bridesmaid dress ideas

My goal in choosing a style of bridesmaid dress was to make it as wearable as possible. If I'm asking my BFs to fork over a fair amount of cash, I want them to be happy! Nothing too shiny, puffy or otherwise tacky! Luckily designers are realizing that people don't really like wearing ugly dresses, so the options are getting pretty good. Though there still is room for improvement...

The goal of the bridesmaid dress is just to really bring together a vision. It should reflect the mood, location, personalities, colors and level formality of the event. Since our ceremony and most of the reception will be outdoors, it's a more casual affair and I'm trying to chose dresses that will reflect that.

Here are some dresses I'm considering from JCrew. Price is always a consideration as well as flexibility of styles for those wanting straps, no straps, etc. I love that JCrew sorts them by fabric, so you can pick one color for various styles of that material. The new colors are coming out shortly! I'm anxious to get the color swatches. I hope there's a nice yellow!

JCrew Silk Taffeta {probably too fancy/shiny}

JCrew Cotton Cady {on the expensive side but so cute}

JCrew Silk Chiffon {loving the strapless style!}