How to Measure for a Wedding Dress

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Measuring tape
Full length mirror
A size chart
A friend to help

Step 1

Kim, Sue and Tara

- Look at twenty women standing in a group. There will be twenty variations of different shapes, heights, and weights. Next add in the fact that clothing manufacturer’s do not use a standard size chart. Plus, gowns are shipped to stores in the United States from factories from all over the world. You may be a bridesmaid in a family or friend’s wedding. Or, the most costly of all, you are the bride-to-be. Prepared with good information is a must.
Step 2

Kristi, Becky and Amanda

- I have been doing custom tailoring and alterations for almost thirty years in West Chester, Pa. Last year I customized 87 bridesmaid and 32 wedding gowns. Speaking recently with a local bridal shop owner she told me that 85-90% of the bridesmaid and bridal gowns have to be altered. For the consumer, the second tier alteration expenses can be quite costly in some cases. To make the best choice ordering your gown know your measurements “before” you go shopping to buy the gown.
Step 3

- In support of the bridal shops, gowns are ordered months in advance and cannot be returned if the gowns do not fit. The shop orders from a middleman who then places the order from a factory in China. 80% of the gowns that I see are made in China. The overall quality is excellent. There are some designers like Waters & Waters, Bill Levkoff, and Vera Wang that use complex structure designs, which increases the alteration costs. These designers offer excellent quality and design styles. But the cost of the alterations must be considered when choosing a gown for a wedding. If the cost of a bridesmaid gown is more than $150.00, it is considered to be a high-priced gown.
Step 4

Know where to measure.

- Click on this image and print it out to show you where to take the measurements. The bust measurement is taken right around and across the nipples of the breasts. The waist is measured where you are the smallest, not where you wear low rider pants. The hips are best measured while looking in a mirror. Somewhere about 7” below the natural waist and across the fullest part of your butt you will get the hip measurement. If you look at a side view of yourself in a mirror, you will be able to see where your hips are the widest. Get someone to help if you are not confident with using the measuring tape. Use the size chart in the attached image to help you choose your size. Click on the image with this step to enlarge it and then print it out. Take your measurements as the diagram indicates.
Step 5

- If the bride is 5'6" or less, a regular length wedding dress will work. There are petite lengths for those that are 5'2" or less. It you are 5'9" or taller, ask the bridal consultant for options. Most bridal gown manufacturers offer various lengths.
Step 6

Crystal

- Unless the price of a bridesmaid gown is more than $300.00, the gown will not be special made to your specific measurements. The bridal shop will use your measurements to choose the closest size to match your figure. Again, if either your breasts or hips are overly endowed, the bridal shop will insist on ordering up two sizes. I agree with that decision.
Step 7

Size chart

- Know your size before you go shopping for the gown. The bridal shop will generally encourage ordering a larger size because the gowns cannot be returned to the factory if they are too small. A larger size can be altered to fit you correctly. If they want to order up two, question why they are making that choice. It never hurts to ask. It is your money and you have the right to know the reason why.
Step 8

- As a rule of thumb, order one size larger than your normal dress size. With the exception being that if you have “well endowed Ta-Ta’s” or a lot of “junk in your trunk” you might want to go up two sizes. The bridal shop will know if a particular gown is running small.
Step 9

- Ordering extra length is a matter of common sense. If you are 5’9” or taller, the extra length makes sense. But when the factory manufacturers an extra-length gown, the bodice may also be sized for a longer torso.
Step 10

Mary Fran

- In the event that the bride is pregnant, ordering up “one” size is preferable. Most all gowns can be let out one size to accommodate the enlarging breasts. The baby bundle is right at the front of the gown. Lifting the front of the gown at the waist will allow more room for baby. The exception is that if you are 5’9” or taller and will be more than 6 months pregnant on the day of the wedding, order extra length. If a matching shawl comes with the gown, some of the fabric from the shawl can be used to make the additional expansion to the dress.
Step 11

Chrissie, Suzie, Debbie and Cindy

- If you are ordering a gown online or out-of-state, find a good tailor or alteration person in your area ahead of time. An independent tailor is becoming harder and harder to find. Most dry cleaners do not have the specialized skills to alter a wedding dress Tailoring and alterations of wedding gowns is a specialized field. Aside from the bridal shops, all of my competitors today are dry cleaners. Use a dry cleaner as a last resort unless you have previously had good alteration services from them. The majority of people who own and do the alterations at the dry cleaners today are foreign born and many do not communicate well in English. It is imperative that you are able to converse with the person who will be working on your gown. Remember, a bridal shop will not alter your gown if the dress was not purchased from their store.
Step 12

Amanda

- A warning about getting alterations done on a gown at a dry cleaner. Most all of the foreign born seamstresses come to the United States with a background of working in a sewing factory. In a sewing factory a worker sits all day sewing in sleeves, zippers and doing hems. If your gown needs overall re-construction of the upper torso area, I suggest that you do not take your gown to a dry cleaner. These ladies are not skilled with the engineering knowledge needed to make the structure alterations
Step 13

Renee Marie

- Second warning – If what the alteration person tells you does not make sense, grab your gown and go somewhere else. I make a lot of money each year correcting bad alterations on gowns.
Step 14

Alterations expert

- If all else fails and you are totally confused and discouraged, send me an email with your questions. At times, just talking to an expert in the field will help you to get on the right track.

Comments

newmama said

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on 1/20/2009 Very useful article. Thanks for the advice...it would help out a lot of if the manufactures of bridal gowns, especially, didn't make the sizes so off. You could normally wear a 4 or 6 and have to buy a 10 or 12 gown! Very frustrating!