Early Friday morning, hundreds of soon-to-be brides stormed through the doors of Filene’s Basement in Friendship Heights for the annual Running of the Brides. They camped out overnight (McDonald’s opened for them at 4 am) in hopes of snagging their dream dress at a super bargain price (gowns were marked down to $249-$699 from up to $10,000.) Worn Magazine was there to capture the dress mania as bride “teams” lined up before the big opening. Team members wore matching t-shirts, tiaras, face paint, and came armed with their own stand up mirrors, posters, whistles, and pictures of the bride and groom.

When the doors opened at 8am, hundreds of hungry shoppers stormed the store and stripped the racks bare in a matter of seconds. Women (and the occasional male helper) grabbed as many dresses as they could hold and fled to a corner of the store to try them on. Since the gowns weren’t organized in any particular order, those that weren’t lucky enough to grab their size soon ventured out from behind the racks to seek out women of similar sizes and corner their prey. Others walked around with signs describing the sort of dress and size they sought, ex. “Size 14, Mermaid Cut!” or “8-10 Rouching Ok!” While the cameras of local news stations rolled, moms and bridesmaids stripped the brides to their bras and spandex and pulled dress after dress over their heads. You knew that a bride had found the dress when you heard screams and applause in a far corner of the room, and everyone rushed to admire her and get their pick of the rejects.

I likened this experience to shooting sports, except instead of being on the sidelines, you’re on the field getting tackled by the linebackers. Just like in sports, there are winners and there are losers. Some find their dream dress in the perfect fit, while others watch helplessly as their friends struggle to zip them into a size 2. Depending on how you think of it, the struggle and chaos ultimately has a happy ending, because these women were all there for the same reason. . . they’re all getting married! The real question remains (the Middle Eastern croissant vendor outside said it best) who will marry them?

Photos & Words: Nicole Aguirre/Worn Magazine (please ask permission to use our images)

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