Anxiety about ordering dress too big

[sunnygirl]

Hi everyone,

So the sheer joy of ordering my dress is fading and I am starting to feel a little anxious about the size I ordered. I will preface by saying that in the last 6 months or so, i have gained about 8 pounds due to a number of factors. This is a lot for a 5''2" gal and a lot of clothes (jeans) dont fit well anymore. So I have been determined to get back into shape which I think won''t be too hard because I will basically be going from absolutely no exercise to some exercise and eating like garbage to eating like a normal person. I wanted to wait until getting at least a little back into shape before dress shopping but then I went and fell in love with the dress and ordered it right then and there! Now I am worried that maybe I should have waited to get some more realistic measurements. My wedding is September 2008 so I feel like i had time...

Here is the deal: the salon measured me at bust 35 - waist 26- high hip - 34.5 - low hip - 39
We ordered a dress in size 8 which is 36-28-38. I usually wear street size 2, maybe a 4. I understand that wedding dresses run small though.

I am confident that I will be able to drop that low hip to at least a 38 which is probably still bigger than what I was six months ago.

The bust and waist already have to be taken in quite a bit- if i get in shape, will it have to be taken in too much?

I guess my question is, how many inches can a dress be taken in and still maintain the look and integrity of the dress? For reference, I have attached a pic of the dress. There isn''t any beading or detail like that but there is a lot of ruching (sp?) and I dont know if this will look okay after multiple inches of alterations...

Sorry for the rambling and I feel like I probably sound silly but after plunking down an almost two thousand dollar deposit (eek!), I am feeling nervous!

 

[sunnygirl]

Oops here is the dress...

 

[CrownJewel]

Sunnygirl, I can commiserate!!! I feel exactly the same way! It sucks that we petite girls have to be very careful about how many pounds we gain, because three pounds can do away your whole wardrobe!!

I also ordered a Melissa Sweet gown while larger than I normally am. I wanted to wait until I was back in shape before ordering a gown, but that would be way too late. So my waist is about 2 inches larger than it was at the beginning of the year. I don''t remember the rest of my measurements, but whatever, I''m much bigger.

They ordered a size 4 for me, and street size, I wear a size 0 (when I was in shape, a size 0 was too big!) I''m 5''0" and I''m crazy worried that the gown will have to be taken in so much that the dress will be mutilated. So I called the consultant, and said, "is there a big difference between the size 4 gown and the size 2?" She said "yes." But she also said that I shouldn''t worry because they''ll be able to take it in with no problem. I figure that pulling the dress in 1 or 1.5 inches on each side (for a total of 2 or 3 inches) won''t be a big deal at all. Besides, they do 2 or 3 fittings so I''m sure they''ll keep tweaking it to make sure it is perfect.

When does your dress come in?

 

[blueyes157]

Hi Sunnygirl! I understand your fears. The hardest part I had with trying on dresses is that they are too big.... you never are 100% of how it will fit when it is altered which still makes me nervous, the unknown. Will the tummy be tight enough will it fit great around the bust. My suggestion to you would be to explain your goals of losing some weight to the bridal store (although they may be a bit ho hum by this because I am sure they hear that line 10 times a day) and see what they say. They are professionals at this and fitting women into their perfect dress size. In the end I would think they will order whatever size you want, so you could always insist on a smaller size.

I am not a seamstress but I do know it easier to take a dress in that is too big then make a dress that is too small bigger. So you may want to take that into consideration. You know your body and diet & exercise will power than anyone else, so if you can make it happen then order a smaller size!

 

[cara]

I think you''ll be fine. I think dresses can safely be altered a full size or two before you start running into big problems, assuming that the seamstress can actually take apart all the seams without beading and lace complications.

You might not love the alterations bill, but find a good seamstress and try to be at your intended size 2 mouths out and leave it in their hands. Just be sure to leave enough time for them to tweak it a couple of times if you aren''t 100% happy.

The top half of my dress was similar - ruching, strapless, fitted through low waist but not mermaid style like yours. I am a street size 16 but pear shaped - my bust measured 12 to 14, and my hips/waist measured between 18 and 20 in bridal sizing. I ordered the 20 knowing it needed to be taken in substantially on the upper half and the seamstress just pinned it tighter along the back zipper and took it in and added darts and cups to the bust. If you have a corset back it might be a little more work but should be a very standard kind of alteration. The dress stayed up beautifully and fit very well all through the torso region (where mine was supposed to be fitted).

If fact, the only place that came out not quite right was the bust region. Obviously the dress was made to accommodate much larger "girls" and the seamstress was reluctant to try to dramatically take in the bust. So she made small darts and added two set of cups to help me fill out the existing shape. It certainly made an impact and looked decent, but in hindsight I might have preferred to go a bit closer to my natural size. But I when the seamstress says they don''t want to mess with something, you tend to not want to force them...

 

[musey]

I COMPLETELY understand--I''m going through a similar thing, although my fear is that my dress has been ordered too SHORT... which would be a major problem for my hem.

I think that you should be fine with alterations--better to start from "too big" than have only a tiny bit of wiggle room with "too small"!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Rouching like that on your dress is not hard to alter at all and as long as there are no stays to be moved, it shouldn''t be a problem. You might put on some spanx and get mesured again so you have a better idea of your measurements.
I had the same problem, I was 5''2 and gained 12 pounds do to a medication I was on. The two most helpful pieces of advice I can give is to not drink ANY sweetend drinks and do your main exercise after dinner. I have now lost that weight and a little more without any suffering on my part.

 

[FacetFire]

Your situation sounds similar to mine. I ended up ordering the larger size to fit my larger measurement, and I am going to have to get the waist and hips taken in a good bit. I think it''s always safer to go too big and get it taken in. Not to mention, I''d hate to have the pressure of dieting down the home stretch if you haven''t lost quite as much weight as you hoped. I think you did the right thing.

 

[sunnygirl]

Hi everyone -
Thanks for your comments! So I feel much better about the situation because i changed my order to a 6 instead. I am confident the dress will fit - I dont think it will be TOO hard to get back to where I was ~six months ago. I mean, really, I have been just gross and totally unhealthy lately. Before two weeks ago, i couldn''t even remember the last time I had exercised! Also, my FI and I moved in together in June and I have been eating way worse/much bigger portions when we eat together. It''s almost like I think I can eat as much as he can even though he has 8 inches and least 50 pounds on me!

 

[Neveah]

My advice: Do NOT order the dress to the size you are "pretty confident" you can get back into (and please don''t take this that I don''t think you can do it

)
I had my measurements for my dress done with all my undergarments ON as this makes a difference (if only by an inch!)

My best friend did this (ordered the dress too small).... and for whatever reason didn''t shed the 10lbs. The DAY BEFORE HER WEDDING she was having emergency alterations.

My sister in law bought a dress off the rack that was enormous on her. She got a fantastic seamstress who completely altered it to fit her and it looked FANTASTIC!

It''s always better to take it in than to take it out. Get a fantastic seamstress for alterations and you''re good to go!

 

[FacetFire]

Ack, you are worrying me ordering the 6! I'm really not trying to be negative, but you already need to lose an inch off your hips before the size 8 will fit. I don't understand why you are worried about ordering the 8...a dress can easily be taken in that much (and more). My dress had buttons in front and back and I am still confident it will look the same when they are done altering it down. I know we get hung up on numbers sometimes (trust me, I understand because part of me wanted to order the smaller size myself just to feel better), but when it comes to wedding dress numbers, they are all totally whacky anyway. I actually feel good about ordering the larger size because I know that it is just one less thing to stress about. I'm sure you will get into shape, but do you really want to have to stress about it? Do you know your exact measurements from before you started gaining weight? I don't know, it just sounds really risky to order the smaller size. (Please don't hate me for saying so).

 

[sunnygirl]

hey guys,

Thanks for the help! FacetFire, I know exactly what you are saying. I would say the same thing if I was reading a post like this and I feel pretty lame and cliche being one of those girls. But I just feel like it won''t be an issue. I talked about it with my mom and my FI and they know me and my body and they didnt think it would be a problem. When i gained the weight, it all went straight to my low hips/thighs. I definitely want to go back to the way it was because I cant afford to buy all new jeans!