Do you hear that sound? That’s the sound of millions of hands inputting the many wedding dates on their spring and summer calendars as engagement season is officially over and we start to enter wedding season. One of the most stressful aspects of getting ready for a friend or family member’s wedding is picking the right dress or outfit that will make you stand out without taking any attention from the bride. You don’t want to pick a dress that’s too short or flashy and you also want to avoid wearing white. But besides those essential guidelines, spring is when the options drastically increase as labels put out their latest collections, giving you plenty of cutting-edge trends to try on. Of course, if you’re more of a vintage gal, we also have some ideas for how to make your vintage dreams a reality.
As we’ve discussed in our other pieces breaking down the different elements of a spring element, flowers often play a key role in helping to establish the theme of a wedding, like a sophisticated garden party. If you’re going to an outdoors or floral-themed wedding, consider exploring different floral prints from designers like JCrew and Otte New York. Just like a centerpiece, you can go with a print that features one flower against a monochromatic background or one that reflects the vast variety of flowers that pop up this time of the year.
If your style is best described as minimal, then going with a solid color on a unique dress cut is a strong option. For example, for those looking for a long cut dress, they can go with one that is either form fitting or more flowing and dyed a deep navy blue or seasonal pink to create a simple look that plays it cool yet classic. Brands like Alice + Olivia’s slit tank dress offers a rather chaste and tasteful take on the look while & Other Stories’ provides more conservative-styled guests with a stunning statement dress
For more pronounced textures and patterns, lace dresses are perfect for this time of the year as they reflect the change of the seasons while featuring intricate designs. For instance, this Azalea Guipure Lace Dress from Net-A-Porter is a season perfect pale yellow embroidered with care to create a dress ideal for a garden party-style wedding. Zara offers up a more urbane take on the look as with their selection of embroidered dresses, many of which look best as a solid black. If you’re keen on both a long cut and lace, then this stunning red Cynthia Rowley Lace Back Dress is an eye-catching and bold choice.
From there, you might want to consider a dress with ruffles to create a dynamic sense of movement as you walk; a great example can be found in MSGM’s burnt orange One-Shoulder Ruffled Dress with its bold neckline and ruffled accents.
If you love unique and funky patterns, this Saloni black-and-white patterned dress is as fun as it is stylish.
For those of you drawn to more vintage styles, we suggest the following. While vintage dresses are a great source for inspiration, it can be rather a time-intensive endeavor to find a vintage dress that both looks like you want it to and fits well. What we have found to be a more fruitful approach is to search through online and IRL vintage clothing stores for ideas and then either try to find a contemporary version of it or have one custom-made.
To conclude, unless you are going to a wedding with explicitly stated dress guidelines, March is the time of the year when guests start to get a lot more diverse in the dresses and clothing they select and whether it’s floral, monochromatic, lace, or vintage-inspired, the perfect dress for you is out there for you to find!
