STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Tati · Chanel

isn't it wrong to wear a white dress

Chic · Marc Jacobs

I think so, but supposedly it is ok now. I used to have people buying them all the time when I worked at BCBG. I personally would be a little upset. IMO.

Irene · Dooney & Bourke

No, its NEVER ok to wear white to a wedding if you are not the bride. Plain and simple. It's out right rude!

ILoveChoo · Hermes

I think that in most cases it is really tacky- esp if the dress is solid white. Maybe if it was a white base but had a print all over it would be OK... My firend is wearing a white dress to my wedding, but I gave her permission (I talked her into buying the dress for anouther event she had and she was shell shocked by the price, so I told her to wear it to the wedding too...)- so maybe she talked to the bride about it beforehand? Iunno. I'd never do it.

Kel · Coach

I was always taught that is a BIG no-no

NCshopper · Hermes

I don't think its in good taste to do so. It always seems a little like that person is trying to steal attention away from the bride. There are so many other colors to wear that would be appropriate that wearing white just seems like that person is going out of their way to try to upstage the bride.

JoceyBaby23 · Gucci

I had a good friend who wore a white strapless eyelet sundress to my wedding. Granted.. she added a pink bow around the waist, pink shoes and a pink cardi.. But she convenently only wore the cardi for 10 minutes.. I was a little annoyed but tried not to focus on it since I had so much going on that day.

BUT she sat on the aisle at the ceremony and while examining the pictures of me walking down the aisle, you can CLEARLY see a girl in a white dress standing right next to me! It looked ridiculous. I was WAY more annoyed after the fact!

Moral of the Story: It is tacky. Don't do it!

erin · Chanel

i think depending on the type of dress, this can be ok. i recently wore a white dress with a black cardigan and houndstooth shoes to a wedding. there was definitely no mistaking me for the bride. it was a nighttime wedding, though (hence dark in the reception hall) i probably wouldn't wear this to a daytime wedding.

Tati · Chanel

I dont even know the bride too well and I was really upset for her and I saw this girl wearing all white! my sister - in - law was with me and shes getting married next year, I told her she should put somewhere in the invitations that only the bride will be wearing all white....... I would be SO upset if someone did that at my wedding!

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

I wore a white dress with huge red poppies all over it to 2 weddings and the brides were fine with it. I did clear it with them first though:).

kenzie · Chanel

I think it's generally in bad taste. Like someone else said, there are so many other colors to choose from and white is not usually at the top of most people's lists of favorite colors, so why would they choose to wear a white dress to a wedding? It seems like a deliberate effort to me. I would never do it, even though I love white and have a fabulous white dress in my closet from a gala I attended a few years ago. I would never think to wear it to a wedding!

On a slightly similar note, I would also never wear the wedding colors to a wedding. The only reason I would do this is if I wasn't actually in the wedding, but I was a greeter or something like that. I've seen this done before, but if I were just a guest, I wouldn't wear the wedding colors. That's equally as tacky as wearing white.

flknight24 · Dooney & Bourke

NylaBelle wrote:

On a slightly similar note, I would also never wear the wedding colors to a wedding. The only reason I would do this is if I wasn't actually in the wedding, but I was a greeter or something like that. I've seen this done before, but if I were just a guest, I wouldn't wear the wedding colors. That's equally as tacky as wearing white.

I agree but the problem is you don't always know the wedding colors. I went to a wedding a few years ago and I wore a dress that turned out to be exactly the same color as the bridesmaids. I had no idea what color they would be wearing and honestly I didn't even think about it but when I got to the wedding and realized what had happened I think I was more embarrassed about it than anyone else, including the bride.

kenzie · Chanel

flknight24 wrote:

I agree but the problem is you don't always know the wedding colors. I went to a wedding a few years ago and I wore a dress that turned out to be exactly the same color as the bridesmaids. I had no idea what color they would be wearing and honestly I didn't even think about it but when I got to the wedding and realized what had happened I think I was more embarrassed about it than anyone else, including the bride.

Yes, sorry, I meant to add into my post that I don't wear the wedding colors provided that I am aware of what they are ahead of time. I'm neurotic, though, so I always manage to find a way to find out.

gruiz · Kenneth Cole

I guess I'm the only one here, but I don't think it's such a big deal. No one is going to "mistake" the girl wearing a white dress for the bride. Everyone at the wedding knows who is getting married. Also, in my opinion, you can never "upstage" a bride at her own wedding. Who says the bride is even going to be wearing white? What if she's wearing taupe? Does that mean that if a guest wears taupe, they have poor manners? I just think the whole idea is kind of silly. Wear whatever the heck you want to wear. I'm sure the guest-in-white will never do it again after all dirty looks she gets from the other guests. Life's too short to get upset by such things.

Tati · Chanel

gruiz wrote:

I guess I'm the only one here, but I don't think it's such a big deal. No one is going to "mistake" the girl wearing a white dress for the bride. Everyone at the wedding knows who is getting married. Also, in my opinion, you can never "upstage" a bride at her own wedding. Who says the bride is even going to be wearing white? What if she's wearing taupe? Does that mean that if a guest wears taupe, they have poor manners? I just think the whole idea is kind of silly. Wear whatever the heck you want to wear. I'm sure the guest-in-white will never do it again after all dirty looks she gets from the other guests. Life's too short to get upset by such things.

I guess I look at it as a old tradition thing and out of respect. Of course that person wont "upstage" the bride, just out of repect dont wear all white, thats my opinion.

nyc_shopgirl · Dooney & Bourke

Ewh that is so tacky to wear white to a wedding. Its just wrong its a simple rule that should still be followed. Velvet year round? Fine. White after labor day? Sure but never ever ever upset a bride at their wedding. If anyone did that to my wedding my bridesmaids would defintely be SIC-ed on them.

jen · Kate Spade

What are your thoughts about black? I think it's okay if it's a formal wedding but the mother of the groom is wearing black to an upcoming wedding that I'm going to and I think that's kinda weird. Almost like she's sending a message that she doesn't approve.

nyc_shopgirl · Dooney & Bourke

I think black is acceptable but only if it is an evening or formal wedding. If a guest is wearing black to a daytime wedding thats a bit ehhh.

kenzie · Chanel

jen wrote:

What are your thoughts about black? I think it's okay if it's a formal wedding but the mother of the groom is wearing black to an upcoming wedding that I'm going to and I think that's kinda weird. Almost like she's sending a message that she doesn't approve.

I think it's okay at an evening or formal wedding. I was at a wedding once where the bridesmaids dresses were black and the flowers were red roses. It was an evening wedding and it was very elegant. In this instance, this would also be my one exception to wearing the wedding colors. So many people swear by black evening attire and it's not exactly a unique color, so I think that would be okay to wear black even if the bridesmaids are wearing it.

I, personally, would never wear black to a wedding, but that's just b/c I'm not a huge fan of black anyway.

JoceyBaby23 · Gucci

jen wrote:

What are your thoughts about black? I think it's okay if it's a formal wedding but the mother of the groom is wearing black to an upcoming wedding that I'm going to and I think that's kinda weird. Almost like she's sending a message that she doesn't approve.

well, I guess this is personal perference.. My colors were fuschia and black. My bridesmaids wore black and my mother wore black.. all flowers were fuschia and other bright pink shades.. It was an afternoon wedding in May.

You may be quick to think the mother-of-the-bride is sending that message.. but you have to also assume that the bride probably knew what her mom was going to wear and approved of it ahead of time.

I LOVE black and think it is a classic color that flatters most people. I think as long as you aren't head to toe in black that it is perfectly acceptable to wear black to a wedding.