lace-up wedding dresses

shigidigi · Sep 30, 2007

Hey for those of you ladies who wore lace-up wedding dresses (many Maggie Sottero probably), did you find that you still needed a strapless bra underneath it?

I only ask because I am having the worst time finding dresses I like that aren''t strapless and unfortunately the "girls" need help staying where they belong! I have a full bust and it is hard to find good strapless bras and the thought of having a good wedding dress where I potentially didn''t need one is exciting.

I just wanted to know from those of you who have bought or already worn the lace-up style wedding dresses, what did you wear for support?

Can you tell I am clueless? I have an appointment to try on some dresses on Tuesday but as usual I am dreading it. I just thought I''d ask the big question I''ve been having before I go.

Elmorton · Sep 30, 2007

Mine was a corset back, and even though it hugged me very closely, I had a full backless/strapless bra (I also had a modesty panel under the laces). I highly recommend the extra support, especially if you have a fuller bust. I''m plus sized, so I was expecting finding a good strapless/backless bra to be a nightmare, but my bridal salon took my measurements and ordered one that fit me like a glove. Most bridal salons will also provide you with a bra in your size to try on the dress, and carry all sizes. You might also consider having a seamstress sew in your bra - one of my attendants did this for her dress and said it worked out very well.

larussel03 · Sep 30, 2007

You can get different types of bra cups sewed into your dress, so you should talk to the seamstress to see if you can get the support you need from bra cups and proper alterations

jesterjigger · Sep 30, 2007

My dress was a lace up, and I bought a strapless bra from Alfred Angelo to wear with it. I just didn''t want to risk it, though normally I wear strapless dresses with nothing underneath. One thing I liked about the bra was that is was even more slimming than just the dress, so that was a plus!

shigidigi · Sep 30, 2007

Elmorton- do you think it would be easy to find someone to sew the bra into the dress? I always see places that will sew in cups but that doesnt provide any support.

Jesterjigger good point with the bra- extra slimming is always a plus!!

If I decide to go with a lace-up dress, where can I by a privacy panel? Or do dresses come with them?

jesterjigger · Sep 30, 2007

My dress came with one...it snapped in. It was Alfred Angelo, so all of them probably come with it. I don''t think all dresses come with them though, another girl I knew had a lace up dress, but she didn''t have a privacy panel...and didn''t want one either.

anchor31 · Oct 1, 2007

I will wear a corset lace back dress (from Alfred Angelo) and it has optional straps and an optional modesty panel. All their dresses do. I''m a small chested, straight waisted girl (not the best combo

), so I will wear a bustier underneath to slim my waist and boost my chest.

labbielove · Oct 1, 2007

Hi there,
I wore a non-strapless Maggie corset back dress (pics in my non pro thread below)
and only had cups sewn in at the seamstress- it didn''t require anything else.
I am about a 36C if that helps you decide.
I did end up with a fairly flimsy strapless bra I already had on the day of, but only so I could put a mini-icepack in there to help cool me down in the church- it definitely wasn''t necessary for support.

I was totally comfortable in my dress all day- it was a dream to wear

onedrop · Oct 1, 2007

I wore a Maggie Sottero corset back, strapless dress. I went out and bought support accessories, but the seamstress at the bridal salon, insisted that I didn''t need it. Needless to say I wa surprised because I am "top heavy," but she was right. It could be that the style of dress didn''t require a strapless bra, at least for me. If anything maybe I needed something to hold me in more, but I think any additional bra would have been too much under the dress. And yes, a good seamstress can sew undergarments into the dress to make things more comfortable.

rms · Oct 1, 2007

Well I am not that big on top, so maybe my answer doesn''t count. But I wore absolutely nothing under my Maggie dress except undies. I thought it was so great to not have to worry about all those extras. The corset top gave all the support and shaping needed.

RoseAngel04 · Oct 1, 2007

I was a Maggie bride and no, I did not wear a bra...I had my seamstress sew in cups, which worked well. My dress was corset style and I had the back panel taken out...it was perfect!

shigidigi · Oct 1, 2007

Thanks everyone! I am going to try on two Maggie dresses that I really like online tomorrow and wanted to know what to expect. I fell in love with a David''s Bridal lace dress but I always feel like their dresses are a bit flimsy and if I could find a Maggie that looks as good but is more structured I would be elated!

It is such a pain to find a strapless bra that actually holds it all in so I will be ecstatic if I can get cups or a whole bra sewn in to work!

Did any of you end up needing the privacy panel? Is it better to by the dress the actual size you need or one larger to keep the laces tighter?

Haven · Oct 1, 2007

I''m not wearing a lace-up dress, but I had really good success using the Victoria''s Secret self-adhesives when I was the MOH in my best friend''s wedding in May. I wore a gorgeous but loose beaded dress, and they couldn''t sew in cups (which never helps me anyway) and there was no way I could wear a bra with the dress.

I wear a 34D, so I have a pretty large chest, and these things really worked! They also didn''t hurt when I pulled them off at the end of the night like I thought they would!

I bought both kinds--I was going to link to the VS website for you, but I''m at work and the site is forbidden. (I suppose we don''t want to allow our high school boys to access that site, anyway!)

I''ll post a picture of the dress later, these things were seriously miracle workers, they worked MUCH better than any strapless bra I''ve ever worn!

Elmorton · Oct 1, 2007

Honestly, I like the look of the modesty panel. We added the corset back, so my seamstress made mine from some extra material. I know nada about sewing, but I would think that any seamstress who is linked to a bridal shop should be able to do it.

Definitely order your dress in your correct size. I lost weight prior to every fitting, so we had to keep taking it in - in the end, I would have probably wanted my laces a little closer, but I''d much rather have a slightly wider gap than a dress that is slipping off and can''t be tightened. Also, most brides lose weight, especially in the few weeks before the wedding (yuck, stress!).

In terms of sewing in the bra cups - never done it myself so my input is probably not the best, but my friend/attendant is a between a C/D cup, and she didn''t have any complaints. She took an old bra and they just cut off the straps and back and sewed it into the lining. A very petite friend of mine who had a sheath wedding dress also did this because you could see the lines of her bra (I guess I should say corset? what ARE the longer ones called?) across her stomach.

But, if your dress is conducive to a long/full strapless bra, I totally agree with the comment that the full backless/strapless holds you in and makes you thinner

My tummy is my problem area, and my bra smoothed out and pulled in that area so I didn''t have to wear a girdle (yay!). I thought it was pretty sexy, too - no boning, very smooth, super comfortable (didn''t poke into my sides or anything when I was sitting). Here''s a similar one:

Bridal bra

Haven · Oct 1, 2007

Okay, I just got home so now I can post the picture of my dress and how it looked using the Victoria's Secret adhesives. I REALLY recommend them, I was NOT a believer when I first bought them, but I loved my MOH dress and I didn't want to give it up because I couldn't find a bra that would work.

I bought the adhesive push ups and the invisible lifts and used them together (just in case!) and they were amazing. Link:
Adhesive Bras

Below is the picture of my impossible dress. Since I was the MOH she wanted me to wear a different dress, and thank goodness--the other bridesmaids were teeny tiny, I would have looked so bad in the same dress as them!

shigidigi · Oct 1, 2007

Thanks ladies, and can I just say that haven you are a hottie!!!

I''ll have to investigate these sticky bras from VS- but admittedly I am always skeptical because I am about three Ds bigger than you! But you never know, so we''ll see!

Wish me luck for tomorrow''s dress shopping!!

Haven · Oct 1, 2007

Thanks! That's what you get for $150 in hair and makeup! (NOT my choice, mind you, but I LOVED my hair in the end.)

I was very skeptical about the stickies, too, and they really worked. If you end up going with a strapless bra, you can always use the VS double-sided tape to keep everything in place, it works wonders. (You know, for the "overflow" that sometimes happens at the top of the cups, so with the tape I don't have to, ahem, reposition myself halfway through the night which is normally what will happen.) I also use the double-sided tape to adhere my bra to my dress or top of it's a particularly odd-shaped garment and I want to keep my bra from peeking out.

If our men only knew what we go through to keep everything in place!

shigidigi · Oct 1, 2007

Do you have any close ups of your hair? From the front it looks like it has some curls pinned in the back.

I feel like I''ve asked you to give up all of your woman secrets in one night!

Haven · Oct 2, 2007

I do have pictures! I loved it so much that I made sure to take pictures in case I ever wanted a similar style again.

Here''s a shot of the updo from the back: