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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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#3
Suzi Gauthier 7 years ago
My uncle had 2 white stuffed life-sized poodles in the 70's. Was that a thing?
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Elaine Marten 2 years ago
ringlets for a little girl? that shouldn't be a problem
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Beth Deiner-kaminetz 7 years ago
The pink poodle, velvet painting, and penguin makes this picture perfect!
Dorrie Jones 7 years ago
After the wedding, the long skirts detach, and they're ready for the Ice Capades !
Chastity Helle 7 years ago
I would like these a lot better if they weren't shiny velvet thats what the fabric looks like anyway
Diane Dorsch 7 years ago
That hairdo on the far right next to the pink poodle, the trim on the dresses,,, the more I look the worse it gets or it could be a lamb.
Coraline Brown 7 years ago
Oh dear god. This looks exactly like my parents wedding photo. Yeesh. How was this ever a good look?!
Lisa Casey 7 years ago
Charlie, how your Angels get down like that Girl I didn't know you could get down like that!
Mare Freed 7 years ago
I see the Victorian thing they were going for, but it's not reflected in the bride's dress.
Priscilla Winslow 7 years ago
There also seems to be a winter theme, but the bride never got the memo.
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scrappyrat 7 years ago
I am honestly surprised at how few tasteless and filthy comments have been made about the many muffs in this photo. I mean, is this an internet comments section, or isn't it people? I expected to be disgusted and horrified by now. What gives?
Adrielle Kash 7 years ago
this is so horrible i kind of like it! it has a buoyant excessiveness
Whawhawhatsis 7 years ago
They're old-fashioned muffs. Which in this day and age only belong on the ash heap of history, where they'd been till this bride revived them!
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layne 7 years ago
wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for those terrifically distracting & dastardly Things on their heads?! what in the world are those supposed to be? it's driving me crazy.. & do the perplexing penguin & pink poodle in on it. is it some interplanetary linking or just off choices... Yahhh-haaa-ha!!!
Susan Asbury McCormack 7 years ago
OMG, the colour is awful as is the style. The birds nests on their heads are appalling, it looks as though the stuffed animals have been placed strategically to be in the photo.
Pam Falcioni 7 years ago
That hair on the right! And the pink poodle! And the penguin! And the velvet black-light painting! This pic is the gift that just keeps giving.
Suzi Gauthier 7 years ago
Someone needs to do research on the correlation between ugly bridesmaids dresses and how long the marriage lasts.
Fritz Kropfreiter 7 years ago
Looking back on this, the bridesmaids probably wish they had drunk the grape Kool Aid instead of spilling it all over themselves.
Night Owl 7 years ago
The gloves (or whatever they're called) remind me of Russia for some reason.
Nini Meow 7 years ago
Velvet was a thing it seems.. many of the other bridesmaids are wearing it
Aunt Messy 7 years ago
That's just cheap polyester satin. And it's bad. Very bad.
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Magdalina777 7 years ago
Well if it was legit taking place in winter and at least part of the whole thing was outdoors that's not so bad. They'd like quite well-placed outside in the snow. If it was summer well yeah that's a bit of an odd choice.
#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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