Surf the Web. As we discussed in the Find Your Wedding Dress for Less section, Websites now offer bridesmaids' dresses at a discount. The savings can be 20 percent to 50 percent off retail.
Check out department stores. Thanks to a change in fashion trends, hip bridesmaids' dresses now look much like the same offerings found in department stores. And those department stores offer much lower prices (and higher quality) than bridal shops. One reader pointed out that Bloomingdale's has many bridesmaid-looking dresses available off-the-rack or orderable in different colors, sizes and lengths. She hit a sale and got her dresses from just $60. Even if you pay full price (about $100 to $200 at most stores), you can at least try on several styles, colors and sizes right in the store. And you don't have to wait for an eternity for an order to get in; most department stores will track down different colors and sizes at nearby locations.
Buy the gloves at a discount. Don't pay high retail prices for bridesmaids' gloves. We found a mail-order outfit, Discount Gloves (1-800-484-7208, ext. 3622, or www.bridalgloves.com), that offers a 20 percent to 30 percent discount off nationally advertised gloves. It works like Discount Bridal Service: To identify the gloves, give them the page number of a magazine ad or the bridesmaid dress info (style, color, etc.), and they do the rest. Most full-length gloves (made by the same companies advertised in bridal magazines) are only $20 a pair. And there is no charge for shipping or, if you're outside New York state, sales tax.