Always an Ugly Bridesmaid Dress, Never Not an Ugly One

Dilemma:

Let's say a tall and skinny bride-to-be who lives way across the country just asked you to be a bridesmaid in her wedding because another bridesmaid backed out for financial reasons and also because "I look like shit in the dress."

Then the fellow bridesmaids and bride gang up on her by saying, "This day isn't about you, you're not supposed to look great, stop being so selfish, it's all about the bride" and whatnot.

Let's also say, giving the bridesmaid backer outer the benefit of the doubter, that the bridesmaid dresses were chosen by the tall and skinny bride-to-be without much thought into the cornucopia of bridesmaid shapes and sizes.

Yet when you go to to David's Bridal to try on the dress, you can't fit your fat ass into it either, and not because it's fat but because the dress is really unflattering, so much so that you burst into tears in the dressing room and the lady at the store feels bad for you too. Then in her next breath she tells you that each alteration is going to cost $20, and you'll need at least 5. Altered or not, you still wouldn't be caught alive in it. (worse than being caught dead in it)

What do you do?




**incidentally, while researching images of fine frocks for this post, I stumbled upon Etiquette Hell. Terrible dresses abound and compete for the incinerator.**