First the Bridesmaid, Then the Bride

I'm sure most of you guys know this, but next month I'll be taking my very first ever turn as a Bridesmaid and will be taking the honor of Maid of Honor to boot. (How's that for jumping to the top?) Yup, I'll be the MOH at my sister's wedding on June 12th. And as I spent a lot of this weekend thinking about that wedding, I thought I would share with you my bridesmaid style and approved my my sister, the Bride.

First up the Dress:
My sister generously let each bridesmaid choose her own dress, provided it matched the red she chose. As fate would have it, I stumbled across an Amsale sample sale and found this dress on the sales rack for $75 from $400!

It was actually a sample they sent the stylists for the Kate Hudson movie, My Best Friend's Girl. They eventually chose a different dress for Kate and sent mine back to it's bargain bin destiny.

Here's a pic of the one they chose for Kate in the color I'll be wearing as a bridesmaid.


Next up: The shoes
Because of the long, flowy, grecian nature of this dress, I decided gold, flat sandals would be the perfect completion to this look. I'd been eyeing these at J Crew for months now and would love to make them my summer sandals after the wedding.



They are marked down, right now, from $99 to $59 so it seemed like the perfect time to pounce. But when I got there, I found these other gold, flat t-strap sandals that I fell in love with also on sale for $60 and I took them home instead. They've mysteriously disappeared from the website since then, but they're simple, thin t-strap sandals in a very shiny, soft gold leather. However, I'm still torn b/t the decision. Ultimately the t-straps seemed more delicate and therefore more appropriate for the wedding, but will I miss the gladiators later?

Finally: the hair
I think, in keeping with the Grecian inspiration, I want to go with a loose, romantic updo. Much like Michelle Williams' gorgeous Oscar do. (But I think I'll trade the red lips for a nude gloss.)







And I'm thinking about adding this little jeweled ribbon headband from Anthropologie. (It's an ivory ribbon, bedazzled with clear glass bead, circled in gold.

So what do you guys think? Should I go for the gladiators or stick with the t-straps? Can I pull off the messy up-do or will I look like I rode to the wedding with Thelma and Louise? And should I spring for this dream clutch from Lauren Merkin?