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Wedding Guest Dresses offered by the High Street

Alice Toby-Brant
localsecrets.com Friday, 27 Apr 2012

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If you’re female, heading to a wedding and are not in the party, it’s possible you’ll fall into one of two categories. Either you’ll love every minute of it, swear the bride looks amazing, relish the free champagne and dance around ‘til the wee small hours.  Or (and this was me before my man made an honest woman of me) you’ll turn up a serious shade of green, calculate the time the bride has been going out with the groom and likely deduce that -purely in the interest of fairness - technically it isn’t really her turn!

 

But whether you are looking forward to the day or wishing you could pull out your own eyeball as an excuse not to go you’ll still need something to wear.  Aside from the usual rules (don’t wear black and definitely don’t wear white unless you want the mother of the bride to ‘accidently’ spill her red wine down your outfit) this can be tricky in itself.  There’s the question of what sort of wedding you’re attending to consider when you’re planning your attire and a good old excuse for a knees-up wedding will welcome rather different outfits than a fancy pants dining experience.  Whether your available finances are gold encrusted or base metal is also an important factor as we all know it’s not just the bride and groom that end up shelling out for their big day.  As wedding season seems to be year round these days, I’ve trawled the high street shops and found a few looks for both budgets that won’t look out of place in a frame on your mate’s mantel piece.

 

 H&M Dress - £14.99

 

For a while now it’s seemed that to buy eco-friendly clothes meant spending a packet for organic cotton or walking around looking like a reject from That 70’s Show.  However with the launch of H&M conscious collection, it’s all about to become a bit easier, and a bit more wearable.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oliver Bonas Dress - £75.00

 

Onto the latest shop on the block (and fast becoming a personal favourite) Oliver Bonas opened its Cambridge doors approximately a month ago and has made quite an impression with its high end look but affordable prices.   This maxi dress with plaited belt and adjustable straps coupled with one of the many designs of wedge shoe from Dune has casual wedding day attire written all over it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dune Wedges - £65.00

 

Until recently the idea of ‘colour’ and ‘patterns’ had me running for the safety of my grey shift dress, but sunny days coupled with caring a little less about how I am perceived means I’ve ventured out a bit.  If you’re of a similar disposition, fear not, being a wedding guest is a perfect opportunity to experiment with an outfit a little brighter than you might originally go for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Suede Shoes - £320

 

 

Dorothy Perkins seem to have had some sort of image overhaul of late and while I’m sure the high end high street shops aren’t quite quaking in their stilettos, they have definitely managed to pop up on my radar a little more often.  This dress incorporates three spring trends; lace, pastels and peplum (weird word I know but someone in the style world decided this means the frilly bit round the middle). 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Celeste Dress - £125

This Celeste dress from Coast has a flattering shape and manages to look sexy without being likely to hog the limelight from the bride. And if you really wanted to splash, try adding these blue suede peep toe shoes from Nicola Sexton in Bury Saint Edmunds, just make sure no one steps on them (unless they want to incur the wrath of Elvis).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peplum Dress - £40

 

This works rather well coupled with these nude patent wedges also from Dorothy Perkins.  Just by-the-by, LK Bennett has a similar range in stronger colours that are about £100 more expensive so these are a real find; get them while they are still in stock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nude Wedges - £35

 

While these are by no means the only choices out there, they do at least serve as inspiration. So whether you’re flying solo, part of a couple or a gaggle of girls, Cambridge shops have everything you need to celebrate a loved one’s special day  in style.