Shopping for your big day is a little different than walking into the store and finding the perfectly fitted pair of blue jeans. Wedding dress shops typically carry limited sizes of the garments they sell. Unless the sample dress you fall in love with happens to be your exact size, chances are you are going to be ordering your wedding dress based on your measurements and not what’s on the rack.
Wedding dresses come in standard sizes and alterations are almost always required to ensure the perfect fit. However, sometimes even the most skilled seamstress cannot work miracles to help ensure that you get the best fit. Follow these pro wedding dress alterations tips courtesy of Richmond Easy Care Cleaners.
You can’t always control what dress will catch your eye, especially when shopping for sample sales or end-of-season clearances. But if you’re going to buy a dress off the rack, try to choose one that fits, or at least comes the closest to your fit. Minor dress alternations are not a problem for a good seamstress, however, don’t expect that they will be able to alter your dress in more than two sizes either up or down. Most dresses do not have enough seam allowance to accommodate a vast difference in the size of the fit.
If you’re tight on time and need to buy an off-the-rack dress, it is better to buy one that’s a little too big than one that’s too small. The process of taking in a dress is more straightforward, and certain fabrics, like silk, may not even all for letting out without leaving unsightly track marks.
Also Read: How Alteration Services Can Enhance Your Wardrobe
Online wedding dress shopping is a growing trend currently. However, brides need to be cautious about sizing. A size 8 in one brand of grown can be drastically different than a size 8 from another label. Make sure you have all your relevant measurements written down and use the size guides to help you select the best fitting option. It doesn’t have to be perfect and you’ll probably have it altered regardless.
The first step in preparing for dress alterations is to make sure you have an appointment booked. Depending on what needs to be done to fix the sizing and fit of your wedding dress, you may require even up to as much as half an hour with your seamstress and the process can go a lot smoother if you can have their undivided attention.
Also, note that you will need at least two dress alterations appointments with the final being no more than 10-14 days before the big day.
Getting the perfect fit takes time and patience. If you are stressed because you have another appointment to get to, need to run back to the office, or have kids waiting to get picked up, your dress fitting may suffer. When scheduling a time for your dress alternations do give yourself enough of a window that you aren’t frantically watching the clock.
You may not notice the subtle difference undergarments make to your body shape, but they will affect how your dress hangs, especially where foundation pieces like shapewear and bras are concerned. It is equally important to bring your wedding-day shoes or shoes that have approximately the same heel height as the ones you plan on wearing. High heels will not only impact the hem length but also changes your posture as there is no way you can sit on your tippytoes for an entire 15-minute fitting.