Sure, sure, it’s great to be asked to be a bridesmaid at your friend’s wedding – but after the ‘eeeee’ has worn off, the heavy realisation of the task’s reality sinks in: matching, one-size-fits-all peach or lavender satin dresses.

The thought of standing in front of a hundred people dressed in some mal-fitting bias cut monstrosity is enough to bring out hives on the most confident of us.

So is it true that the bride just doesn’t want to be shown up? What’s the deal with the matching dresses?

According to Mental Floss, who decided to get to the bottom of this once and for all, the tradition dates back to Ancient Rome, when the bride and her bridesmaids all wore identical dresses.

The alarming reason bridesmaids traditionally wear matching dresses