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As a heavier girl myself, I shy away from sheath or very full-skirted skirts. Gentle a-line is an extremely flattering style on all body types. Try looking online at David's Bridal or Alfred Angelo in the women's or plus section at the dress styles to see what looks best on your heavier maids. Chances are the sleeker ones will look like knockouts in any style!
That said, have you thought about letting each girl choose a floor length gown in a certain color and certain fabric - just not all the same? That way their individual style will shine through and you will be certain to have each member of your bridal party feel comfortable in the gown they have personally chosen. Just a thought!
Sleeveless and spaghetti straps are awful for larger women, whether heavy or just well-endowed. The proportion is all wrong. So either a square neck or a low-cut v neck will probably be good.
But I think the suggestion of letting them pick the style after you pick the color, fabric and length is a good idea. They all know what looks best on them, and it saves anyone from having to stand up for themselves.
I am in the same boat... my bridesmaids run from a size 2 to a size 14! I chose an A-line strapless (after checking with everyone to see if they had a problem with the strapless). It's great b/c it really flatters the hips. I went with with one of my larger bridesmaids to look at dresses, because I knew the thinner girls would feel comfortable in anything. I basically let her pick, and she looked great in her dress, and she also said she felt 100% comfortable.
Here's a link to the dress we finally decided on... http://www.foreverbridals.com/gownpix.asp?Style=76215
I had the same problem, so I let them pick from either a strapless or v-neck stylle in the same fabric/color dress from Bari Jay. They are A-line cut, which is always flattering, and tea-length. We had them hemmed at the knee though since most of the girls thought they would be more likely to wear them again that way. But if you left them tea-lenght, they would probably feel more "formal."
The fabric was very flattering. The dresses are lined with a lace overlay, and they weren't clingly at all. The skirt has a bit of crinoline in it too so it doesn't stick right to their hips.
Oh and we made our own sashes, which was really easy to do.
You can read my post about it here: http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/09/02/rewinding/
And here are some pics from the wedding day -
Good luck 
I'm using a dress from David's Bridal. Although I'm not a fan of their customer service I love this dress. I have two bridesmaids. One is a size 4-6 and the other is my mother who is a 12-14. I took my mom with me shopping because I wanted to make sure she felt comfortable, and I knew my other maid would look wonderful in anything. We found this beautiful simple dress. It has thin straps but I'm getting the girls matching cardigans embroidered with their initial to wear during the ceremony. The thing I noticed was all the comments on Davidsbridal.com of the folks saying how good the dress looked on all body types. And with the empire waist and the A-line skirt I can imagine it would. Hope this helps!
http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridesmaids_detail.jsp?stid=1674&prodgroup=110
bonnie
I'm running into the same problem as well, and I've been tossing around the idea of this:
http://www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com/
It's a one size fits all dress (fits apparently sizes 0-16).
My sister just picked a color and fabric she liked from David's bridal and let us decide on the style we felt most comfortable in. Just because someone is larger (my oldest sister is a 24) does not mean they will feel uncomfortable in a strapless dress... and vice versa, another sister of mine (I have 3 sisters) is an 8 and wouldn't get caught showing too much skin- she's against strapless and would prefer not to have upper arms showing if she could get away with it. Moral of the story- someone might look alright in a strapless and even be more comfortable, even if they are a little bigger.
I say to avoid offending anyone, you could take the same choice as my sister- pick a fabric and color from one store or line and then tell them to pick whatever dress that meets those criteria so they essentially make the call. :)
BTW Our pictures came out great and our dresses completely fit our personalities- I've even gotten 3 wears out of mine since.
I decided that since my oldest daugther who would be part of my wedding party would be the hardest to fit we found her dress first. Then the other ladies all size 2-6 selected their dresses.
My daughter was plus size 24 and we bought a beautiful dress online at sydneyscloset.com - would recommend Sydneys Closet
Great selection
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i have the most fabulous group of bridesmaids, and i've largely left it to them to come up with their choice for a dress (since i trust them and i know they all have great style).
my concern is that there are varying body types in the group and i don't want the heavier women to get stuck wearing something they're uncomfortable with because the sleeker gals have chosen it and they're too shy or agreeable to veto. so i want to throw a few suggestions out there that everyone can evaluate that would be appropriate for all body types.
but i can't figure out what's best for all body types! i'm hoping someone has already tackled this issue and come up with some great dresses or styles.
it's going to be a pretty formal wedding, so the dresses will be floor length. other than that i want the ladies to look good and feel great about themselves for the night!