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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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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."
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Connie Martin 7 years ago
Put some wheels under this and you've got a pretty decent parade float.
#21
Suzi Gauthier 7 years ago
Probably - or gradiated tinted ones. I wore those in the 70's.
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Pam Falcioni 7 years ago
It's all cool until you see the men's shirts match the bridesmaid's dresses!
Magdalina777 7 years ago
o: These are cool. Where can I buy a blouse like the top of those green dresses they're wearing?
Jane Martin 7 years ago
Wore almost identical dresses for my sister's wedding. I have to go punch her in the head now
Barbara Taylor 7 years ago
This was the 1970s - no big shoulder pads - but yes, they were!
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Lois Dimos 7 years ago
I'm trying to mesh the red flowers with the pastel mint gowns, can't make the connection.
Carol Harrison 7 years ago
...and if you take off the capelet, you can absolutely wear that dress again.
Shruti Naik 7 years ago
Nice colour scheme. I think it's just funny because of the styling which looks outdated now. Just feel like taking off everyone's bulky glasses though...
Heather Sterner 7 years ago
These are pretty. Not my first color choice, but I've seen far worse.
Valerie Witter 2 years ago
Why do brides flowers have absolutely no color to match bridesmaid’s dresses? I find this jarring.
Rainbo Thorp 4 years ago
It's the fact that so many have the same shape and DARKNESS of glasses that kills me.
Kathy Geiger 7 years ago
This picture could have come straight from my cousin's wedding circa 1982 down to the gross floral dresses and ruffled shirts for the guys...
Elizabeth Molloy 7 years ago
So much nylon in that room; the static must have been off the chart! No-one smoke!
Robyn Denton 7 years ago
At least the chiffon ponchos could probably be removed to make the dresses more wearable when the wedding was over.
Priscilla Winslow 7 years ago
Why are those bridesmaids wearing housecoats? The green could be pretty. Why did they have to throw the blue and cream and whatever into the mix? I'm starting to hate printed/flowered gowns.
Mare Freed 7 years ago
Well, at least they didn't have to go strapless like so many do today. They look comfortable enough to wear these all day.
Lynn La Saga 7 years ago
My Mom's first wedding looked exactly like this, down to her bouquet and the style of the bridesmaid dresses, but Mom's dresses were dusty rose. I still think the bridesmaid dresses are kind of elegant and dramatic!
Jean-Claude Nninin 7 years ago
"Bob and Carol of the Country Corner Singers were married today. They were attended by the backup singers and band members. Carol stated they would use this picture on their next album."
Panda-monium 7 years ago
Looks like they are coming back from some type of animal sacrifice (and they are still carrying the little carcasses)
Cassandra Ewert-Lamutt 7 years ago
Wore this one, too - but in blue and lace top. It was quite pretty.
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Lizard Queen 7 years ago
The dresses are blessedly simple. The issue here is the headgear. They look like someone re-purposed Easter decorations.
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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
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Brenda Baker 7 years ago
"Jimmy and I met when we both ordered a Tequila Sunrise at the bar...."
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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.
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Sheila Robinson 7 years ago
I hate to admit it but I think I like these ones! The bride looks lovely.
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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.
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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 2 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 2 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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