dress size

[supergrrl20]

did anyone else go up some sizes in their bridal dress? i am a size 8 and my dress is a 14!!!!!

 

[dancekm01]

Oh yes!! I did, but don't feel bad the lady at the bridal shop told me it is normal.

 

[pta-mom]

Well, not my wedding dress but everything else in my closet.....I swear I'm a size 3.....I don't know why everything in my closet is 10/12!!!

 

[littleladykaty]

I wear a size 2 and my wedding dress was a 6...for some reason all gowns are sized way down from what the size # says!! I work really hard to stay this size and I was not pleased that my gown size was a 6! (Oh well, I intend to lose at least 10 pounds before the wedding...we do have walk around in water parks at Disney after all... the things a girl does for a bikini!!!

 

[JandJ]

I think it depends on where you get your dress too. My friend wears a 2 and she got her dress at David's Bridal and it was a size 10. I'm usually a 2 or 4 on top and a 6 on the bottom and in my gown I measured right between a 4 and a 6 so it wasn't much of a size difference for me.

But, really, ladies who sees the size? You want your dress to look good and fit well and that's all that matters

 

[littleladykaty]

y'know you'd think that size doesn't matter...but in some sick sad little worlds *coughminecough* it does...to your grandparents...and your sisters and your bratty cousins who used to laugh at your hand me down clothes...for some reason in our family, being thinner than everyone is some sort of success, without saying it...hmmm...seems I'm the most successful grandkid there is!!! Never mind that I have a Master's degree and am a breath away from my doctorate...success is measured by how small your wedding dress is and if you were on a champion Cheerleading squad!! Come ON people, let's have some priorities!!! This is what happens when you are born and raised in pageant country...but they are my family...whatareya gonna do? mostly I laugh

 

[WDWAurora]

Mine was from David's and it was basically dead on. I usually wear a 6, it was a 6. BUT-I look thinner than I am because I'm tall, so they kept putting me in a 4...Let me tell you, a 4 will NOT zip. Wasn't happening. At all. "But it looks right" I don't CARE what it looks like, bring me something that will zip please.

My slip on the other hand....Was like a size 12 or something. I honestly didn't care. I'm comfortable with my body, I look better with the pounds I have now than I did when I was younger and skinnier, so bring on whatever size it takes.

 

[Chrissie-riel]

The number on the tag does not matter! Use the manufacturer's measurement chart and order the size that is the closest match to your measurements. I work at a bridal shop and council girls on this every day - and yes I have seen some brides in tears over it (really girls!)

Historically, back in the 1950's bridal manufacturers and ready to wear clothing manufacturers used basically the same charts. Then the RTW folks realized that if they changed the tags from a 10 to an 8 (etc.), people would feel better about themselves and buy more clothes! It worked and they still do it! For example, when GAP came out in the 80's I was a teenager and wore their size 6. Now I am in my mid 30's, birthed two kids, and wear a GAP size 2! HMMM, how did that happen? What about the old adage that "You're a perfect 10" is measured at 36, 26, 36? Those measurements would apply more to a girl who buys size 6 clothes today.

A pretty accurate way to look at the bridal sizing is to know what your size would be to buy a good church dress or business suit. Then the number of your bridal gown would be 1-2 sizes bigger. (Note: A good fitting suit usually will have a higher number on the tag than say your Abercrombie junior fit jeans.)

It's a lot to think about, but nothing to stress over! Just get a dress that fits nicely then have alterations done so that your wedding gown fits YOU better than any other garment you have ever owned! Good luck shopping everyone!

 

[Cinderella2006]

I think this is more common than you think, I was a UK size 14/16 which I think is a US 10, so pretty average. I am very sensitive about my weight and size and I was nearly reduced to tears when I was measured for my wedding dress, I measured as a size UK 20 and I was devastated. I know it’s only a number but why don’t they make them on the larger side!? In the end I ordered the dress two sizes smaller and have now lost nearly two stone and have gone down to a UK 12 so hopefully when it comes time to try it on it will fit! My assistant was really nice and explained the 'bridal sizes' but my family thought I was mad to order the dress two sizes smaller but 4 months on and i have shown them!

 

[D&R love Disney]

How the dress fits is what matters. All brides look gorgeous. My dress was 3 sizes larger than I trypically wear. The only alteration was a little tuck on each side and a bit of shortening.

 

[ead79]

Don’t worry, you’re not alone! As others have mentioned, it is very common for bridal gowns to run smaller than regular clothes. Since no one sees the size, I just focused on having it look right. Nothing makes a person look larger than wearing too small clothes, so I just had my dress altered to fit and ignored the size. At the time I ordered it, I would guess that my dress size was 2 sizes larger than my street clothes.

 

[allisonswonderland]

I think a lot of it has to do with your body type. I would see a lot of girls who were very slim through the hips but did not have a real small waist and that typically creates the size problem. I am more hour glass and typically would not have needed alterations on a size 10 gown, I was probably a small sz 8 at the time I worked at the shop. Typically we always matched your largest measurement and went with that size so if you bust and hips measured a sz 6 but your waist measured a 10, we would need to go with the 10.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Actually ChrissieReiss hit it dead on. It's not that bridal gowns run smaller than street clothes; it's that manufacturers of other clothing have over time started making their street clothing MUCH larger to appeal to egos. When I was young, you could rely on a size 4 fitting like a size 4, no matter who the maker was. Now, you have to try everything on to see how a designer "fits"... there's no way to know without a chart specific to the manufacturer how anything will fit. She's right, "a perfect 10" meant 36-24-36... which today would be somewhere around a 4 in most manufacturers. I fall here, and I still have several pairs of those old jeans, casual pants, costumes, etc. I pulled some out for my daughter, who wears a street size 2-4, to try on for a costume party and she was horrified that I would suggest she wore "a 10!!!!" She was even more horrified when they didn't hang off her body!

It's not a myth... street size has gone up. Don't let the number printed on the tag of your gown scare you. Just smile and tell your sweetie that you're now closer to a perfect 10! ~Ev

 

[UK bride WDW 06]

How do American sizes compare to UK sizes? Our smallest is really a size 6 so to see you all wearing 2,3 and 4 is a bit alarming.!!!

 

[Cinderella2006]

A UK size 6 is the same as an US size 2

 

[littleladykaty]

I wear an American size 0-2 depending on the designer as was stated before, in Ireland I bought two pairs of jeans, a size 6 in a brand called Odd Molly and a size 8 at A wear...so your size 6 is comparable to an American size 0-1 an 8 is around a 2 etc...

I can't depend on the numbers either...I have to go by waist size and inseam and since I'm shorter I sometimes have to shop in the juniors section! None of it makes sense anymore...I know some stores started doing "vanity sizing" by sizing down larger clothing but there was some sort of public outcry on the more blatant stores... I wear what I wear if it fits but I tend to like my jeans on the baggier side anyhow!!!

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Yep, she's correct 2=6. Our shoe sizes are ridiculous compared to yours too. Sheesh, American egos, eh?! My size 8.5 shoe would equal your 39. My, what tiny feet I must have! HAHAHA! ~Ev

 

[WDWAurora]

Yep, she's correct 2=6. Our shoe sizes are ridiculous compared to yours too. Sheesh, American egos, eh?! My size 8.5 shoe would equal your 39. My, what tiny feet I must have! HAHAHA! ~Ev

haha I used to love that I wore like a size 64 in Chinese shoes (used to get these cute ones at Epcot).

The sizing is insane-I'm all for the men's system of doing it by waist/inseam for pants, maybe waist and bust for dresses?