Wedding Related: Bridesmaid Dresses

[NUBlue&Blue]

We found my old cheerleading skirts from the 70's and they were all size 7 and my daughter who wears a 0 or a 2 couldn't fit into them.

OK, so if I wear a 12 now.....what size was that in the 70's? GI-normous!

[GeekyPenguin]

peanutttu, you just PMed me about this thread - your box is full!

[ShaedyKD]

Can anyone tell me the average amount for bridesmaid dress alterations? I've never had anything altered before at all, so I have no clue what to expect.

I tried the thing on in February - a size 10 was all the store had. Stupid store clerk was like, oh, an 8 will fit you perfectly. I know I've lost a few pounds since then, but all my clothes still fit fine - including my bras. I get the stupid dress today, and I think I would need DD's to fill it out. If it wasn't so fitted in the waist, and my hips were a little smaller, I could take the thing off without unzipping it. It is that big. Yeah, a size 8 will be PERFECT.

[honeychile]

Originally posted by ShaedyKD
Can anyone tell me the average amount for bridesmaid dress alterations? I've never had anything altered before at all, so I have no clue what to expect.

I tried the thing on in February - a size 10 was all the store had. Stupid store clerk was like, oh, an 8 will fit you perfectly. I know I've lost a few pounds since then, but all my clothes still fit fine - including my bras. I get the stupid dress today, and I think I would need DD's to fill it out. If it wasn't so fitted in the waist, and my hips were a little smaller, I could take the thing off without unzipping it. It is that big. Yeah, a size 8 will be PERFECT.

I've paid as little as $10 to as much as $50 - but our cost of living is lower here. Double that for say, NYC or Chicago.

If you know someone whose a seamstress, that's the way to go. The bridal shops are geared to make money on alterations, and the more we don't "feed that need", the sooner they'll start getting realistic about sizes! There needs to be a size for people who are larger on top for their hips/waist, and a size for those who are larger in the hips for their bust. Somewhat like having an 8a, 8b, 8c or something.

CarolinaCutie - I agree with you about the dresses SO MUCH!! When the (anorexic, airbrushed, pinned up) model doesn't look fantastic in a dress, how in the world are we mere mortals supposed to look in clothes?

[AUDeltaGam]

When I got my dress altered last year for a roommate's wedding, it cost $60 to take the lenght up and majorly take the sides in.

[ShaedyKD]

Originally posted by honeychile
The bridal shops are geared to make money on alterations, and the more we don't "feed that need", the sooner they'll start getting realistic about sizes! There needs to be a size for people who are larger on top for their hips/waist, and a size for those who are larger in the hips for their bust. Somewhat like having an 8a, 8b, 8c or something.

I hear you! But the funny thing is, I tried my dress on at a shop in Houston, because I recently moved, and then I ordered the dress from a shop in Tampa so all the dresses came from the same fabric or whatever. So it's not like I will be getting it altered at either dress shop, I'll probably just take it to an alterations place.

Thanks for the estimates! The price of this dress is going up to probably $200 now.

[HBADPi]

Originally posted by ShaedyKD
I hear you! But the funny thing is, I tried my dress on at a shop in Houston, because I recently moved, and then I ordered the dress from a shop in Tampa so all the dresses came from the same fabric or whatever. So it's not like I will be getting it altered at either dress shop, I'll probably just take it to an alterations place.

Thanks for the estimates! The price of this dress is going up to probably $200 now.

I'd just take it to a local alterations place like you said. Trust me you'll be spending a lot more on this wedding than you think! Ridiculous how expensive being in a wedding can get.

[polarpi]

Originally posted by AGDee
...They take your measurements and order your dress for the largest measurement. So, if your bust is a 12 and your waist and hips are an 8, you get the 12. If your bust is an 8 and your waist is a 10 and your hips are an 8, you get the 10.

True story: THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE!

I was in a wedding last summer - now my measurements had me at a 14 in two areas and an 18 in the other....the person advising the bride told her to order me the 14!!! I luckily made it into DB, where I tried on a *similarly* cut dress in the 14, and couldn't get it anywhere near to zip up the back. I called the bride, who changed the order....fast-forward another couple of months, when I finally got back for the wedding and tried on the dress a week and a half before the ceremony - the 16 didn't fit, either! THe same thing happened with another bridesmaid, so the two of us had to go into DB, they had to call and rush order these dresses from their headquarters (or something along those lines), and I was the last to get my dress to me - 2 days before the wedding.

DB is getting a little crazy - the same dress that I had problems with was difficult for another bridesmaid...she's a size 0, and the dress doesn't come in a 0, so they ordered her a 2 - AND IT FIT PERFECTLY!

I agree with the earlier poster who said that most of the time, the dresses don't fit anyone right - this makes me think that you definitely need to work on getting bridesmaid dresses ASAP - and then make sure you don't need to alter it after everything's "perfect"

[CarolinaCutie]

I was re-reading this thread and felt like I should update on the stupidity of the bridesmaid dress that I wore to this wedding this summer. The dress came on time, so that wasn't a problem, but the sizing on the dress was absolutely ridiculous.

I float between a size 14 and a size 16 normally, with a thick waist and narrow hips... I'm also almost 6 ft tall, so I knew I would have to pay extra money to get extra inches at the bottom of the dress. The dresses went up to a size 20... the bridal shop recommended that I order the size 20 AND order an extra yard of the fabric in case more panels needed to be added. I thought this was stupid but, really, I didn't care if the dress was a size 99 as long as it fit me and I could spend as little time as possible thinking about it.

I'm sure you can all guess what happened. The dress came and it wouldn't even stay up on my body, it was so huge! When the dress was being altered, I got entire inches taken off of the sides. The dress had to be completely rebuilt, including the boning in the bodice... thank God for wonderfully talented seamstresses. In the end, the seamstress (who was not employed by the same bridal store who ordered the dress) told me that she had altered the dress down to be an average size 16 dress- so why the HELL did I have to order the wrong size and pay so much damn money for the alteration?

Thank God that wedding is over and done with

[adpiucf]

my friend told me about the lovely dresses she ordered for us-- floor length halter dress with a "mesh netting front" and "ruffles" in the back. We get to wear silver and the MOH is in blue. I haven't seen the dress yet and I already don't like it. But whatever.

[AUDeltaGam]

Originally Posted by CarolinaCutie

I was re-reading this thread and felt like I should update on the stupidity of the bridesmaid dress that I wore to this wedding this summer. The dress came on time, so that wasn't a problem, but the sizing on the dress was absolutely ridiculous.

I float between a size 14 and a size 16 normally, with a thick waist and narrow hips... I'm also almost 6 ft tall, so I knew I would have to pay extra money to get extra inches at the bottom of the dress. The dresses went up to a size 20... the bridal shop recommended that I order the size 20 AND order an extra yard of the fabric in case more panels needed to be added. I thought this was stupid but, really, I didn't care if the dress was a size 99 as long as it fit me and I could spend as little time as possible thinking about it.

I'm sure you can all guess what happened. The dress came and it wouldn't even stay up on my body, it was so huge! When the dress was being altered, I got entire inches taken off of the sides. The dress had to be completely rebuilt, including the boning in the bodice... thank God for wonderfully talented seamstresses. In the end, the seamstress (who was not employed by the same bridal store who ordered the dress) told me that she had altered the dress down to be an average size 16 dress- so why the HELL did I have to order the wrong size and pay so much damn money for the alteration?

Thank God that wedding is over and done with

This reminds me of what happened in a wedding I was in. One of the bridesmaids was about a size 6, and the bride ordered all the dresses and ordered this bridesmaid a size 12! The seamstress has to basically recreate the dress and it cost that bridesmaid over $300 in alteration costs! The bride also ordered me a dress 2 sizes too big, so I had to pay to have it majorally taken in

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by AUDeltaGam

This reminds me of what happened in a wedding I was in. One of the bridesmaids was about a size 6, and the bride ordered all the dresses and ordered this bridesmaid a size 12! The seamstress has to basically recreate the dress and it cost that bridesmaid over $300 in alteration costs! The bride also ordered me a dress 2 sizes too big, so I had to pay to have it majorally taken in

Same thing happened to me - order a larger size than normal, become absolutely hysterical at the very thought of needing "that size!", dieting like a maniac prior to the wedding, then needing to have it taken in - or as CarolinaCutie said, rebuilt - days before the wedding!

I think these idiots should pay for any therapy needed by this scam!

I was the MOH in one wedding where I couldn't make the "deciding of the dress". They picked a dress that could only nicely be called a "Purple Carmen Miranda Without the Fruit Hat" dress! I went to the store the next day, saw it, and said, no. There was absolutely no possible way I was going to spend $400 (plus shoes, handbag, gloves, hat, etc) for that monstrosity. I had a seamstress friend check it out, and make me one that blended in, but without the gazillion ruffles. Funny how I blocked that whole wedding out of my mind...

[ADqtPiMel]

Originally Posted by CarolinaCutie

I was re-reading this thread and felt like I should update on the stupidity of the bridesmaid dress that I wore to this wedding this summer. The dress came on time, so that wasn't a problem, but the sizing on the dress was absolutely ridiculous.

I float between a size 14 and a size 16 normally, with a thick waist and narrow hips... I'm also almost 6 ft tall, so I knew I would have to pay extra money to get extra inches at the bottom of the dress. The dresses went up to a size 20... the bridal shop recommended that I order the size 20 AND order an extra yard of the fabric in case more panels needed to be added. I thought this was stupid but, really, I didn't care if the dress was a size 99 as long as it fit me and I could spend as little time as possible thinking about it.

I'm sure you can all guess what happened. The dress came and it wouldn't even stay up on my body, it was so huge! When the dress was being altered, I got entire inches taken off of the sides. The dress had to be completely rebuilt, including the boning in the bodice... thank God for wonderfully talented seamstresses. In the end, the seamstress (who was not employed by the same bridal store who ordered the dress) told me that she had altered the dress down to be an average size 16 dress- so why the HELL did I have to order the wrong size and pay so much damn money for the alteration?

Thank God that wedding is over and done with

This has me panicking - I bought my wedding dress after trying on the store sample, which was a size 8 and had to be clipped in the back to keep it from falling off. After taking the measurements, the woman at the shop advised me to order a 12 in the SAME DRESS. I objected, but she told me that the measurements don't lie. Yikes.