46 Ridiculous Vintage Bridesmaids Dresses That Show Just How Much Time Has Changed
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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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."
These women at least look somewhat comfortable and like they're having fun
Put some wheels under this and you've got a pretty decent parade float.
Looking at the groom, I'm expecting them to break into a Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers dance across the lawn.
I feel like the groom looks like he just married his mom. She looks much older and there's a creepy resemblance there. Plus, the groomsman on the left looks like he's wearing pirate hoop earrings.
I've come to the conclusion that as much as you might like the color RED, it is not appropriate for a wedding... except if the wedding is on Valentine's Day or Xmas eve.
OMG I had that dress for my 8th grade dance, but it was in pink.
I had to wear this exact same style dress in pink and burgundy for my brother’s wedding. 1981 I believe.
I love top hat and cane the groom is supporting. It's like if Willy Wonka got married
Looks like this wedding was during the Gone With The Wind 50th anniversary revival (1988).
The dresses are blessedly simple. The issue here is the headgear. They look like someone re-purposed Easter decorations.
Now these bridesmaids dresses are cool...unfortunately I don't think the groomsmen suits will ever come back in fashion
"Jimmy and I met when we both ordered a Tequila Sunrise at the bar...."
I forget how young people got married back the day.....all these fresh little faces. Before someone jumps my shit....I'm not saying I think it's a great idea to get married fresh out of high school. I'm just observing.
Those dresses remind me of the non-slip decals we used to put in our bathtubs.
If you go inside the church, you'll see that all of the wallpaper in the hallways is gone.
I hate to admit it but I think I like these ones! The bride looks lovely.
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.
That was fun but Twenty years from now people will be making fun of our fashion trends too.
man-buns
I always feel like taking garden shears to them when I see them. Lately the fashion seems to be neon and leopard print. Role on 2038.
"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months." - Oscar Wilde
And ALL the strapless dresses! For a while it was almost impossible to find a dress with any shoulder straps at all, and honestly, most brides find those dresses do not do justice to their figures. Especially if they have big boobs. I've seen a couple whose top was nearly falling off, which would be a fun accident in front of all your friends and relations! Unless you want to knock off Granny with a heart attack so you can inherit her collection of Precious Moments figurines or something.
Hell, I'm already making fun of your fashion trends ;-)
Everyone wearing strapless dresses no matter what size they are *cringe*
That's why you don't follow trends, and go for classic looks instead. Some of us are more timeless than others.
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?
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?
It'd be nice if this was updated with the time and location of each picture if possible. Good idea, Rose!
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)
Decency. My respect to them all
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.
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.
Fashion changes. Fashion magazines, designers etc. would be out of their jobs otherwise. And every new generation wants to look at least a little bit different then the previous one.
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.
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)
They have fun at this time!…
They had fun at this time!… (I meant)
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!
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.
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.
Wonderful... A hideous display of tasteless excess. A parade of baked potatoes, old lady furniture, and hoedown fantasies. I loved this. Kudos.
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.
The one with Mia Farrow on the end is Mia Farrow. Robert Altman's movie The Wedding.
Aw, in my country every guest can dress as he/she like. It's so intetesting to see that people there... now I'd like to see this tradition nowadays. Do they still do it? How they are dressed now? Where is it? I asume that USA, UK...
Just say no. You have a voice. Plus you have to pay!
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Whaaaaat??? I thoght the bride paid for them! =8O
My late mother once showed me her bridesmaid outfit to a cousin's wedding. It looked like something out of the Arabian Nights complete with a feather headband.
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!