Why I Decided to Buy My Bridesmaid Dresses at Zara

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It's totally true — I decided to buy my bridesmaid dresses at Zara. And it felt kind of natural when I decided to order them since, you know, a hefty percentage of my day-to-day attire comes from the brand, but it was received like revolutionary news every time I told someone. At this point, I've gotten pretty used to explaining how I made the choice and what I picked, so, let's go over it all right here.

  1. I knew exactly what I wanted. I am a fashion editor after all, and deciding what I wanted my bridesmaids to wear has been one of the choices that's felt most important to me so far. I wanted a pale blush color, short sleeves, and a high crew neck. While searching, the vast majority of things I was seeing were all strapless, so when I came across a style that met all three criterion, I could hardly believe it.
  2. I wanted to be sensitive to budgets. I've actually never been a bridesmaid before, so I can only imagine the frustration of being coerced into shelling out cash for something I don't want and likely will never wear again. And I'm someone who really, really loves clothes and has trouble saying "no" to a new dress.
  3. I could get over the untraditional aspect of it. With weddings (and wedding planning), there's a lot of stuff that you do just because you think you're supposed to. And while tradition is a lovely thing that will definitely have a spot in my ceremony, I think it's more than OK to think, "That's not quite right for me, so I'm going to skip it." I definitely pored over plenty of actual bridesmaid dresses online but had a nagging feeling that these dresses weren't all that much different than normal ones, aside from getting a slight price markup due to the category they're in. So what if the dress I chose is intended as an office-appropriate sheath you could take a meeting with your boss in? I love it. And I'm thrilled my girlfriends can wear it in real life afterward.
  4. I'm willing to make it work. That hemline — hitting right at the knee — is a personal favorite of mine. It's just so classy and sophisticated. But still, in my dreams, my bridesmaid dresses were floor length. I have some time to go before the big day, so I'm still playing around with the idea of having long skirts sewn that my ladies can wear over the dress for a faux-gown look.

All my bridesmaids have ordered theirs in the correct style already, so I'm sharing it here, with you, in case you love it for your wedding or the office. That's the beauty of it!