Dressed to depress in a gold and ivory 'one-night wonder'

Cape woman achieves dishonor in bridesmaids' clothing

By Heidi Hall ~ Southeast Missourian

She calls it "The Pointer Sisters meet the tooth fairy."

But Lori Roman doesn't fault the bride for the two-piece, gold lame and ivory tulle frock that made her a finalist in the DeKuyper Pucker Worst Bridesmaid's Dress Contest.

She blames the '80s.

"That whole look was in style," she said.

The Cape Girardeau engineer's path to national recognition began with an In Style magazine ad and the promise of a grand-prize trip to Puerto Rico. She figured her decade-old dress would be a shoo-in.

Roman, 34, was one of 12 bridesmaids in a ceremony that joined two of her small hometown's most eligible. They're still married, but that's all Roman wants to reveal about the event because the bride doesn't know about contest.

The handmade dress cost Roman, then a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, more than $100. "The idea was that I could remove the skirt and there would be a fabulous gold sheath underneath. But from the moment I saw it, I knew it was a one-night wonder."

The dress, plus a matching hat, was languishing in her mother's closet. Roman donned it for a photograph in April.

But in the end, she was only one of 10 finalists. Winner Robin Durr of St. Louis was honored at a June 27 party in New York for a hot-pink, iridescent number that resembles a crinkled garbage bag.

DeKuyper spokeswoman Shannon Keller said company officials chose the winning dress.

"It was such an eyesore," she said.

Roman received four martini glasses, a shaker, six tumblers and a T-shirt, but the dress taught her a valuable lesson. For her own small wedding in 1999, her two sisters wore simple, dark red sheaths that she was convinced could be reused. She was right.

"One sister immediately cut hers off and wore it on a cruise," she said.