<p>Double knit polyester (the heavy stretchy kind), powder blue, long sleeves, rhinestone broach right at breastbone, with a hood. We had to wear the hood during the ceremony. </p>
<p>I really have put the rest of them out of my mind. I recall being a bridesmaid several times, but cannot remember any of the other dresses - lol</p>
<p>^^^A hood!!! Yikes!</p>
<p>I blame my bridesmaids for the dress they wore. I took them ALL shopping with me and they picked something together that wasn’t what I wanted at all. They picked a tea length dress, not bad as far as 80’s dresses go. It had a ballet neck, short simple sleeves, and the material criss-crossed in the front, which was very figure flattering, and a puffy skirt that came out of the bottom of the chris-cross on the diagonal. The back was simple and fitted down to the puffy skirt on the diagonal. From the front it looked really nice. From the back… well, looking at my wedding video, which was filmed from the balcony at the back of the church, everyone looks like they have a HUGE butt & hips. </p>
<p>Hey, I didn’t pick it! I wanted long and straight. But I did pick the lovely bubble-gum pink color… and I still like it better than all these brides nowadays who are putting their bridesmaids in black.</p>
<p>Two of them were definitely Bridezillas. They were control freaks…and yes, I think the goal was to look better than the bridesmaids. I remember spending two weeks salary in college for one of those bridesmaids gowns. I would have told them flat out, no, if I had to do it all over again. </p>
<p>Another was actually nice about the whole thing and found a pattern that was kind of pretty but still made us look way more chunky in those poofy gowns than any of us were. She chose a darker pink satin. Still, could only wear it once.</p>
<p>The other ones generally thought it was a pretty dress. It was the 80’s. It was in “fashion”. Just hideous! </p>
<p>We were friends and wanted the bride to have a special day…most of them in those days didn’t give us a choice. They chose the gown and we went and got sized. It seems much more common now for the bridesmaids to go select their own style.</p>
<p>I like the trend towards black bridesmaid’s dresses in styles they can wear again. They tend to find something that looks good, that they feel comfortable in and fits their style. I suspect when my daughter gets married she will do this - allow them to select their own gowns. She has had one of her aunties buy her clothes that she despises, but is too polite to tell her that she doesn’t like it or look good in it. (When a tall slender girl doesn’t look good in it, nobody does. 
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<p>Oh yes. And I even found the pattern online:
[Simplicity</a> 9608 Vintage 70’s Wedding Dress Formal Bridesmaid 1971 B 32 1/2](<a href=“http://www.thevintagepeddler.com/catalog/item/4040899/4659487.htm]Simplicity”>- Authentic Mid Century and Danish Modern Furniture and Decor)
The matron of honor got the pink one, with the little vest instead of the bust-enhancing ruffle. Mine was lavender. My sister’s was pale green. She was coming down with the flu and looks the same color as her dress in all the photos.</p>
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<p>My girlfriend was in one of those in about 1981. It was hysterical even at the time and was worse than you describe. The colors were not pastels but brights…bright pink, bright peach, bright lime green, etc. (My friend got lime green.) AND the groomsmen had ruffled shirts in the matching colors. AND the candles in the candleabra at church were in matching colors - like the candles on a big ol’ kid’s birthday cake.</p>
<p>I am actually Facebook friends with that bride…I should see if I can persuade her to post pictures.</p>
<p>Early 70’s – navy blue dotted swiss with empire waist and puffed sleeves. 1976–yellow dotted swiss with empire waist, ruffles around hem. 1976–peach polyester with scoop neckline. I have long since given all these dresses away–my D could have used them for Halloween, if I had only known!</p>
<p>My sister’s Christmas wedding in 1987, a very odd shade of green satin, tea length, long puffy sleeves, died to match satin pumps and a giant cluster of red roses and baby’s breath in our giant 80’s hair. My younger sister drank tequila for the first time and got sick on hers.</p>
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<p>I think in a formal wedding, black can look elegant, but I can’t get past the idea that black is for funerals and, therefore, an odd choice. I’m still thinking about the brocade one-piece pantsuit.</p>
<p>I experienced the whole 1983 wedding bridesmaid thing—much the same as many above—but RED!!! Red hat-red gloves- red taffeta dress–red nylons with red shoes! Groomsman of course had the matching red cummerbund and tie—everything had to be red because it was a January wedding and we had to MATCH THE CHURCH!!! Which had red pews and lots of red paint inside as I recall.</p>
<p>Lesson here…never try to match a building.</p>
<p>Kudos to those of you who saved the dresses----all of mine are long gone—might be worth at least $10 now in a thrift store. Damn, another investment lost!</p>
<p>You ladies can still fit into those dresses from the 70’s and 80s?</p>
<p>No way could I fit into mine. Back in the day I was 5’5" and 98 lbs. When D was in Footloose last year, she was upset that I didn’t save any jeans from the 80s…as a girl with muscle mass, no way could she have fit into my jeans from the 80s.</p>
<p>There were some women at the bridesmaid dress up party who still had, and fit, into one of their old dresses. Most went to Goodwill or The Salvation Army and bought a dress. There were a few very impressive dresses. The guest of honor did wear her wedding dress and her sisters wore their bridesmaid dresses from her wedding. It really was hilarious.</p>
<p>I have to speak up and say that the first, and only time I have seen the rainbow theme was about 8yrs ago at a black tie wedding, outdoors at a private club. The groomsman didn’t have the rainbow theme. The dresses were raw silk and very tasteful. Not fussy. It was actually beautiful… I wonderful if I’ll think so 10 years from now :)</p>
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<p>Didn’t Elvis wear that in his Vegas show???</p>
<p>If we’re voting, so far this is my winner.</p>
<p>Ok I’m cheating and adding comments from the men’s side …</p>
<p>In my cousin’s wedding in 1977 and I’m quite dashing in my burgandy tux with the frilly shirt. </p>
<p>In a college friend’s wedding and get fitted at a tux shop at school while the wedding is in another city … get to the city the night before the wedding and the tux pants are WAY to small … they are 2-3 inches too short and while I can close the zipper I can not breath or move … and the Tux Shop says too bad you got what you ordered … so no dancing (or sitting) for me!</p>
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<p>A guy at work talked about getting married on Valentine’s Day in a burgundy velvet tux - I’d pay to see his wedding pictures.</p>
<p>We actually had a contest where I work - the winning photo had the entire wedding party in yellow. Flowing high necked dresses on the bridesmaids, yellow tuxes with paler ruffled yellow shirts on the gentlemen, including the very tall thin groom. It looked like Big Bird’s wedding.</p>
<p>Hmm…the all yellow wedding might just beat the Elvis jump suit and the hoods. The bride who got the guys to wear yellow tuxes must have been a beast!</p>
<p>Ah yes, the colored tuxes of the 70’s. I went to a prom in a yellow dress and my date had a brown tux. I told my daughter this, and she said, “They actually make brown tuxes?” Also went to a prom in lilac, and my date wore the infamous burgundy tux as listed above. H went to his prom in the ultimate - a powder blue tux. It matched the car he borrowed, his grandmother’s powder blue cadillac, so that made him extra cool. 
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