Styles they will want to wear

HOUSTON - Those puffy sleeves. That horrible shade of shrimp pink. That unflattering fit.

In the history of weddings there may be no one thing more despised than the bridesmaid dress.

"Remember that your bridesmaids are people, not props," said Julie Raimondi, editor in chief of 16 regional magazines including Brides Houston. "(Brides) forget it's their friends that are wearing them."

Thankfully for bridesmaids everywhere, the days of the ugly dress may soon be coming to an end. The trend in recent years has seen brides picking a color, then allowing their bridesmaids to select a dress in that shade that flatters them.

The recent launch of special-occasion lines at stores like J.Crew and Ann Taylor makes this especially easy, because bridesmaids can go online and find a host of options in the same fabrics and hues.

"Let everyone customize the dress to their needs," Raimondi said. "I think that's sophisticated, rather than a whole bunch of women lined up in the same dress."