Should the wedding party pay for their clothes?

It's kinda the only thing they are expected to do. It's not tacky at all.

Ive been in 6 weddings and I've always paid for my dress, and sometimes my shoes. Usually I get jewelry/clutch to wear day of at rehearsal as a gift though.

It's pretty standard for the wedding party to pay for their own outfits. They usually know this when the accept the offer... On that note I didn't want to be a bridezilla and force them to spend a ridiculous amount of money for something they may never wear again.... So I simply picked the colors.... And let them get what dress they wanted. It worked out well and everyone is happy

They should be paying for their own clothes. You'd be spending an awful lot of money unnecessarily if you paid for them. It's an expectation for them to pay, not you.

I have paid for my bridesmaid dress for every wedding I've been in. It's fine. Just be respectful of their budgets when picking the dress.

In Canada and the US, the wedding party generally buy or rent their own outfits. In the UK and elsewhere the couple pays for the clothes. We will be paying, because I think it is ridiculous to ask your nearest and dearest to shell out hundreds of dollars to stand up for you.

What Muriel said. We paid for our BP's clothing (the two GM wore suits they already had, which helped!) but here Down Under it's much more common that the couple pays for attire.

I agree with Muriel. I think the couple should pay for the attire.

It is common but beware, some purposely wait until the last minute so you have to buy their clothes. I bought 3 out of 4 dresses and FH bought his 4 groomsmen their attire (minus the dress shirt and shoes).

Your party is expected to pay for their own as long as you pick something they can afford. However, as PP said, if you can pay, and want to pay, then that's totally acceptable.

We chose our closest friends to be in our party... because, well, they are our besties. But, because two couples were chosen who aren't as financially as well off, so that means TWO outfits per couple which would be extremely difficult for them, we chose to purchase the outfits since we could afford it.

Additionally, if you can't afford everyone, but there is one person you REALLY want there that is struggling financially, you could discuss paying for that person's outfit. But do that privately. It might lead to hurt feelings and resentment if it's public knowledge.