Designers that offer dresses that are NOT strapless...

[jdinsf]

Hi, newbie here. Wedding date 8/16/08. SF Bay Area. I am starting to look for the dress, but everywhere I look I see strapless, strapless, strapless. I think they look lovely on some women, but I need.. ehhem... a bit more support up top, and am concerned. I''m not looking for circa 1985 poofy either, but a little strap wouldn''t hurt. Any ideas?

Thanks!!!!

jdinsf

 

[zoebartlett]

Welcome to PS! I can''t think of the designer/company, but there''s one particular place that offers a variety - you choose what you want in terms of whether to have a dress strapless, short sleeves, etc. I''ll try to find it.

 

[neatfreak]

David''s bridal lets you add sleeves to almost anything I think.

 

[E B]

Watters makes quite a few! Scroll through to see them all.

 

[cara]

jasmine is the one that lets you customize your top with sleeves etc.

there ARE halters and sleeved dresses out there, you just have to go to a lot of stores. also look through the mags and when you see one you like, go online and find out who near you carries that designer.

i would also start with the really big stores that have a large enough selection that they will have a fair number of halters. Trudy's comes to mind, though they were a bit strict with their rules. Moderately big stores in south bay are Bay Area Bridal and Elegant Lace, both of which I liked. Galleria Bridal in Santa Rosa also has a special halter section in their store, though their dress selection and system didn't thrill me.

If you are into nicer designers, I would really look for specific dresses you want to try on so that you can call ahead for them at those stores. And you might have to go to trunk shoes to see newer designs.

 

[Gypsy]

First what''s your budget and second-- have you looked through theknot''s gown search... you can search by sleeve length and there are quite a few lovely options out there. Reem Acra has one that I love... and I believe Jim Hjelm has some beautiful ones as well. Also -- do consider white BM dresses-- many of those will have strappy or sleeved options and are lower priced too!

 

[Selkie]

lol...From the number of times I''ve flogged Alfred Angelo on here, you''d think I owned stock in the company. I didn''t even end up getting my dress from them, but most likely would have if I hadn''t gotten a great deal elsewhere. Anyway, they have a great, affordable selection, many salons carry them and they have company stores in some locations (I don''t see one in the Bay Area, though). All of their strapless styles come with optional straps. They also have a number of styles with straps or sleeves.
Alfred Angelo

 

[labbielove]

I was in the same boat, and I am fairly certain you can add straps to any dress.
Also I think if you go to netbride.com or some of the other bridal sites (including the knot, but they don''t have all mfrs) you can search by feature of the dress.

I ended up with a Maggie Sottero, she has a lot of strapless, but a lot with straps as well. Also I had found some Casablanca, Eden, and Alfred Angelo gowns with straps that I liked.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 5/22/2007 7:59:04 PM
Author: cara
jasmine is the one that lets you customize your top with sleeves etc.

there ARE halters and sleeved dresses out there, you just have to go to a lot of stores. also look through the mags and when you see one you like, go online and find out who near you carries that designer.

i would also start with the really big stores that have a large enough selection that they will have a fair number of halters. Trudy''s comes to mind, though they were a bit strict with their rules. Moderately big stores in south bay are Bay Area Bridal and Elegant Lace, both of which I liked. Galleria Bridal in Santa Rosa also has a special halter section in their store, though their dress selection and system didn''t thrill me.

If you are into nicer designers, I would really look for specific dresses you want to try on so that you can call ahead for them at those stores. And you might have to go to trunk shoes to see newer designs.

Thanks cara! I couldn''t think of the name earlier.

 

[Fancy605]

Am I the only one who''s been seeing a lil less strapless in stores/magazines lately-- stores are offering more and more elegant options with various necklines: halters or tiny straps or lace straps. You might want to call around to different stores in your area and ask what options they can make avaliable to you.

 

[musey]

Date: 5/22/2007 8:12:18 PM
Author: Gypsy
First what''s your budget and second-- have you looked through theknot''s gown search... you can search by sleeve length and there are quite a few lovely options out there.

I was going to suggest theknot.com''s search as well. I''m also not a strapless fan, not for necessity of support (I wish) but just stylistically.

What kind of sleeve/neckline are you looking for? Non-strapless doesn''t narrow it down much! I''ve been seeing a lot of off-the-shoulder lately, as well as (of course) halters.

 

[krockie]

I didn''t want strapless either, and I found a ton of dresses to try on at the places I went to look. I think you just have to go and see, and you''ll find lots of options. Also, there are many strapless dresses that can be modified to have straps if you have a good tailor.

 

[Trelala]

If you''re willing to spend a bit more than average, you can try the Amy Kuschel boutique at Union Square. They have a whole range of necklines.
Let us know what you decide on!

 

[KimberlyH]

I needed the support too...but ended up getting a dress with such small straps that it was essentially like wearing a stapless anyways..good thing my seamstress was such an amazing talent! Anyways, Alfred Angelo (I did buy my dress there) has a great selection and are reasonably priced.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Casablanca will let you customize necklines/sleeves as well - I saw a girl on the Knot who had my exact same dress but she had them add straps and do the neckline she wanted on it. My bridal shop said that Casablanca is very amenable to changing things like that for brides.