The aisle becomes a runway in this Amsale gown from When in Rome

Forget the bride, all eyes are on Kristen Bell in this V-neck empire-line dress.

It can be tough being a bridesmaid. You’re part of the wedding party and as such all eyes are on you. You can’t just turn up with last night’s mascara smudged around your face and your nail polish all chipped and nasty, oh no, you have to look a million bucks from top-to-toe. After all, you’re having photos taken all day long, photos that will get hauled out by your family at every occasion and shown to everyone they’ve ever met. Nope, there’s no escaping it, you have to scrub up and yet not upstage the bride.

The unofficial weddings rule book dictates that the bride must look the best, her bridesmaids not even competition, just there as background decoration, an understood law that we don’t think Beth Harper (Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s Kristen Bell) is too familiar with in new rom-com, When in Rome. Why? Because while on bridesmaid duties at the wedding of her sister, Joan (Fool’s Gold’s Alexis Dziena) she looks incredible. Sure, as the blushing bride, Joan looks stunning, making it down the aisle in Kenneth Pool’s beautiful Ava gown; however her elder sister is also a showstopper in this gorgeous Amsale dress.

The New York-based bridal fashion house has earned a string of high-profile screen outings recently, including Katherine Heigl in Grey’s Anatomy, Malin Akerman in 27 Dresses and Uma Thurman in The Accidental Husband and now it’s added Bell to its rostra of stunning stars. Not that her dress is your usual bridesmaid fare. Look closely and you’ll notice all sorts of delicate details that help it stand out.

Firstly it’s made from a touchable jersey fabric. Admittedly jersey isn’t the first material that springs to mind when you think of bridal elegance, but it manages to keep things a little less formal and stuffy and more current and contemporary. The soft suppleness is in sharp contrast to the starchier cloths often associated with occasion wear and means you can actually move about with ease, hitting the dance floor and posing for the endless photos with welcome comfort.

This feminine flow and fluidity is further accentuated with the flattering and forgiving empire line which is set off by a satin ribbon. So tuck into your wedding breakfast with glee, there’s no need for Spanx in this dress! Or similarly those uncomfortable and lumpy-looking strapless bras as the wide, ruched straps allow all the room you need for a proper bra without skimping on the glamour. While the waterfall ruffle detail gives the gown an almost Grecian quality that ties in nicely with the current trend for delicate draping.

But if all this talk of pretty grace has you suspecting it’s without spice, look again as the plunging deep V-neck keeps it young, fun and flirty. And the soft slate blue is a colour to suit all sorts of complexions and seasons.

The actual Amsale gown is currently on sale at Bloomingdale’s for a bargainous $91.50, reduced from $259.25, so if you’re preparing to catch the bouquet soon as a budding bridesmaid, or are on the look-out for that killer gown, snap it up while you can. Or check out our similarly stunning lookalikes that work some of the Amsale dress’s key features.