The Perfect Bridesmaid Dresses

Are you the type of bride who wants everything to match? In that case, you’d be in majority. Finding bridesmaids dresses that perfectly match the African Violet color of your flowers and chairs, and yet don’t look like 8th grade prom dresses can be tough, but we have the solution.

The Dessy group has an enormous selection of dresses, all of which come in just about every shade of color you can imagine. A larger collection of dresses in all the colors you’ve been looking for would really be tough – if not impossible – to find. We talk with Vivian Dessy, who’s a designer at Dessy and creator of the Vivian Diamond collection for Dessy.

“I get a majority of my design inspirations from people watching. Just walking the streets of New York always gives me great ideas. I also find a lot of inspiration from traveling and experiencing different cultures.”

Urbanette Magazine: The Dessy Group been around since 1939 and is still a family-run business. Do you know what inspired your grandparents to start the business? How many of the Dessy family work in the business, and what inspires you?

Vivian Dessy: My grandparents had their own business before they came to the US from Germany. When they arrived in New York in September 1939 they began their own millinery business. They were approached by Brides Magazine to make bridal headpieces and when my father became involved in the company he decided to branch out further and enter into bridesmaid dress manufacturing. That decision really took root quickly and bridesmaid dresses are still the heart of our business today. My mother Ronnie, brother Alan, and I are all involved in the day-to-day operations of Dessy. Alan’s wife Cindy is also a big part of the business.

Urbanette: Where do you get your inspiration?

Vivian: I get a majority of my design inspiration from people watching. Just walking the streets of New York always gives me great ideas. I also find a lot of inspiration from traveling and experiencing different cultures. I’ve traveled my whole life throughout the US, Europe and India and experiencing how other people live and dress is always fruitful when I’m designing. It’s also important to me to look back at the history of fashion and understand the inception of different silhouettes and fabrications, it completes the circle of modern design.

Urbanette: Have you found that bridesmaid styles differ very much in different areas of the country?

Vivian: Not as much as you would expect. Bridesmaid dresses are not as trend-driven as everyday clothing, because brides want classic styles that will stand the test of time. In general, brides look for options that have longevity.

Urbanette: Do you have any tips for choosing bridesmaid dresses? How about accessorizing them?

Vivian: If the bride is choosing for her bridesmaids it’s important to consider what will be flattering for the girls’ figures and coloring. If the bride is letting her party choose their own looks, it helps to narrow down the choices so everyone is happy. Give your bridesmaids an option of three or four styles that you approve of and let them choose their favorite. Also, brides should keep in mind that bridesmaid dresses should always be comfortable and appropriate for the venue, season and time of day.

For accessorizing I think it’s best to give your bridal party some choice, but make sure that there is direction so everything looks fairly uniform. For instance, if you don’t really care about the shoes that your bridal party wears give them a color and style, like silver high-heel sandals, and let them choose within those guidelines. If the bridesmaids are wearing different style dresses, matching accessories can serve as a common thread between the looks. It’s a nice option to help pull all the looks together.

Urbanette: Dessy bridesmaid dresses are very versatile. Do your customers tell you that they continue to wear the dresses even after the wedding?

Vivian: The ability to re-wear a dress after the wedding is really color dependent. At Dessy it is a goal to make all the styles classic so that bridesmaids have the option to wear the looks later. All of our full-length silhouettes can easily be shortened to cocktail length, which makes for a style that’s more wearable. A lot of girls from the office wear the dresses to non-wedding events and we’ve heard from many customers that they’ve enjoyed wearing their Dessy dresses after the wedding.

Check out the styles at www.dessy.com