Can boning be repaired?

HeatherAKlem

I recently purchased a dress that was shipped to me from Europe. It is beautiful, my size, but unaltered. The boning was not maintained during the shipping process. Is it possible that someone can repair this for me by straightening it or is the dress ruined and should I seek a refund?

Also, the dress is unaltered,and fits me, but is very wide in the hips (it's a mermaid style). Can it be altered to be more form fitting in the hips and not so wide? Right now it makes my hips look wider than they normally all.

Any help/comments are greatly appreciated!!!

Maggie0829

If the boning is bent, then it may need to be replaced.  This could get pricey.  And yes, if you have too much room in the hips, the dress should be able to be taken in.

My suggestion is to take your dress to a seamstress (get recommendations from family or friends) and see what they have to say.

geebee908

HeatherAKlem said:

I recently purchased a dress that was shipped to me from Europe. It is beautiful, my size, but unaltered. The boning was not maintained during the shipping process. Is it possible that someone can repair this for me by straightening it or is the dress ruined and should I seek a refund?

Also, the dress is unaltered,and fits me, but is very wide in the hips (it's a mermaid style). Can it be altered to be more form fitting in the hips and not so wide? Right now it makes my hips look wider than they normally all.

Any help/comments are greatly appreciated!!!

It depends on the kind of boning it is and how badly it's bent. If it's spiral steel boning, there's a good chance it can be repaired, unless it's bent to an acute angle. Pretty much any other type will need to be replaced which will entail opening up the bodice and inserting/sewing in new boning pieces.

I'll echo Maggie and say that you should take it to a reputable seamstress and have them look at it.

sparklepants41

HeatherAKlem said:

I recently purchased a dress that was shipped to me from Europe. It is beautiful, my size, but unaltered. The boning was not maintained during the shipping process. Is it possible that someone can repair this for me by straightening it or is the dress ruined and should I seek a refund?

Also, the dress is unaltered,and fits me, but is very wide in the hips (it's a mermaid style). Can it be altered to be more form fitting in the hips and not so wide? Right now it makes my hips look wider than they normally all.

Any help/comments are greatly appreciated!!!

Can you contact the vendor from whom you purchased the dress? They should have taken care to protect the boning during shipping. Perhaps they can send you a new dress (with proper shipping precautions taken) and send you a return label for the dress with the bent boning. Or perhaps they could issue you a credit for the repair work you will need to have done.