Petite Brides!

kimcheekim · June 2012

Are there any other petite-sized brides-to-be out there? I'd love to start up a 'support group' of sorts to discuss dress shopping and alterations.

I'm 5'0" and about 100 lbs, somewhere in the realm of 00-0P dress size (because of my weird proportions, any size will fit perfectly in some places and weirdly in others...) I have just begun dress shopping and already have noticed that many designers start their sizing at either 0 or 2. So it seems that drastic alterations will be necessary...

I'm wondering how much it has cost brides of similar size to get their dresses altered, and how their experience shopping was? Thanks for sharing!

Britoz · June 2012

I'm 5'2" and 95lbs. Dress shopping was actually painess for me. I got my dress at David's Bridal and shopped their "Petite" dresses. The dresses that I tried on were HUGE! The smallest they carry in the store is a 2 for try ons. I'm a 0 on my largest days...

I, of course, had to pick the one dress that ran large to begin with. I ordered the 0P and it was way too big. It just sagged everywhere. I had it altered and they took it in about 3-4 inches. The bust still doesn't fit right as the dress has an open back. Taking it in at the bust, ribs, waist, hips, and adding a bustle cost me $210. They had originally quoted me $100. I wish I would have just walked out with my dress after the price change and had it done elsewhere... I had a meltdown in the dressing room. Lol. I hate when things don't go as I intented.

It fits much better now (aside from the bust still being too big.) I'm adding a second set of cups. They added a B size when I specifically told them I'm an A. She said "oh, it will make it fit better" NOOOOO... the Bs are much too wide, I needed outwards not sideways. Ugh.

Good luck!!!!!

Oh, here's my dress in case you're curious. Don't mind the "uhhhhhhhhhhh" face. I was staring at a dirty spot on the mirror wondering where it came from.

rooney2012 · June 2012

I'm 5'1'', size 2, and shopping has been rough. The #1 question I have been asked is, "Would you be willing to wear heels?" hahaha.

Be careful when a designer caries something in "petite" because it usually means that they just take off the bottom (instead of shortening the bodice as well).

You should see my earlier post "Dress Suggestions" because there was a little advice for finding a gown, suh as finding a designer that measures "hollow to hem". (You can also see 2 gowns I tried on that need a lot of alterations.)

Let me know how the search goes! How much time do you have?

csweaney · June 2012

Generally wedding dress sizes run about a size or two above your normal "street" size so you might be a 2 in dresses. I would recommend trying to find one that has a corset back, along with the other suggestions the previous posts mentioned. Corset back dresses allow for a more precise fit, and when you're small framed it might make all the difference.

kelnash89 · June 2012

I know it seems backward, but bring your shoes when they take your measurements. The dress I picked could only be shortened 3 inches when ordered and not much more after that. We ended up taking a tier off the skirt. so we wouldn't have to try to move the skirt up or whatever would have been our other option.

The other thing my boutique has was called a "stuffer" it was a round pillow they put in the back of my dress so I could see what it would look like in the front once it was altered.

ElisabethJoanne · June 2012

I only went to 1 salon and didn't find anything I liked. No, 1 private salon and 1 David's. I called other places and asked, and even the biggest shops after David's had 0 like what I wanted.

So, at theknot's suggestion, I looked online for used. Women were generally shorter and altogether smaller in generations past, so I had lots of options. I was happy to be a size 2 then.

Ironically, the dress I fell in love with on ebay was about 6 inches too big all over. We talked to some seamstresses, and they said such alterations just wouldn't work. So I took the pictures to a salon that specializes in custom orders, and they're making me the dress.

What I'm paying custom costs 1/2 my budget and 1/3 the price of the most expensive dress I tried on at that first salon. I wish I'd gone sooner, but I was having a hard time finding a dress and annoyed by the well-meaning questions from friends.

kimcheekim · June 2012

Britoz - Your dress is beautiful! Your shopping experience sounds exactly like what I am expecting, haha.

I'm absolutely planning to wear heels -- I haven't found exact shoes yet, but I'm expecting to wear 3 - 4" heels. If I don't get any soon, I suppose I could bring shoes similar to what I expect to wear just to get an idea of how to work with the dress' length. Luckily I have until 2014 or 2015 to get everything together.

One of the things I'm worried about the most is a long bodice... I feel that not only will that be a common problem, but that it will be more expensive to alter than the skirt.

ElisabethJoanne - I hadn't even considered custom dresses! Would you say it's inexpensive? My budget is pretty small but I wouldn't mind looking into it. Let us know when the dress is finished!

tlc35 · June 2012

I'm with you guys. I'm not quite 5 feet tall and about 105 lbs. They ordered me a size 0, that is minus 5 inches from the normal length which was an extra 60 bucks. The shop I ordered from does the alterations included so hopefully that will work out when it comes in!

knjorgensen · June 2012

Keep in mind each layer of your dress will cost you to hem. I didn't realize mine had 8 layers. 6 inches off each layer, plus fixing the bust and creating a bustle ended up costing $400.00 in alterations. Oy, it's hard to be short!

rooney2012 · June 2012

kim - i wonder if wearing an empire waist would disguise long torso/petite bride? just a suggestion. also maybe if you chose a mermaid, it may fit more like a trumpet to have a balanced appearance?

tlc - i wonder why the shop had you pay the extra $60 to take off 5in when they are going to hem it anyway... unless they will not be altering the length. but why would they charge you anyway if the alterations are included in the price? they should've taken the 5in off themselves. i am no expert but it just sounded weird for a place to advertise free alterations and then charge to order the dress with 5in off.

kimcheekim · June 2012

knjorgensen - good idea, I hadn't even thought of that!

rooney - oh, sorry if I was being ambiguous... My concern was the labor/cost involved in shortening the bodice section to be in proportion with everything else. But I'll be sure to share your suggestion with anyone who may need it.

mrsR12 · June 2012

i'm normally a 00P to 0P also.

i went to davids bridal also and most dresses come in petite just not in the store. i tried on size 6-10 as well. however, when i ordered my dress, i was told to order a size 2 regular bc my torsol was longer than the average petite (not sure what that means). at my first fitting, i had very little taken in on both sides, added cups and shortened the length.

Also, because my dress is consider "coulture" there (again not sure what that means) the hem costs more than the normal hem. it's a laced hem so i'm thinking that's why. alteration came out to almost $350 for me.

good luck and keep looking

decker423m · June 2012

I do not fit this category but my younger sister does. She is your approximate height and weight. She had trouble trying on gowns because none of the samples were small enough. And even though the bridal consultants clipped everything as tight as they could, the strapless gowns were still slipping down from her chest to her waist. However, she was able to get enough of an idea of how the dress would look after alterations. And, the head seamstress came out and spoke with her regarding what could be done for a better fit. They ended up taking her size 0 dress in and adding "boobs" into the dress to show off the curves that show in her street clothes but weren't really showing in the bridal gowns. She used David's Bridal for everything and they were extremely helpful on getting the right fit. And, even with alterations, she was able to get her dress for right under $1,000.00. Good luck on your search. Just takes some patience and lots of inquiries as to what can be done to make it work for you.

mimsmims7 · June 2012

I'm 5'2 and 90 lbs and every dress I tried on was size 8-12! I went to 5 or so stores and the sample sizes were like that at just about all of them (I did manage to try on a size 4 at DB, still big enough to fall right off me though). The dress I chose I have only tried on in a size 12! It's really hard for someone who barely fits into a ZERO to know how a dress will fit her when she's having to try it on in a TWELVE. (It has a corset back, but since it was rolled up about 9 times and clamped I wasn't able to see what the back would look like at all!) It was so frustrating, I had to ask "So how will it fit here when it's in my size" and "What will it look like here". When we placed the order they ordered a 0P and told me I would probably have to gain 10 lbs to fit into it

I would love to put on some weight, but it just doesn't happen for me! It's taking 5-6 months for the dress to come in and I'm really nervous to try on the one in my size.

Aside from that I actually enjoyed dress shopping, and I absolutely love the store we ordered it through. Just wanted to take this opportunity to vent since no one else seems to share my frustrations. "Oh, yeah, must be so hard being skinny..." Uh, yeah, when the smallest wedding dress size is TOO BIG FOR YOU then YES, yes it is frustrating!
-Side note: Not trying to call those sizes big at all! Most people I've seen who are those sizes look AMAZING and I would love to look like them rather than my bony self anyday!

Entropy02 · June 2012

I am not neccisarrily a "petite" bride at 5'8", but I am very thin. A friend of mine found a wonderful website that does custom orders of designer dresses for a fraction of the price. The beautiful dress I've found is only 275. I have also found my bridesmaid's dresses for 75 and flower girl's for 85; and I'm able to choose my colors and fabrics. The website is www.tbdresses.com. Good luck!

HoneyBunny13 · June 2012

I am 5'1" and 111lbs and this time in my life is making me hate being short! Lol! I will be starting out at David's Bridal and trying on petite dresses there. I should fit into the sizes themselves as I'm not super super thin, but I do also have a longer torso, just super short legs. So alterations should be interesting. I always have to buy 'short/ankle' jeans and sometimes even those are too long for my legs.
Depending on what needs to be done I may have alterations done elsewhere if I purchase at DB, I've heard their alterations can be more pricey than other places.

I'm finding it hard to get really excited about dress shopping actually because I feel like DB is my only option...I'm worried that if I buy a 'regular' dress it will turn out looking sooo different after being shortened that I won't like it anymore =\.

Bert91 · June 2012

I am barely 5'0 and 85 lbs on a good day. I am so worried about the stress of trying on and finding a dress that I don't know where to start. Maybe it would be good to call the place ahead of time and see what their smallest try-on sizes are? I'm pretty intimidated by the thought of trying on dresses so I haven't really started besides looking at styles I might like online, though I'm sure you all know by now that even though something looks good, it usually looks drastically different when you try it on. I'm also afraid of being railroaded by the people there when it comes to stating my opinions and what I really want. On a different topic, the wedding is over a year away so I am afraid of finding a dress and then not liking it anymore when the day finally comes around. Any advice on that? Once you find "The One," does it stay "The One'" over an extended period of time?

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