Your wedding dress makes a statement, as does your entire wedding reflecting your personality. Are you chic? Sophisticated? Classic? Sexy? Traditional? Avant garde?Enlisting the aid of a professional can eliminate hours of hassles and headaches and help you achieve the ideal dress. They are trained to find what works. A good consultant can take one look at you and lead you to the right style, the right designer.
Certain manufacturers cut larger or smaller so some work for petites, others for full figures. You might want to bring clippings from a bridal magazine or that you have printed from the Internet to give the consultant a clearer idea of the styles you prefer.
Many gown manufactures now offer champagne, ivory and blush in addition to traditional white. These softer hues may be more flattering to your complexion. You should try on no fewer than three gowns so feel free to try on as many as you want until you find the perfect gown. A dress that might look rather plain on the hanger might transform your figure. Even when you think you have found the right dress, try on a couple more just to be sure.
Choosing the right gown starts with proportion. A dress may look gorgeous on the model in the photo, but it will never look good on you if the lines are wrong for your proportions. Think of your silhouette and begin with your best features, then ease into the ones that are less than perfect. Do you have a tiny waist that would look fantastic in a clingy sheath gown? Do you have great cleavage ideal for being set off by an open neckline? Wonderful shoulders or a lovely swan neck perfect for a strapless or off the shoulder gown.
Don't worry many styles also can camouflage your less than perfect features. Large hips can be hidden with an A-line gown. It will give height and reduce width making you look taller and slimmer. Another option would be a hollow waist which begins an inch and a half below your natural waist, camouflaging your heaviest part.
A thick waist can be minimized by a princess waist, just make sure the fullness of the dress starts below your thick part. Heavy thighs are easy to conceal beneath a full skirt, but stay away from any style that is straight or narrow. The same advice applies if you have a full derriere. Remember to draw attention away from your flaws and concentrate on a beautiful neckline instead.
Historical reproduction and original vintage wedding gowns
Original vintage gowns may require expensive and expert repairs for them to be wearable. Old fabric, if not properly stored, can become damaged causing it to tear easily or disintegrate. Alterations can usually be made to make the dress smaller, but making the dress larger is very difficult as it is impossible to match the fabric with the original and care must be taken to hide the gussets and new stitching. Look for a reputable vintage shop and find a seamstress with experience fitting and restoring vintage couture.
Reproductions are another way to have a gown from times gone by whether it is 1892 or 1492. These are new gowns made to replicate the fashions of centuries past. These are often created from vintage sewing patterns either by cutting apart an old gown to copy the design or creating an entirely new gown from a vintage photograph or painting.
