You Can Wear It Again: A Celebration of Bridesmaids' Dresses

by Meg Mateo Ilasco

Being a bridesmaid is one of the greatest honors a dear friend can bestow. But actually wearing the dress the bride picks out? That's the true test of friendship. You Can Wear It Again pays loving tribute to fifty years of bridesmaids' dresses, as featured in real-life weddings. The product of both fashion trends and the bride's whims, bridesmaids' dresses may take the form of medieval costume, complete with wimple; slip dresses with real feathered wings to transform maids into true angels; or the ruffled peach taffeta with puff sleeves that so dominated the 1980s. Whatever the look, you can be sure it's been in and out of fashion more than once. Some lessons are never learned. The perfect gift for current and former bridesmaids, You Can Wear It Again isn't just a showcase of bridal fashions, but a testament to the selfless women everywhere who help the bride's dreams come true.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Humor

96 pages, Hardcover

First published November 10, 2005

Reviews

[Ligaya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kinda felt cheated as I thought that there might be some examples of dresses remade and reworn. More ethnic pieces would have helped - there were many examples of Asian dresses. African, Caribbean-influenced, Mexican. I was hoping I would see Princess Diana's iconic dress with her bridesmaids. Luckily, a quick read with little text.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book looks like a self-publication, though I am not sure if it is. It consists of minimal text at the beginning including a bit of history about bridesmaids. The rest of the book is photos without commentary, not even a date to put the fashion into context. The author did include an appendix of photo credits at the end with dates.
I would have liked to have seen a brief comment with each photo giving the year of the wedding and where the wedding took place. Some fashion history from each decade would have also been useful. I assume these are US weddings, but that was not explicitly stated.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

This doesn’t qualify as a book as far as I’m concerned but I needed a laugh so it gets and extra half star. Simply a book of pictures of bridesmaid dresses that are a good reminder that wearing the dress the bride chooses is a huge gift. These are hysterically bad in some cases. LOL

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a hoot! With minimal text giving a brief overview of the evolution & customs of the bridesmaid dress this book is mainly photos covering 50 years and varied ethnicities of bridal parties. I would have liked some captioning at least as to year and location but this was still fun to look at. I have only been a bridesmaid once and that was for a Victorian sidesaddle wedding where I made the bride's and my bridesmaid's gowns.

"in primitive times a marrying couple would ask friends to wear look-alike clothing to stop evil spirits from finding the real bride and groom..."
The evil spirits must now get sufficient jollies from seeing the wedding party in hideous outfits so they ignore the bride & groom. But I did find a few of the dresses rather charming.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so funny. It basically is a collection of really bad bridesmaids dresses. Some of the dresses are really horrible. I laughed out loud over some of these books. I'm seriously thinking of getting copies for all of my bridesmaids when I get married next year.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

There sure are some hideous dresses out there....

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great pictures, but would be much improved with some background stories!

[Stef · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually found at least half the dresses attractive!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sent this to my bridesmaids to ask if they would be in our wedding. It was really fun!