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Noir and gothic: black dresses with a dark side

At a Glance

It’s Halloween week at Offbeat Bride and one detail we especially love is an amazing black dress. We love them all year round, but smooshing them into one big post just screams goth Halloween-ness. We’ve rounded up our favorite Offbeat Brides sporting black gowns and some of our favorites to buy if you’re in the market.

windy!

It’s Halloween week at Offbeat Bride and one frequent Halloween wedding detail we especially love is amazing black dresses, like Lara is wearing in the photo above. Seriously, that hair, that cape… it’s a damn gorgeous package. We love black dresses all year ’round, but smooshing them into one big post just screams goth Halloween-ness. We’ve rounded up our favorite Offbeat Brides sporting black gowns and some of our favorites to buy if you’re in the market.

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Claire is another one who accessorizes like a beast. Check out the capelet and lace-up gloves. Total hotness. Photo by Charlene Morton
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Here are some black dresses that we love that you can buy:

81jTURLpctL. SL1500

Check out this frothy, short confection. It’s a flower explosion that goes up to size 3X.
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This is Modcloth’s So Noir, So Good Dress: short, lacy, and with full sleeves.
It’s available up to size 18.
71qBQMGyNrL. SL1500 This dress reminds me of another peacock dress we’ve featured in the past. But this one is a little more formal and has a lot more coverage. This one goes up to size 18.
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Here’s another Modcloth find with a retro feel: Every Dot of You dress. This one goes up to a 3X.
a159732f430b8bc67c1c76a1cca304d7 Another mullet dress! The It All Stars Here Dress looks like it’s birds flying into the stars. Trippy!
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This tiered dress from Wedding Dress Fantasy speaks for itself… in volumes of fabric!

61csS8MsIEL. SL1500 One more high/low mullet to round this out: a tailored look with tulle. You’ll find this one up to a size 20.

15 responses to “Noir and gothic: black dresses with a dark side”

  1. Sierra Avatar
    Sierra

    the peacock dress is also a mullet dress.

  2. Kirstin Avatar
    Kirstin

    Holy. Amazeballs. That first dress. Absolutely stunning. And the hair!

    I’m also partial to the mullet dress (I’ll be wearing a red one!

  3. dlenn Avatar
    dlenn

    Love these, whoever said don’t wear black to a wedding was wrong!

  4. Mich Avatar
    Mich

    I was told by so many people that I couldn’t wear a black dress on my wedding day, because I wouldn’t look like the bride!

    Maybe I didn’t look like “the bride” but I looked like myself and it was damn obvious that I was the one that got married that day!!!!

    1. Amanda the Great Avatar
      Amanda the Great

      I cannot even imagine. Maybe a black dress won’t make a lady “look like the bride,” but I’m pretty sure people will figure out who’s getting married anyway.

      1. zombiepug Avatar
        zombiepug

        Not only was I in a black dress with the red peaking, but my bridesmaids were also in (different style) black dresses with red crinoline and tall black boots. Actually hadn’t planned the dress color scheme this way, just kinda happened, but it came out pretty cool in the end and I certainly didn’t feel less of a bride for it nor did anyone confuse us. Even the groomsmen were in black with red vests. When the pictures of us standing together came out, they weren’t nearly as bad as I thought they might be with us all matching. But I also was relieved not to ‘stand out’ as a bride, wasn’t my thing. Worked out well for me!

        1. Mich Avatar
          Mich

          and one of the original purposes of bridesmaids were to dress like the bride to confuse evil spirits and thus prevent them from sabotaging the wedding

        2. Hannah Avatar
          Hannah

          I’ve been looking all over for a dress similar to the one you wore!!!! It is AWESOME! Would you mind telling me where you found it?

    2. Amy Avatar
      Amy

      I think it’s part of the OBB mission to challenge what the concept of a ‘bride’ looks like. You were just doing your part in that mission. 🙂

    3. Mich Avatar
      Mich

      and here’s the proof!
      http://www.flickr.com/photos/65449779@N02/5987672717/in/set-72157627185364221
      even wearing black, AND not standing in the middle of the photo next to my husband I’m pretty sure you can all tell which one is the bride!

  5. Sparklette Avatar
    Sparklette

    I am very seriously considering the
    high/low with the ruffle and tulle for my bridesmaids. I’ve been up in the air with their dresses for forever and this may have just settled it…of course there’s the bit of bling I’m not entirely wild about but I suppose I could probably remove it by hand and put a big white ribbon there?

  6. Plymouth Avatar

    If I hadn’t already decided to go with a custom-made thing this is the dress I would have bought: http://fashionmagazine-best.com/wp-content/gallery/blackwedding/black-wedding-dress2.jpg#black%20wedding%20dress

    I found it while searching for style ideas for the dress we ended up making. I can’t seem to find it for sale anywhere anymore though, oddly – lots of folks have pics of it. I’m still kinda looking for an excuse to buy it for some special occasion, but it probably won’t happen. I remember it costing more than I could justify spending for any NON-wedding occasion!

  7. Laurel Avatar

    Speaking of peacock dresses, Modcloth just released this one, very similar to the short one linked to in this post! http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/perfect-poise-peacock-dress

  8. fash ma Avatar
    fash ma

    its a greatest collection i ever seen. thanks

  9. Lauren Avatar
    Lauren

    Hey, has anyone ever bought a dress from http://www.darquedream.com/ ? I am helping my best friend hunt for wedding dresses online; she’s already bought one (cheap) dress online and had it turn out to be a disaster. She’s really in love with a dress from the above but doesn’t want it to turn out to be badly made again. Can any one help?

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