I'm just not getting it...I feel stupid..can somebody explain to me please...

[Lorelei528]

ok, so I know this was mentioned briefly somewhere but I still don't understand...
With dress shopping...how can you know what the dress truly looks like on you, how do you know it's THE dress if the only size they have in the stores are 8's and you're a 12 or a 4?!?!?!

That first appt. I had at Camille, they had other sizes, so of course, it made it easy, but in a regular bridal shop....they usually only have one size. I know someone here said the ladies in the shops usually just pull it together in the back, etc...but how can you feel comfortable putting a deposit on a dress if you don't know exactly what it's going to feel like and look like once it's all zipped up etc...

It was funny because I could try on my size at Camille, I had forgotten about the whole size issue until I was driving home later thinking about how excited I was to try on more dresses and then it happened. All of a sudden I got all stressed out and upset ...I knew I had to ask you all experienced brides who were either too big or too small for the dress size in shop to see what you would say..

Please help?

Thanks!
Lori

 

[Disneyaddict1973]

Hi, God, I know what you are saying! When I started looking I was hoping for a designer dress from a boutique....BUT I had the situation you have! I just COULDN'T bring myself to "buy" something I have never truly tried on!!!! I ended up going to David's and trying on over 30 dresses before I found the ONE. THE GOOD THING ABOUT A CHAIN IS THAT THEY CARRY ALMOST EVERY SIZE!!!! That is the only way I could get a feel for dresses. This being MY life they didn't have my actual dress in my size, only a size bigger. We even ordered it 2 sizes down and when it came it was still too big. They did the clothespin thing and $380.00 in alterations later, my dress fits. Basically I think if you are a standard size...2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 etc you can probably find your size at a chain....the boutiques? An owner told me it was too expensive and made for too much stock for her to carry samples in all sizes. This would explain why so many of us go to David's lol. Best of luck!!!!

 

[lurkyloo]

Going to David's and trying on a lot of dresses in your size might be a good way to at least get a feel for how certain styles will look on you. Then you can go to the other salons and know generally what will be most flattering.

It's easier with ball gowns because the only part that has to fit is the bodice, and they can use clips or leave it unzipped in the back. I dunno what anyone does if they want a mermaid or a sheath dress...

 

[Fantasia Sam]

urghhh tell me about it - at first this was such a worry for me as I knew that so many of the dresses I tried on wouldn't even come close to my body LOL When I found THE dress I couldn't even do it up but I didn't care I was just dancing around the whole shop with my bra showing to all and sundry but I didn't care.

When it came to ordering the assistants were so adamant in ordering me a size that I was insisting would be too big for me - and I was so right when it came in - it swamped me and I too had a bill of $400 in alterations! I have to say that the dress looked worse on me when it came in bigger than when I tried it on in the small size - It's like I could really tell how it would fit on my bust and waist when it was ridiculously small!

It is very frustrating for sure! But I was still right on the money after I had the alterations so being too small or too big never meant that I felt differently from when I first tried on THE one.

 

[OceanGdss]

I can completely understand your frustration. My story is a little different though...I actually saw THE dress online. I have a pretty good vision of what I look like in things, so when I saw it i just KNEW. I didn't get to try on ANY size in it...i just bought it (it was on eBay). It was a 12, at the time I was a 10, now im an 8 and shrinking..so ill need a lot of alterations...but it is still amazing...I really think when you find 'the one' there is something about the dress that makes it special. If it looks slightly different on you when its an 8 instead of a 12, its ok. For me, the special part was the intricate beading and the pick-ups on my train. Hope this makes sense

 

[Mama of Indybride]

I can completely understand your frustration. My story is a little different though...I actually saw THE dress online. I have a pretty good vision of what I look like in things, so when I saw it i just KNEW. I didn't get to try on ANY size in it...i just bought it (it was on eBay). It was a 12, at the time I was a 10, now im an 8 and shrinking..so ill need a lot of alterations...but it is still amazing...I really think when you find 'the one' there is something about the dress that makes it special. If it looks slightly different on you when its an 8 instead of a 12, its ok. For me, the special part was the intricate beading and the pick-ups on my train. Hope this makes sense

Hey, how do you manage that shrinking thing? I seem to be going the opposite direction!

 

[JonetteA]

I went to Priscilla's of Boston and had the same issue you had as they only have trunk show sizes. I eventually went to David's and had a WONDERFUL experience. The David's here helped me with my dress when I had shrunk from what I originally ordered even though I ordered the right size. They also helped me find dresses for Leif's neices that were on a MAJOR sale when we found out that they were coming from Canada at the last minute. All in all, I bought 4 dresses from them. My wedding dress, 2 flower girl, and a jr. bridesmaid.

 

[OceanGdss]

Hey, how do you manage that shrinking thing? I seem to be going the opposite direction!

weight watchers baby! We have a thread on the community boards...losing weight disney style..come join!!

 

[Disneyaddict1973]

Amazing that no matter what size Bride you are, go throught the same thing with dresses! I think the Bridal shops try to make you buy a dress that is a little/ALOT too big from two angles....first being planning a wedding is so stressful that some Brides (like me) gain weight. My seamstress said I am one of 3 brides a week that she see's that are shocked that it doesn't fit as loosely when the dress comes in and it is tried on for the alterations (least I'm not alone ). Second is, I am using a seamstress outside of the Bridal store. She told me point blank that they will sell you a dress that is too big to get you into the alterations dept. to drop a few hundred more...for them it's just good business. All makes sense to me after thinking of what she said. AAMOF, my dress could have been ordered without a train, (I had no clue then) yet David's ordered it for me KNOWING I hated it with the train...they pointed out that I could have it bustled in the ALT. dept . ...I really did love the service I got there though. My consultant is more of a friend now than "consultant".

 

[PrincessBrideKatie]

This is why I was so happy with David's Bridal. They had a almost all the sizes in every dress, and when I dropped three sizes they sent back my 12 and ordered me a 6. The only alterations I needed was on the halter and for the bustle... my only issue with them was that alot of the snaps for the bustle broke either when first putting on the dress the day of the wedding, and sometime between taking it off and putting it back on for the TTD. Overall, I spent about $650 on my dress including alterations, and it held up better than I could have imagined.

 

[disneefan]

I know how you all feel. I tried on at David's but didn't like their selection. The dress I finally bought I tried on in a size 12 but I was a size 16 so it didn't button. But I loved it, and took the chance that it would look good. I had tried on other A-line dresses so I had a little bit of an idea. I hemmed and hawed though before I made the decision. Luckily, it all worked out. I love the dress it needs a little alteration on the top but most dresses do.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

When I went to try on dress..the one I loved would not zip..so it was hard to tell what it would look like...one year later, that size is what I ordered and I had to have it taken in 2"

i knew I loved the dress and it would work out..even if I had to order a bigger size or not
ETA - Alafred Angelo said they could take in 2 sizes, but only let out 1..that is why I went with the bigger dress even though I was continuing to lose

 

[OceanGdss]

ETA - Alafred Angelo said they could take in 2 sizes, but only let out 1..that is why I went with the bigger dress even though I was continuing to lose

thanks for that info!! i have an AA dress and need it taken in about 2 sizes. I've been so worried it wouldn't be possible

 

[Stephanie218]

I know exactly what you mean. I was trying on dresses alone, since my mom & sister & friends were all across the country, and I had no idea what looked good. Plus, they were all so expensive!!! I ended up going to a consignment shop at the suggestion of my roommate and it worked out perfectly. They had dresses of all styles in all sizes, and I liked the fact that I was reusing something else rather than just buying a new dress for one day. To top it off, the consignment store offered a 10% military discount, so my dress was only $450! But going to a consignment store is definitely a way to try on a lot of dresses in your size.

 

[PhilHarMaestro]

BTW: the amount that a dress can be taken in depends on the cut of the dress, boning etc. For instance mine is an alfred angelo and can be taken down almost 6 sizes, but not let out at all. Which is good, but frusterating, because they ordered my dress like 3 sizes too big and now I have to pay to have it altered alot!

 

[disneyberry]

ok, so I know this was mentioned briefly somewhere but I still don't understand...
With dress shopping...how can you know what the dress truly looks like on you, how do you know it's THE dress if the only size they have in the stores are 8's and you're a 12 or a 4?!?!?!

Lori, I was freaking out over the same thing. I'm between a size 4 and 6 wedding dress, and almost all the shops I went to only had size 12 to 16s for me to try on.

Basically the assistant would have to clip giant binder clips on my back (the way they do on the mannequins) to give me an idea of what the dress looked like on the front. But sadly, I couldn't really evaluate what the back would look like.

I ended up going to another shop that actually had dresses in my size! So I tried on some of the same dresses I tried on in size 16 at another store, and guess what? They looked pretty much the same. So then I started feeling more confident that the clipped up way-too-big dresses would still be able to let me see what the dress would look like.

Hope this helps, and good luck!