Idle bridesmaids hang, while bride struggles

Along the foreshores of Sydney Harbour, at beaches, scenic lookouts and parks, it is common to see bridal parties in full regalia having their wedding photos taken. Yesterday was no different, as the temperature passed 30° and swimsuited beach lovers watched one bride make her way across the sand where she was to climb onto a large rock wearing an ankle length fitted dress and long veil.

I stood in my pink bikini watching as she struggled.

Two professional photographers were on hand as well as her groom, who was kitted out in tails.


Really, they weren't too much help as she tried to manoeuvre onto the rock.


I wondered, Where are her bridesmaids? Where were they, if indeed she had any, to help her?


I scanned the beach to see if I could see them and as I turned, this is what I saw.

A gaggle of bridesmaids stood with their backs to the bride, doing what? Checking their phones? Checking their navels? Whatever they were doing, they certainly were not trying to support and assist their friend, the bride.


But they are not alone, for I have noticed in recent years that many bridesmaids seem to be forgetting their role.


Bridesmaids, please note. Presumably, you are there to share the dream – your friends dream. You are there, as tradition decreed, to provide assistance to the bride with her long cumbersome dress and her hopelessly impractical veil.


This is the phenomenon I refer to as “the idle bridesmaid”, she is the one who does not spare a thought for the bride. The idle bridesmaid is focused entirely on how she looks, what she is going to do next, how to pose for her own photos and possibly how to best manoeuvre to catch the bouquet.


I first noticed the phenomenon a few years back at Balmoral beach when a pretty bride, having been left behind by her negligent bridesmaids who were some 20 or 30 m ahead, nearly fell up the sandstone steps by tripping on her dress while struggling to control her veil.  I have been noticing it ever since.


It is true that customs change. Who would once have thought that a bride and groom in formal wear would be traipsing through the sand surrounded by seminude beach goers?


But some things should not change, and the bridesmaid's duty is one of them.


If the bridesmaid is not committed to supporting her bride, why have bridesmaids at all?

Janice's rule - camel toe at the Hilton not a good look

It's so easy to let one's standards slip.

It could be anything... wearing a rotten bra, leg hair regrowth, rough hands.

Here's one habit I had lapsed into, until my friend Janice told me her rule against wearing tight gym pants in the street. I was doing it shamelessly.

Just last Friday I nearly went out in a pair of skin tight Adidas lycra gym pants.

That's until I saw camel toe.

I realised it was a step too far wearing my gym gear on the half hour walk in to town, on my way to the Living Well fitness centre, downstairs from the Sydney Hilton.

To the rescue black diaphanous pleated georgette skirt (Alberta Feretti) which I threw on over the Adidas.

The final look? Adidas outdoor walking shoes / cross trainers with a skirt normally associated with evening wear. But no sequins, beads or other embellishments. And a glimpse of athletic lycra underneath.

I think it worked.

Thank you Janice.