aren’t designed for a variety of body shapes and sizes. In our group alone, there were a variety of body shapes, each beautiful and can easily rock any piece of clothing they’d like, as long as they can find it in their size.
We had a lot of interesting conversation about where the clothing struggle comes from and whether its promoted by the Fashion and Media industries, or if it’s something that we’re all actively supporting with things like Social Media and not pushing a positive message on these platforms. I mean, we’ve all probably scrolled through our Instagram feeds looking at people who have a “perfect body”…Whatever that means—because a perfect body is totally subjective and is decided on by the media and paid social influencers! But nevertheless, a lot of us spend our time looking at these photos and think that’s what we need to look like instead of appreciating and loving our bodies.
We also talked about how, on top of the unrealistic photos we compare ourselves to, we can also beat ourselves down when we’re away from from Social Media. It’s so easy to stand in front of a mirror or our closet and pick ourselves apart over trivial things like the letter size we wear, or what our tummies look like after a delicious meal. And we discussed that if you beat your self down enough, you’ll really do a number on your self-esteem.
Defeating Negative Body Talk
So how do we defeat these patterns in Social Media and in our daily lives? We have to show our bodies some LOVE and support people and brands who actively work to represent all bodies and all people possible!
That’s what so unique about BridesMade—it’s a company that’s deep in the bridal industry, and goes against the grain by making dresses that go beyond those silly sizes in traditional bridal stores. I mean, once I was told I was “quite a bit bigger” than a sample size of a bridesmaids dress I was trying on in a bridal salon *cough cough David’s Bridal* and I was literally a twig in comparison to my curves now. I was so confused about my body and felt so awkward in the store after that, and I know I’m not the only one out there!
So do yourself a favour the next time you’re a bridesmaid or if you’re the bride making decisions—check out BridesMade. And practice some self-love when it comes to your body with activities like:
- Giving yourself a compliment in the mirror when you wake up
- Leave sticky notes on your mirror with positive thoughts about your body, or start a jar with positive notes about your body that you can pull from anytime your confidence wavers
- Cut out all the size tags on your clothes and wear whatever fits your body the best
- Ignore what the tags say in stores. There’s no universal sizing and at the end of the day, it’s just a number or letter written on a tag and has nothing to do with your self worth
- Wear whatever you want to wear as long as you’re comfortable with it!
- Shop at stores that make you feel good—don’t go back to stores that make you feel as though you can’t wear clothes that fit and look good
There are plenty of other ways you can feel good about your body, and maybe that’s a topic I’ll explore in the future on the blog. But I do want to say that Bridesmade’s MadetoFlatter dresses look great on different bodies! I was lucky enough to try them on and shoot some promotional videos with the BridesMade team (seen down below). I can’t wait to see what the company does and how they chance the bridal industry locally and across Canada! Thank you again to BridesMade for the opportunity to check out your bridesmaid dresses and chat with some really awesome ladies about body positivity, Social Media and the industry!
So what’s your take on the fashion and bridal industry? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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This is awesome, thanks so much Vanessa! 🙂 Eager to see you out at more of our future events!
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Thanks again, Mallory! I can’t wait until the next one. It was a good night!