White Dresses That Look Good on Pale Girls
Pale girl, white dress?
OK, I'm super pale (think a goth sort of pale, which works out well since I am a bit gothy on occasion), and tanning is NOT an option. How is this going to work with a white wedding dress? I generally don't like myself in white but I'm too traditional to give up the idea easily. Thoughts?
22 Comments
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Source: https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/pale-girl-white-dress/e7b0e2ef347deb7b.html
Master May 2018
There are so many light ivories that anyone outside of the wedding industry would call 'white' unless they checked the label, and they do so much better with pale skin.
I would look for dresses that you like the color of, without dismissing something ahead of time just because it's labeled ivory.
Devoted May 2018
Kristen ·
I think your skin is part of who/what your future partner fell in love with. I wouldn't be worried about it clashing with a white dress. Maybe try on different color dresses to see how you like the complexion contrast.
K ·
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Most samples nowadays come in ivory, champagne, or blush - so you may end up falling in love with a dress in one of those other "bridal" colors.
I ended up a champagne colored dress and feel just as bridal as I would in white.
VIP June 2019
Are you dead set on white? I'm very fair skinned and thought I would want a white dress. I ended up ordering ivory and it looks very bridal. Actually, it's not often I see brides in a truly white dress anymore.
Mim ·
Try dresseson in various shades of white and ivory, you maybe surprised by what looks good on you. I too am very fair, white looked better on me than ivories
Devoted August 2018
Kelly ·
I'm really pale as well. I refuse to tan, get fake tans, or even leave the house without a ton of sunscreen on. My wedding dress is actually whiter than I had intended to get (I wanted more of a champagne, not white) and I think it looks fine with my pale skin. I'm not sure if it makes a difference that really only my face and chest are solidly pale though. I have a full sleeve on one arm and about a third of my other arm tattooed.
VIP November 2017
Meaghan ·
I'm super pale so I went with a very light blush dress, which worked so well. It photographed and looked nearly white but the light tint of pink really helped on my skin tone. I would recommend trying some off white variations and weeing what works well with your skin tone.
VIP May 2018
Brianna ·
I'm very pale as well, and I am going with an ivory over blush dress.
I would recommend trying on dresses of all different shades of white to see what you think looks best. Maybe you will end up liking the true white dress the best, but I wouldn't limit yourself to that if you are worried about it clashing with your skin tone.
Dedicated September 2018
Gina ·
I'm very pale and was worried about this as well. I ended up going with a blush dress and it works really well with my skin tone. That being said, not every white dress is going to make you look washed out. The best course of action is to just go try dresses on and see if you find one you love or if you do feel its necessary to go for a non white dress.
January 2019
Daughter is a fair-skinned red head. She looked beautiful in any of the off-white variations, especially blush. She ended up choosing a Rebecca Ingram dress that is ivory over a pale gold lining. The dress, literally, has a soft, pale "glow" to it and looks stunning on her. (A couple of salons mentioned that they rarely order/sell many pure white gowns any more; it's a hard shade to wear for lots of different skin tones.) Good luck!
Master September 2019
Mrs. H ·
There are tons of underlays that will add a touch of color to an otherwise white dress. Mine is ivory with ivory underlays, but I've seen blush, nude, champagne, etc. By no means do you HAVE to stick to traditional white.
Expert August 2019
Marissa ·
I agreed with ivory. I am pale and ivory looked great on me. There are not that many stark white dresses and honestly, the ones that I saw that were looked cheap compared to their ivory counter parts.
Devoted September 2018
I'm very pale skinned as well and also had this worry. I went with a champagne/blush dress and it definitely doesn't wash me out.
I also am extremely pale and I went with a Non white wedding dress, it's more of a light champagne with a tint of blush and everyone says how well it complements my skin tone, I did try on ivory which wasn't bad but the stark white dress was pretty bad on me. Lots of dresses come in different shades and the champagne colors are definitely gaining popularity
VIP October 2018
queenbee ·
I'm pale too! I didn't want to get a stark white dress due to many reasons, one being my paleness, so I chose an ivory dress instead. It looks way better with my coloring. If you haven't found a dress yet, definitely try on different shades of white to see which ones you like best!
VIP December 2018
Casey ·
Don't worry about it! Honestly this whole "pale girl doesn't look good in white" thing is overstated anyway. I (super pale with pink undertones) actually looked way better in the ivory dresses than in the blush and champagne ones!
Expert July 2019
Nora ·
View Quoted Comment
This actually happened to me! I was like "Oh man, white on my pale skin" but I pulled one that said "ivory" but clearly looks white to everyone else. When I put it on, it was perfect! It looks white, but not the 'highlight white' per se and works well with my skin. I agree with PP, try something like that if you are still wanting white and see what you think!
Super October 2018
MrsSnez ·
I wouldn't say I'm very pale but I put on a white dress and thought it looked horrible. It was just soooo white! I ended up with an ivory dress (ivory lace with champagne underlay) it's not as drastic.
Champion December 2017
earias ·
I'm pale with blond hair and freckles and white looks too harsh on me. My dress was an ivory silk that suited my complexion much better. As you can see, it still looks "bridal."
I am also super pale, my hair is black so it makes my skin seem a lot more pale, and it sounds like we have similar styles. I went with ivory as it looked so much better. I honestly didn't know the difference until I tried on a white gown while I was shopping and it looked awful, but that might of also been because I didn't like anything about the dress. Just try on different options and if you are dead set in actual white you can find a way to make it work.