Picking a Dress for the Party

Since it will just be my two sisters as bridesmaids, picking a game plan for their outfits was relatively painless. I didn't really feel comfortable just telling them what to wear, I wanted their input so that they would be comfortable and not want to clobber me over the head with one of their dyed shoes.

After 30 email messages (sometimes we work, I promise) they told me what they liked and didn't like.

Note: Remember the dominant color is poppy red, with accents of green, pink, and white.

The criteria:
-"I don't do pink" (that eliminated one of the wedding colors)
-"No bare shoulders" (armpit fat runs in the family)
-"Can it be knee length or longer?" (sure thing)
-"Poppy red? Hm. poppy red. I could do poppy red."
-"Green is one of the colors? Green! Please let's do green!!"

Ok. So I needed a green knee-length dress with sleeves. Easy, right?
Do you know how many dresses out there have sleeves? Not many!

I proposed having them wear a shrug or cardigan to hide their arms. To my surprise, they LOVED the shrug idea. Since we're all huge Elizabeth Dye fans, I thought this was the perfect excuse to get two made by her. I haven't contacted Elizabeth Dye yet, but I hope to place my order soon. This is my treat to my sisters for helping me out.

[Antique ivory silk taffeta ruffle bolero by Elizabeth Dye]

The official bridesmaid outfit:
+shrugs in ivory (I'm taking care of this)
+any green dress. any shade. any length. of their choice. If they feel strongly about pants, they can go ahead and wear pants, I just want them to choose something they'd actually want in their wardrobe.
+prints are fine, it can even be a print of a different shade, with just a hint of green.
+any shoes

Their response to this?
"Any green dress, hmmmm? So lime green terry cloth is acceptable?"

Ah. Sisters.