You know those bridesmaid dresses bridesmaid dresses sitting in the back of your closet? Now you can get rid of them and get something pretty great back in return…

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I love purple, but I'd be psyched to get rid of THAT bridesmaid dress bridesmaid dress as soon as the wedding ended.

NewlyMaid.com sells six pretty little black dresses black dresses (I’m in love with the chic Kate style) that are very wedding guest-appropriate. They range in price from $165 to $200, but you can get them for nearly half off just by purging your wardrobe of that bridesmaid dress you’ll never wear again.

Interested? Request a free mailer through the site (but hurry--it looks like those mailers are only free for a limited time). When it arrives, stick one to three cast-offs inside, provided that each one is by a major designer. (Don’t fret: They take everything from Vera Wang to david's bridal david's bridal .) Then, drop the package off at a FedEx location (shipping’s free). Once the site receives and accepts your dress or dresses , you’ cheap dresses cheap dresses;ll get your handy dandy discount on the dresses they sell, aka ones that you’ summer dress ll actually get multiple wears out of. And they come in sizes 0 to 18. (W00t!)

Still got your prom dress prom dress (I do!)? They’ formal dresses ll take that, too. They don’ prom dresses online BravoBride is your top resource for used wedding dresses and wedding gowns. Buy and sell ... bridal accessories, decorations and much more.t accept wedding dresses , though, so don’t bother trying to stuff all that tulle into one of their special mailers.

Even if you’re not adoring the six dresses they sell (or at least not enough to spend $90 to $110 on one), you can still feel good about sending them your bridesmaid dresses . They’ll recycle them and turn them into thread for making more dresses or donate them to a charity that clothes needy people around the world. Plus, the site will be introducing more little black dress little black dress styles in the months to come, and your discount’s valid for a year and a half.

Would you send your old bridesmaid dresses to them or do you prefer to keep them in your closet (hey, they could come in handy for Halloween costumes)? Would you use the discount to buy one of their little black dresses ? Which of their six current styles is your favorite? bridesmaid cocktail dress bridesmaid cocktail dress

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Photo: Jupiterimages

Now it is my oh so humble opinion that next to the beauteous bride, the mother of that bride, should be the second star of a wedding’s festivities. lace veils lace veils;  If it weren’t, you see, for these mostly selfless women where would we all be . . . ??  Now, I know that everyone may not share my feelings on this topic. chiffon wedding dresses ;  Relationships between mothers and daughters can be, well, quite complicated.  But, on this day of all days, our mother’s really should be celebrated too, especially since they most probably had a huge hand in making this fab. occasion come to life.

To be truly honest, though, I can really only speak from my own experience; and, without a doubt, on the day when I say ‘I do’, I want more than anything for my fab., selfless mama to shine, baby shine.  I want her to look hot, hot, hot . . . glamorous, showstopping . . .  gorg. to the max.

Which takes me to my next adventure in wedding wear planning:  the search for the 8 of all 0’s for my mother of the bride, which was quite a difficult task . . . lemme tell ya!, much more difficult than I ever expected.

A few weeks ago I traveled to my home away from home, LA LA land, with big plans. elegant bridal gowns   It was my mom’s turn to be in the oh so fabulous wedding wear spotlight.  I wanted her to have a special day filled with champagne, fawning and gobs of attention because, gosh darn it, she deserves it!

Now, to say she was a good sport is an understatement.  Me being the über fashion minded individual that I am I went straight for the big guns.  In my defense,  however, my mom is not a shopper, is not into fashion whatsoever and rarely goes outside of her comfort zone when it comes to clothes (I know, where the heck did I come from?!).   So, I really wanted to show her something distinct, different and out of her comfort zone.  My goal was to show her that she absolutely would look amazing in a gown that she never ever would have tried on sans moi.

So back to the day I question.  Of course we started at the brand spanking new Lanvin store on Rodeo.  What better place to start, right? wholesale wedding store wholesale wedding store!  For me maybe, not so much for my mom . . . a bit too fashion forward for her.  Although there was an amazing 3 there that I thought she looked spectacular in.  She was not so into it.

Some Pics From the Lanvin Dressing Room:

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The Lanvin Dressing Room Filled to the Brim!

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The Red Dress Close-up

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From Fall/Winter 2010

After Lanvin we were off to staples like Saks, Neimans, Barneys . . .  the usu.  I had her trying on the works: Calvin, Carolina H., J. Mendel.  You name it she tried it.  And, of course, I thought she looked incredible in everything because, really, she did.   She, not so much.  As we all are she tends to be hyper critical of herself.  And let’s be honest designers donâ casual bridal dress €™t exactly cater to women in their 50’s and 60’s . . .  so there were a few looks that were def. skewed younger, although, if anyone could pull it off it would be my mom.

Although, (side note) I have to say that J. Mendel proved to be quite impressive when it came to mother of the bride wares (in my humble opinion, of course 0 ).  Everything my mom tried from his Resort and Spring 2011 collection, I thought, would have been perfect.

Here Are a Several She Tried:

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scoop neckline 1 2011 for cheap on sale under $118 J_Mendel_Resort_2011_3

J. Mendel, Resort 2011

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J. Mendel, Resort 2011

1

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J. Mendel, Resort 2011

1

5 2011 for cheap on sale under $144 J_Mendel_Resort_2011

J. Mendel, Resort 2011

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J. Mendel, Spring 2011 (In a Different Color of Course!)

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yellow 4 2011 for cheap on sale under $140 J_Mendel_Spring_2011_2

J. Mendel, Spring 2011 (Also in a Different Color 0 )

Back to the day’s adventures:  wedding dresses a line wedding dresses a line; what was also missing from the whole experience throughout the day was the service aspect.  Yes, sales people were constantly checking on us, etc. but no one really knew how to make the very specific animal that is the mother of the bride feel special, which of course, was all I really wanted for my mom.  My thoughts, there really should be a separate salon for mother’s of the bride on par with or at least as a part of the bridal salon in Neimans, Saks, etc. with champagne treatment and a thorough knowledge about how mother’s of the bride should look and feel, etc.

I realized that this key aspect had been missing from the day’s quest when we stopped at a small store on Robertson that caters specifically to mother’s of the bride, Andrea†cocktail dress wedding ™s, amazing business idea, by the by.  Now, I have to be honest, most of the 7 in said boutique were not anywhere near high fashion.  In fact most of them were verging on, dare I say, cheesy.  But, the service was impeccable and, most importantly, they made my mother of the bride feel brilliant.  At this last stop of the day my mom finally lit up in a gorg. backless gown that fit her to a T.  And, most importantly, it was all about her.

No decisions were made on this particular day, however, I think my lust for fashion may have rubbed off of her just a little bit.  She took another shopping trip recently and fell head over heels for a . . .  you guessed it . . . tea length bridal gowns dresses tea length bridal gowns dresses  Marchesa.  Yes, bride and mother of the bride could both be sporting the same fabulous designer on the big day – Love it!!

I hope you enjoyed my tale of wedding wear craziness.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

xoxo,
In The Seams