Princess Bubble Yum

for the love of bridesmaids dresses | season two, episode twenty four

Hiii, hello!

We’ve reached the season two finale, in which Rachel goes to Barry and Mindy’s wedding, Chandler is in a You’ve Got Mail type situation with Janice, and Monica and Richard finally break up.

Rachel’s very pink, very flouncy bridesmaid dress is a central wardrobe focus, and it got me thinking about the concept of the bridesmaid dress. (I also started thinking about 27 Dresses. A classic in my opinion)

How did they become a thing? And why do some brides make their closest friends wear such terrible ones? Do they secretly hate them?

we can’t forget the hat

A Little History

The wedding party can be traced back to Ancient Rome, when there had to be ten witnesses in order for the marriage to be legal.¹ (That’s probably the least problematic and misogynistic piece of wedding history, but that’s a story for a different day)

Beginning in the 15th century, the tradition of the bridal party dressing identical to the bride & groom began- the thought process was it would be easier to ward off evil spirits by confusing them into not knowing who the bride and groom were.

getty images

By the end of the 19th century, however, brides began experimenting with different colored bridesmaid dresses in order to leave the white to them. Thus the present-day bridesmaid dress.

Available in pretty much any color and cut you could imagine, brides have an endless supply of options to choose from.

And yet.

Sometimes we’re left with Pretty In Pepto Bismol Pink. (don’t get me wrong, I very much love pink. But not like this) I think it’s interesting to look at the contrast between the dresses in this wedding and the eventual weddings of Monica & Phoebe. Their chosen bridesmaids dresses are flattering and more reflective of them as characters.

So I wonder. Did Mindy choose these dresses for these poor women because she just has bad taste? (See: Her wedding dress. And Barry.) Probably. I think it maybe also symbolizes the fading friendship between the two women- or maybe the curtains are just blue.

mindy’s dress isn’t much better to be honest

Favorite Quote

Phoebe: We were just wondering if Chandler's girlfriend is a girl.

Joey: Oh, well. Just ask her how long she's gonna live. Women live longer than men.

Chandler: How do you not fall down more?

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stay hot & weird,

kaeleen <3

1. https://www.elle.com/fashion/g32287780/bridesmaids-dress-evolution/