Adding lace sleeves to strapless lace dress

Charmanda4614

Hi ladies, I will be going to my first dress fitting next weekend and am in need of your help. I bought a lace strapless gown from David's Bridal that is champagne/ivory. My issue is that I must have sleeves, at least down to my elbow. I have saved a TON of pictures of dresses with sleeves and have an idea of what I want, but I'm not sure if it's possible. I have attached a couple of pictures of my dress and the idea of what I was thinking. (Sorry, but I cut out my face in the picture.) Any ideas or suggestions? (It's a January wedding so, A. I have some time and B. I don't want to be freezing)

beachyone15

That's a beautiful dress! I don't have any ideas really, but if for some reason they aren't able to add sleeves, would you consider wearing a jacket/bolero? That may give you more options.

Maggie0829

Have you considered just buying a lace bolero?  You can either keep it separate from your dress so you can take it off later at the reception if you want.  Or you can have it permanently attached to your dress.  I am not sure if you can do this with David's but, could you possibly ask if there would be any way to purchase additional tulle/lace that matches your dress so a custom bolero can be made?  I would be tempted with your dress to have just a tulle bolero with maybe a lace hem so as not to overwhelm the lace already on your dress.

NYCMercedes

David's sells lace jackets/boleros that you can modify. You might even be able to match your dress there.

brideofginger

Someone from David's told a friend of mine that they couldn't add lace sleeves to her dress because it was against some sort of contract they had with the designers to not change the look of it. So they might shoot you down. That doesn't rule out an independent seamstress, however.

Maggie0829

brideofginger said:

Someone from David's told a friend of mine that they couldn't add lace sleeves to her dress because it was against some sort of contract they had with the designers to not change the look of it. So they might shoot you down. That doesn't rule out an independent seamstress, however.

Yeah I wouldn't use DB's alteration services regardless.  And honestly, that sounds like a load of crap.

atlastmrsg

I personally prefer the lace shrugs that button in back.  I think they're sleeker than boleros with an open front.  I also think that they're more modest, which may be your concern/requirement at your church?  Like this:

and 

Maggie0829

atlastmrsg said:

I personally prefer the lace shrugs that button in back.  I think they're sleeker than boleros with an open front.  I also think that they're more modest, which may be your concern/requirement at your church?  Like this:

and 

I like this option but I think the two different designs (the shrug and the top of the dress) would "fight with each other.  I think shrugs are a great option for plain/simple dresses though.

Charmanda4614

I'm not sure why, but I am not a fan of bolero's at all. Maybe, I just haven't seen one that I like. I did ask David's Bridal about sleeves when I bought the dress and they told me that they have detachable sleeves they could add, but they were limited in the styles and options, all of which looked horrible with my dress. I will be taking my dress to an independent seamstress that has worked on family wedding gowns before. 

I do like the idea of asking David's Bridal if I can purchase additional lace. If not, I intentionally ordered the size dress that I needed when I first tried it on. I have since lost an additional 10lbs, and hope to lose more. (I'm down a total of 40 so far) But, I ordered what I hoped would be too big so that if needed we could try and use the lace that would be removed in taking the dress in.

Maggie0829

Charmanda4614 said:

I'm not sure why, but I am not a fan of bolero's at all. Maybe, I just haven't seen one that I like. I did ask David's Bridal about sleeves when I bought the dress and they told me that they have detachable sleeves they could add, but they were limited in the styles and options, all of which looked horrible with my dress. I will be taking my dress to an independent seamstress that has worked on family wedding gowns before. 

I do like the idea of asking David's Bridal if I can purchase additional lace. If not, I intentionally ordered the size dress that I needed when I first tried it on. I have since lost an additional 10lbs, and hope to lose more. (I'm down a total of 40 so far) But, I ordered what I hoped would be too big so that if needed we could try and use the lace that would be removed in taking the dress in.

I think a lot of times, it is because the boleros aren't altered to actually fit the person wearing them. I think many times brides get them and don't even consider that they really need them to be altered so they fit correctly (meaning tight to your dress).

Charmanda4614

Maggie0829 said:

Charmanda4614 said:

I'm not sure why, but I am not a fan of bolero's at all. Maybe, I just haven't seen one that I like. I did ask David's Bridal about sleeves when I bought the dress and they told me that they have detachable sleeves they could add, but they were limited in the styles and options, all of which looked horrible with my dress. I will be taking my dress to an independent seamstress that has worked on family wedding gowns before. 

I do like the idea of asking David's Bridal if I can purchase additional lace. If not, I intentionally ordered the size dress that I needed when I first tried it on. I have since lost an additional 10lbs, and hope to lose more. (I'm down a total of 40 so far) But, I ordered what I hoped would be too big so that if needed we could try and use the lace that would be removed in taking the dress in.

I think a lot of times, it is because the boleros aren't altered to actually fit the person wearing them. I think many times brides get them and don't even consider that they really need them to be altered so they fit correctly (meaning tight to your dress).

That makes sense. I guess it will boil down to if the seamstress has the ability to do something from scratch. :-/

Maggie0829

Charmanda4614 said:

Maggie0829 said:

Charmanda4614 said:

I'm not sure why, but I am not a fan of bolero's at all. Maybe, I just haven't seen one that I like. I did ask David's Bridal about sleeves when I bought the dress and they told me that they have detachable sleeves they could add, but they were limited in the styles and options, all of which looked horrible with my dress. I will be taking my dress to an independent seamstress that has worked on family wedding gowns before. 

I do like the idea of asking David's Bridal if I can purchase additional lace. If not, I intentionally ordered the size dress that I needed when I first tried it on. I have since lost an additional 10lbs, and hope to lose more. (I'm down a total of 40 so far) But, I ordered what I hoped would be too big so that if needed we could try and use the lace that would be removed in taking the dress in.

I think a lot of times, it is because the boleros aren't altered to actually fit the person wearing them. I think many times brides get them and don't even consider that they really need them to be altered so they fit correctly (meaning tight to your dress).

That makes sense. I guess it will boil down to if the seamstress has the ability to do something from scratch. :-/

I'm sure she will be able to make you something you are happy with.