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The bridesmaids should never outshine the bride. Some brides, however, seem to be taking this to the extreme when dressing up their maids of honor. Or maybe time changes fashion trends so much, that after some the style that was "in" starts to look simply ridiculous. Either way, Bored Panda has collected a series of vintage bridesmaids dresses that are so funny, that you'll probably feel sorry for the women who wore them.
The 70s fashion brought outrageous patterns, floppy hats, and undiscernable silhouettes to the mix, 80s fashion later added vivid color, spandex, and space-filling hairdos. No matter the era, though, these absolutely unique vintage outfits would make your silly Spongebob PJs look like a classy suit. Scroll down to check out the images and upvote your favorite outrageous fashion statements!
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#1
Alexavia 7 years ago
In my opinion, these are actually really elegant designs for bridesmaid dresses. The dresses themselves match the basic design of the bride's dress without being an exact copy. I especially like the fact that with the way the dresses are pieced together, a design like theirs would go well on any body figure. Also, I would just LOVE to see them billow in the wind ^-^
Liszh 7 years ago
Actually I think this is pretty. Change the color scheme and it's still totally relevant.
Amanda Kirby 7 years ago
I think so too. A palette of subdued autumn tones would have worked just as well.
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Rebekah 7 years ago
You could TOTALLY wear this again! As opposed to the 80's s**t I had to wear, with the shoulder pads out to the parking lot.
Mare Freed 7 years ago
Mine made me look like Little Bo Peep. My mother forced me to accept the bridesmaid position, so I forced her to pay for that damn dress.
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Lizard Queen 7 years ago
I like that the styles are identical, but the colors are different. The dresses are fairly simple, and could easily be re-used (in the 70s, these were high style).
layne 7 years ago
Oh so true Lizard Queen! - having served as a very young flower girl, back in the mid-late 70's, when most bride's maid & bridal gowns were sewn at home. The simple, yet elegant pattern in various colors was considered very fashionable. As were the flower bundles.
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Chicago Kitty 7 years ago
Honestly, I think these dresses are quite pretty and I like the bouquets too! The only thing I would change is the bride's coiffure.
Krystine Patterson 7 years ago
The design of the dresses is actually stylish and very flattering to all shapes and sizes and capes are awesome. More bridesmaids should be covered up, especially when their arms are larger than the average women's leg.
Christine Blackburne-Kowal 7 years ago
I see all the fairy godmothers from Sleeping Beauty showed up for Princess Aurora's wedding.
Sue Bentley 7 years ago
That was called a Rainbow wedding. My sister had one with 9 bridesmaids. I wore peach.
Anna Kowalik 7 years ago
If they updated their hair and makeup, and made light changes to the flower choices, this could be done now with a modern spin.
Susan Dikko 7 years ago
OMG I was a bridesmaid in exactly the same colour green in a similar dress. I hated it but my friend the bride picked it and I wore it for her on her special day.
Bored Bear 7 years ago
From left to right: Peridot, Yellow Diamond, Amethyst, White Diamond, Rose Quartz, Sapphire. Steven Universe anyone?
Susie Cole 6 years ago
Actually the bride's name is Rose...that's my sister-in-law,,Sapphire...
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Olivia Adler 7 years ago
love the colors, and the shape of the dresses reminds me of princess leia. ;-)
Valerie Witter 3 years ago
No one looks stuffed into the dresses, there are no gaudy patterns and no awful hats. A+
Mary Hartnett 7 years ago
I also like these.. the style is simple but, I think too many colors spoils them.
Chris Kreckel 7 years ago
This was the dress my bridesmaids wore. They were in a peachy color and my maid of honor was in rust. The dress itself was sleeveless with a fee neck.
Diane Withrow 7 years ago
but that was the style then mine where similar to this and it was very much with the time
Mavis Garland 7 years ago
At least these are pastel coloured and not like some of the others...
Jo Johannsen 7 years ago
These dresses are pretty, not dated looking, and show the bride's kindheartedness. 😀
Lynn Darragh 7 years ago
The style and colors of these dresses are almost identical to my aunts wedding when I was around 10. No lavender though and I was in pink.
Robin Sowder 7 years ago
Imagine groomsmen wearing these matching colors. My 6'4" husband was in a wedding wearing the yellow version.
Debra Eliassen 7 years ago
My bridesmaids wore pink, purple and green. More of a pastel, though. That was 1973 (divorced and remarried now).
Kathryn Kent 7 years ago
This is vintage and classic chic. In a class above the other photos. In fact, screenshot this ladies
Noel Spaso 7 years ago
Had these for my wedding only the back cape went to the knee. In the era of the late 70's it was hard to find something that WASN"T spaghetti straps and 1 of my brides maids was like a 38DD!
Mare Freed 7 years ago
I actually love this one. It's refreshing to see the colors not all being the same. And the cut is lovely. That one of the only bridesmaid dresses that I would actually wear again. Especially the blue one.
Paula Anderson 7 years ago
I wish I had thought of the capes. I had a rainbow wedding like this in 1975!
Valerie Anne 7 years ago
This style of dress is back in fashion. We've seen quite a few celebrities wear this cape style on the red carpet
Valerie Anne 7 years ago
This style is back in fashion. The have been more than a few celebrity red carpet dresses with this cape style.
Kika González 7 years ago
I have never been a fan of this dress but seeing it in different colors, it looks pretty an all the unique ladies
scrappyrat 7 years ago
I didn't know the costume designer for the Lawrence Welk Show did consulting work for weddings. Huh.
Ashley Say Wha?!? 7 years ago
I hit reply to a comment and BP decided to post my comment on the main chat anyways lol
Load More Replies... Ashley Say Wha?!? 7 years ago
A lot of ppl seem to like these on here but I think they are ugly. They look like they are wearing some weird nun cape thingy. I'm sure they were super trendy back in the day though.
Andi Townsend 7 years ago
I remember this dress. In fact I might have made myself one like it. Ah, rainbow weddings!
Mitch Hagan 7 years ago
This is actually fairly classic. The brides sleeves are really pretty.
Laura Odelius 7 years ago
Scroll down and then back up. This one looks quite subdued and tasteful by comparison.
Caroline Driver 7 years ago
I think this is the least horrific of all of them, at least the dresses are simple and individual. The 70s, the decade that vomitted all over style and taste.
Víctor Alfonso García Olmo 7 years ago
To Boredpanada admins: We need the year of the photos ;-D !!!
Víctor Alfonso García Olmo 7 years ago
To Boredpanda admins: We need the year of the photos ;-D !!!!!
Amanda Kirby 7 years ago
These are actually tasteful. The color hues are nice as well; soft but not overly pastel. Too formal for my taste, but I'll admit, this was a good choice.
Cynthia Gortowski 7 years ago
Rainbow weddings were all the rage when I was a child in the early '60s. This seems like a "modern" version. I'll bet those capes came right off and shoulders were bared for the reception!
Cheryl Cope 7 years ago
I like the elegant design of the dresses and how the flowers compliment each color.
Janis Fontana 7 years ago
The cape look was "In" at this time. I had a similar look on my 1975 lime green prom dress!! I don't mind this look..."rainbow" wedding party was JUST coming into vogue back then!
Magdalina777 7 years ago
...what's wrong with those? I think they're really beautiful actually. Made me think of tolkien-style elves. The beauty of simplicity and elegance ^^
Daniel Miller 7 years ago
Don't know how or why, when I voted and chose to login with Facebook that it logged my husband's acct instead of mine, and me with my fast fingers didn't catch it in time before clicking continue...geez...guessing I'll have to go and delete it and try again...but how does that even happen when I am logged into my account to begin with?! Frkn frustrating....gggrrr...ugh!
P.Brux FHell 7 years ago
How is this ridiculous? These are amazing. I mean, the hair from the lady in green... ok, but that's about it
Brenda Baker 7 years ago
after the photos, the bride's friends beat her to death with their flower bombs
Amanda Grimm 7 years ago
This actually reminds me of something I saw Meghan Markle wear recently. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
RELATED:
#5
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#10
Chicago Kitty 7 years ago
The dresses day "garden party" but the hats say "yippee ki yay". The groom's tux says "we'll be here all week, try the veal and don't forget to tip your warehouse."
#11
#18
Connie Martin 7 years ago
Put some wheels under this and you've got a pretty decent parade float.
#22
Lizard Queen 7 years ago
The dresses are blessedly simple. The issue here is the headgear. They look like someone re-purposed Easter decorations.
#24
Nikki Ferguson 7 years ago
Now these bridesmaids dresses are cool...unfortunately I don't think the groomsmen suits will ever come back in fashion
#25
Brenda Baker 7 years ago
"Jimmy and I met when we both ordered a Tequila Sunrise at the bar...."
#29
CrunChewy McSandybutt 7 years ago
Those dresses remind me of the non-slip decals we used to put in our bathtubs.
#30
Aunt Messy 7 years ago
If you go inside the church, you'll see that all of the wallpaper in the hallways is gone.
#33
Sheila Robinson 7 years ago
I hate to admit it but I think I like these ones! The bride looks lovely.
#37
Amanda Kirby 7 years ago
I honestly am not bothered by the oddness of the dresses. I just live how happy everyone looks. No one is trying to look cool; they seem genuinely happy to be part of the day.
#43
#44
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What do you think ?
Kenny Kulbiski 7 years ago
That was fun but Twenty years from now people will be making fun of our fashion trends too.
Rose the Cook 7 years ago
Interesting collection, perhaps if dates and places were provided the trends could be better understood. Are they from the U.S.A., Eastern Europe or where? When and where were the awful floral prints in vogue?
K. LNU 7 years ago
Most of the floral prints were probably late 60s and into the 70s here in the USA. The big hair and "prairie-like" dresses were probably late 70s early 80s... Not sure about the one with the bride with the basket on her head, I'm thinking Europe somewhere?
Load More Replies... Magdalina777 7 years ago
Maybe I'm weird but I genuinely think most(not all for sure but still lol) of those were not so bad at all. Not up to modern fashion standards perhaps but then if you look up modern wedding fashion you'll probably end up with some much weirder sh**. Some of those kinda look like people were short on money and perhaps couldn't afford more intricate designs and others are just bad pictures of not so bad outfits(no making 300 pics while seeing the previews of all them and then photoshopping them to perfection back then, remember)
PBMc 7 years ago
A lot of these photos look like they were from weddings in the 70s. If you're too young to remember that time, we had avocado green refrigerators, burnt orange shag carpet, TVs the size of coffins, bell bottoms and cars that got worse mileage than a lot of military vehicles. Most of all, we had color and weren't afraid to use it. Subtle wasn't in our vocabulary.
Allen John 7 years ago
Truthfully, to state these dresses ridiculous is uncalled for. It was the style then, and it isn't the style now. It was simple, well tailored, modest and gave a vibe of elatedness.
Wil Vanderheijden 7 years ago
I really don't understand why there's "Ridiculous" in the title. This was the fashion in that time and noone considered it ridiculous back then. Ok, there are some pictures which are over the top. But even they are still a whole better than what a lot of people wear on weddings now.
Valerie Lessard 7 years ago
they were appropriate and beautiful for the time, not "ridiculous", get over yourselves, we'll be called ridiculous in future (in fact i think everything is ridiculous now)
Anna Maranta 7 years ago
My mother was a dressmaker. I can imagine her having make some of these dresses, except the yellow polka dot set. I think/hope/pray she would have drawn the line at that!
Cara Briggs 7 years ago
The one with Mia Farrow on the end is Mia Farrow. Robert Altman's movie The Wedding.
Biana Weatherford 7 years ago
My bridesmaids (mid 90s) wore cowboy boots and denim mini skirts. The groomsmen had bolo ties. My gown had fringe and the groom had a suede vest.
Josie Beller 6 years ago
Everyone who says "Thwt was just the fashion of the time!" obviously isn't aware of the reputation bridesmaids' dresses had back then -- that they were some of the most hideous, impractical outfits possible, unflattering and nothing you would *ever* be able to wear anywhere else. People joked that they were a loyalty test on the part of the bride, sort of "Let's see if you're *really* good enough friends to be willing to pay good money for these hideous things and wear them in public!" And everyone else just figured they were meant to make the bride look good in comparision!
Glenda Pliler 7 years ago
I just recently signed up for bored panda but this collection and the BP comments leaves me wanting to already drop out. I don't think it is right to ridicule the tastes of another age, or for that matter to ridicule much of anything. For the age, I found many of these precious.
GlynisLailann 7 years ago
I am sure all parties in these photos must be with either cringing with embarrassment or killing themselves laughing.
Rebecah Ozuna 7 years ago
They were supposed to be memorable for the event. And boy that nobody will ever forget them.
Echo 7 years ago
First off there is nothing wrong with man-buns. They are comfortable for us people who don't like going to get our hair cut. Hehe. Also none of these were awful. A lot of them appeared to have culture behind them, some didn't. The whole wedding ceremony itself is an odd thing to do anyway, require a bunch of people to get dressed up, wait around for a long time, all this just so a couple of people can talk, cry, laugh and then kiss. Then they all move to another place just so people can dance, laugh, eat, and get drunk. I think it is interesting that out of all this silliness the white dress is always there no one changes that one.
Jane Cassi 1 year ago
Every bride and bridesmaid is of the period. To me, they’re all beautiful because they’re celebrating love. Styles change, that’s all there is to it. My gown from 1994 looks a little dated, but I’ll always remember how gorgeous I felt in it.
Valerie Witter 3 years ago
Have you looked at wedding dresses movie stars wore back from the ‘60’s and up through to ‘80’s and ‘90’s? They cost a fortune and some were hideous and way more tacky than some of these.
Mary Chadwell 4 years ago
All I can think of is "the good thing is, you can shorten it and wear it again!"
Stephanie Frankhauser 4 years ago
In 20 years, people will wonder why all brides wore strapless dresses. They all look the same!
Roseanne Pickering 7 years ago
I was a bridesmaid seven times. Every bride, without exception made sure that I and my fellow bridesmaids wore the most hideous dress imaginable. One bride, who put us all in taffeta for a mid summer wedding, had the gaul to get upset when we all pitted out the underarms. And every bride always says, "You can shorten it and wear it again!" B.S., I would never wear anything that ugly again no matter what length it was.
Calum Sanderson 7 years ago
There's only a few of them that stand out, either for the right reasons or the wrong reasons...80% of them are exactly what you expect though, and nothing noteworthy.
Nubmaeme 7 years ago
I don't feel so bad about my wedding pictures now. Tried to do a rainbow theme that was popular eons ago, but most of my bridesmaids dropped out at the last minute, so I ended up with only one in yellow and one in green. With five groomsmen in blue, it looked rather odd and very unbalanced.
Ann Abdelzaher 7 years ago
I let my bridesmaids pick their dresses and both my best friends and my nieces (jr bridesmaids) all liked the same dress! Made my life easier. My nieces were to be in light blue and my Friends in Royal blue but my nieces asked to be in Royal too...and the color suited all skin tones! Best part was the only alterations anyone needed was in the elastic in the off the shoulder sleeve!
Jus 7 years ago
The conclusion is: always dress in a normal way, don't follow trends and you won't be ridiculed after a few years. Also: why would anyone need bridesmaids all dressed the same? Or bridesmaids in general?
altermyego 7 years ago
I agree. I worked very hard to find outfits my bridesmaids and groomsmen could wear again. And I succeeded. They've all told me they wore them again. That goes for my non-white, non-bridal gown. I never understood the point of spending a lot of money on clothing (and shoes!) that you only wear once. As for these pictures, even for the times, which I lived through, some of these are ridiculous. The dresses I had to wear were ridiculous at the time, or so I thought. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through this post and comments.
Load More Replies... Trixster Million 7 years ago
Why get married at all? Just be with someone. Ceremonies and licenses don't make love burn any brighter.
Rachael Marrast 7 years ago
I feel like all these crazy dresses take away from the bride. I certainty wouldn't be looking at the bride. Those dresses are distracting.
Leonie Rogers 7 years ago
Did the brides hate their bridesmaids? Fancy asking a friend to wear any of those dresses! And look happy doing it, too!
Sanne H. 7 years ago
A missed opportunity that all brides in these pictures wear white. I expected seventies brides to be more original and colorful.
KaPOW 7 years ago
Creative in their bridesmaid dresses and colour themes but still would need to be very traditional in white.
Load More Replies... Kenny Kulbiski 7 years ago
That was fun but Twenty years from now people will be making fun of our fashion trends too.
Rose the Cook 7 years ago
Interesting collection, perhaps if dates and places were provided the trends could be better understood. Are they from the U.S.A., Eastern Europe or where? When and where were the awful floral prints in vogue?
K. LNU 7 years ago
Most of the floral prints were probably late 60s and into the 70s here in the USA. The big hair and "prairie-like" dresses were probably late 70s early 80s... Not sure about the one with the bride with the basket on her head, I'm thinking Europe somewhere?
Load More Replies... Magdalina777 7 years ago
Maybe I'm weird but I genuinely think most(not all for sure but still lol) of those were not so bad at all. Not up to modern fashion standards perhaps but then if you look up modern wedding fashion you'll probably end up with some much weirder sh**. Some of those kinda look like people were short on money and perhaps couldn't afford more intricate designs and others are just bad pictures of not so bad outfits(no making 300 pics while seeing the previews of all them and then photoshopping them to perfection back then, remember)
PBMc 7 years ago
A lot of these photos look like they were from weddings in the 70s. If you're too young to remember that time, we had avocado green refrigerators, burnt orange shag carpet, TVs the size of coffins, bell bottoms and cars that got worse mileage than a lot of military vehicles. Most of all, we had color and weren't afraid to use it. Subtle wasn't in our vocabulary.
Allen John 7 years ago
Truthfully, to state these dresses ridiculous is uncalled for. It was the style then, and it isn't the style now. It was simple, well tailored, modest and gave a vibe of elatedness.
Wil Vanderheijden 7 years ago
I really don't understand why there's "Ridiculous" in the title. This was the fashion in that time and noone considered it ridiculous back then. Ok, there are some pictures which are over the top. But even they are still a whole better than what a lot of people wear on weddings now.
Valerie Lessard 7 years ago
they were appropriate and beautiful for the time, not "ridiculous", get over yourselves, we'll be called ridiculous in future (in fact i think everything is ridiculous now)
Anna Maranta 7 years ago
My mother was a dressmaker. I can imagine her having make some of these dresses, except the yellow polka dot set. I think/hope/pray she would have drawn the line at that!
Cara Briggs 7 years ago
The one with Mia Farrow on the end is Mia Farrow. Robert Altman's movie The Wedding.
Biana Weatherford 7 years ago
My bridesmaids (mid 90s) wore cowboy boots and denim mini skirts. The groomsmen had bolo ties. My gown had fringe and the groom had a suede vest.
Josie Beller 6 years ago
Everyone who says "Thwt was just the fashion of the time!" obviously isn't aware of the reputation bridesmaids' dresses had back then -- that they were some of the most hideous, impractical outfits possible, unflattering and nothing you would *ever* be able to wear anywhere else. People joked that they were a loyalty test on the part of the bride, sort of "Let's see if you're *really* good enough friends to be willing to pay good money for these hideous things and wear them in public!" And everyone else just figured they were meant to make the bride look good in comparision!
Glenda Pliler 7 years ago
I just recently signed up for bored panda but this collection and the BP comments leaves me wanting to already drop out. I don't think it is right to ridicule the tastes of another age, or for that matter to ridicule much of anything. For the age, I found many of these precious.
GlynisLailann 7 years ago
I am sure all parties in these photos must be with either cringing with embarrassment or killing themselves laughing.
Rebecah Ozuna 7 years ago
They were supposed to be memorable for the event. And boy that nobody will ever forget them.
Echo 7 years ago
First off there is nothing wrong with man-buns. They are comfortable for us people who don't like going to get our hair cut. Hehe. Also none of these were awful. A lot of them appeared to have culture behind them, some didn't. The whole wedding ceremony itself is an odd thing to do anyway, require a bunch of people to get dressed up, wait around for a long time, all this just so a couple of people can talk, cry, laugh and then kiss. Then they all move to another place just so people can dance, laugh, eat, and get drunk. I think it is interesting that out of all this silliness the white dress is always there no one changes that one.
Jane Cassi 1 year ago
Every bride and bridesmaid is of the period. To me, they’re all beautiful because they’re celebrating love. Styles change, that’s all there is to it. My gown from 1994 looks a little dated, but I’ll always remember how gorgeous I felt in it.
Valerie Witter 3 years ago
Have you looked at wedding dresses movie stars wore back from the ‘60’s and up through to ‘80’s and ‘90’s? They cost a fortune and some were hideous and way more tacky than some of these.
Mary Chadwell 4 years ago
All I can think of is "the good thing is, you can shorten it and wear it again!"
Stephanie Frankhauser 4 years ago
In 20 years, people will wonder why all brides wore strapless dresses. They all look the same!
Roseanne Pickering 7 years ago
I was a bridesmaid seven times. Every bride, without exception made sure that I and my fellow bridesmaids wore the most hideous dress imaginable. One bride, who put us all in taffeta for a mid summer wedding, had the gaul to get upset when we all pitted out the underarms. And every bride always says, "You can shorten it and wear it again!" B.S., I would never wear anything that ugly again no matter what length it was.
Calum Sanderson 7 years ago
There's only a few of them that stand out, either for the right reasons or the wrong reasons...80% of them are exactly what you expect though, and nothing noteworthy.
Nubmaeme 7 years ago
I don't feel so bad about my wedding pictures now. Tried to do a rainbow theme that was popular eons ago, but most of my bridesmaids dropped out at the last minute, so I ended up with only one in yellow and one in green. With five groomsmen in blue, it looked rather odd and very unbalanced.
Ann Abdelzaher 7 years ago
I let my bridesmaids pick their dresses and both my best friends and my nieces (jr bridesmaids) all liked the same dress! Made my life easier. My nieces were to be in light blue and my Friends in Royal blue but my nieces asked to be in Royal too...and the color suited all skin tones! Best part was the only alterations anyone needed was in the elastic in the off the shoulder sleeve!
Jus 7 years ago
The conclusion is: always dress in a normal way, don't follow trends and you won't be ridiculed after a few years. Also: why would anyone need bridesmaids all dressed the same? Or bridesmaids in general?
altermyego 7 years ago
I agree. I worked very hard to find outfits my bridesmaids and groomsmen could wear again. And I succeeded. They've all told me they wore them again. That goes for my non-white, non-bridal gown. I never understood the point of spending a lot of money on clothing (and shoes!) that you only wear once. As for these pictures, even for the times, which I lived through, some of these are ridiculous. The dresses I had to wear were ridiculous at the time, or so I thought. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through this post and comments.
Load More Replies... Trixster Million 7 years ago
Why get married at all? Just be with someone. Ceremonies and licenses don't make love burn any brighter.
Rachael Marrast 7 years ago
I feel like all these crazy dresses take away from the bride. I certainty wouldn't be looking at the bride. Those dresses are distracting.
Leonie Rogers 7 years ago
Did the brides hate their bridesmaids? Fancy asking a friend to wear any of those dresses! And look happy doing it, too!
Sanne H. 7 years ago
A missed opportunity that all brides in these pictures wear white. I expected seventies brides to be more original and colorful.
KaPOW 7 years ago
Creative in their bridesmaid dresses and colour themes but still would need to be very traditional in white.
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