“A custom-made wedding dress can be an amazing choice for a bride. “
A custom-made wedding dress can be an amazing choice for a bride. Your special gown can reflect your unique personality and match your chosen venue and style of wedding. Often your vision of the perfect wedding dress will not be available in ready to wear. Perhaps you would like your gown to have a little colour or you would like a style that is not currently among the most popular. When you work with a custom bridal designer, you can create a gown that not only fulfills your vision but also flatters your particular figure and is comfortable to wear throughout your special day.
Most of us are never satisfied with our body shapes. We always wish that we looked slimmer or not so skinny, taller or shorter. We want a smaller bust line or a bigger bra size, smaller hips or a bigger bottom. Just before your wedding is a really bad time to dwell on these perceived flaws. Every bride is beautiful in her own unique way and it is possible to enhance your figure assets and play down those areas that you are not so happy with by choosing a wedding dress that suits your particular body type.
There are six different women’s body shapes and most of us have a figure that is close to one of these shapes.
Triangle or Pear
Defined waist with hips wider than bust and shoulders.
Often has short legs with full thighs.
Inverted Triangle
Wide shoulders, large bust, narrow hips and thin legs with a flat seat.
Any extra pounds usually are in the abdomen, chest and face.
Rectangle
Small – medium bust line with thin arms and legs.
Usually hips are the same width as the waist and seat is flat.
Hourglass
A curvy body with a defined waist and hips that are the same size as the bust.
Round
This body has an overall round appearance especially at the waist.
The stomach is large, the hips wide with full upper thighs.
The seat may be full or flat.
Diamond
A body which is full at the waist only with comparatively slim shoulders and hips.
Here are some rough sketches of five of the most common wedding dress silhouettes. Of course, there are endless variations on these with different necklines, sleeves or sleeveless, various lengths, trains or no trains. However, there will always be one or two of these basic styles that will be more flattering for each individual bride.
A-Line Style
This is the most forgiving of all silhouettes and can be worn by all figure types.
Mermaid Style
Best for triangle and hourglass figures.
Ballgown Style
A good choice for triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle and hourglass body types.
Sheath Style
Hourglass and rectangle figure types would be wise to consider this style.
Empire Style
Also a good choice for any figure type.
For additional information about popular wedding dress silhouettes as well as who can wear different styles check out this blog post from Bridal Guide. Great photos! Click Here
Whether you will be buying your dress at a bridal salon or having your special gown custom made, the next step is to try on actual wedding dresses in the silhouettes that work for your body type. This is the only way you can know for sure which dresses will look the best. Variations, in colour, shape of necklines, style of sleeves, length of train etc. all have a bearing on whether a gown is suitable for your unique shape.
Take photos if you can, make notes and match your favourites with pictures from bridal magazines to help you in making your final decision on the wedding dress that is just right for you.
A Custom-Made Wedding Dress
An Off-The-Rack Wedding Dress
