Long dress is too short for tall bridesmaid

Re: Long dress is too short for tall bridesmaid

• aeduncan2

  

  January 2010

  I have one bridesmaid who is six feet tall and thin. I knew ordering a long dress would be an issue because of her height, but I really didn't want to go with a short style. I knew the dress style I picked did not come in extra long, but I was assured by a sales associate that extra fabric could be ordered.
  
  The bridesmaid was planning on having a seamstress redo the entire skirt of the dress under the empire waist so that there wouldn't be an awkward seam at the bottom. The link to the dress is below.
  
  http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49998974&currentIdx=72&subCategory=-49998976|-49998975|-49998974&catentryId=6110569&sort=
  
  Anyway, when my bridesmaid went in to order the dress she was told she could not get extra fabric. I called and spoke to a manager who contacted the merchandising department but was told there was no way to get the fabric.
  
  My wedding is June 19. I know there is still time, but all the other girls have ordered their dresses, and I am not willing to change the style at this point. Should I get angry and demand extra fabric? Should I ask the other girls to save the fabric from their dresses when they are hemmed and hope that a seam at the bottom of the tall girl's dress isn't too noticeable?
  
  Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!
  

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• cvl105

  

  January 2010

  They don't have extra length added to the dress? That's weird. My MOH got extra length added to hers since she's like 6 ft too.  Her dress was from Watters. 
  
  I think just adding extra fabric to the bottom is going to very noticeable.  You will see seams from where it's sewn together.
  
  I'm really surprised you can't pay extra to have the dress made longer. That seems silly. I would call David's Bridal customer service to verify that you really can't do that.

  ~Chelsea~
  
  
  

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• mandybear7

  

  January 2010

  Do you have the original sales associate's name? If so, definitely use that for leverage with a customer service person, as cvl mentioned. It stinks that the sales associate would just say that in order to make a sale.
  
  I think it would be weird if extra fabric was just sewn to the bottom. How short is it, exactly? Can she just wear flats and it not be a big deal or is it really short? I'm 5'9 and regular DB BM dresses have always been plenty long that I can wear heels.
  

  7/10/10 Dandy

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• redraiderbride2010 member

  

  January 2010

  I would probably get on the phone and start yelling, but that's me.
  
  Also...what if maybe you added a couple inches of taffeta at the bottom of the dress?  Like this style: http://www.camdendrive.com/media//resized/elegant-silver-a-line-taffeta--dress-cd2117-f_size2.jpg
  A seamstress could even use fabric glue so there's no extra seams.
  I know that would make it different from the other dresses, but it could help your bridesmaid feel more comfortable in her dress.
  
  I don't know how short the dress is on her, but maybe that would work.
  I'm very tall myself, so I know how hard it can be sometimes. 
  Feel free to ignore if this was a terrible idea
  Best of luck!
  

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• meredithl618 member

  

  January 2010

  We were told the same thing by DB, some of their BM dresses just can't be added length to, I think it's just because they're all pre-made.  I would call and ask for additional fabric just for purchase or worst case scenario, buy a similar dress or older style in the same fabric and give this to the seamstress.  I think that the seamstress could probably do something like you said by adding fabric around the waistband instead of the bottom.  

  
  

  Or, another option would be to try to get them to let you return the dress and order it in a bigger size. The length increases a little bit with each size, so you could have them just take it in a lot in the top instead of trying to add fabric somewhere to make it long enough. 
  

  
  

    

  
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• cvl105

  

  January 2010

  I like redraider's idea of adding some taffeta or crinoline to the under neath to make it longer. I think this is a better idea than just sewing on more material to the bottom.
  
  How short is short on your BM?

  ~Chelsea~
  
  
  

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• jsad17 member

  

  January 2010

  I'm in the same situation.........I was asked to be a bridesmaid and the bride picked out the dress and the style she picked from David's did not come in extra length.  I was able to order the dress two sizes too big that allowed the length to be normal and then the bust will just need to be taken in, in order for the dress to stay up.
  
  If the tall bridesmaid hasn't ordered the dress, I suggest ordering the dress in a bigger size since the length does increase with increasing sizes.

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• aeduncan2

  

  January 2010

  Thank you so much to everyone who replied! I promised myself I wouldn't flip out about this, and I think that the taffeta idea might work out well! I'm going to make one more call to David's Bridal and this time I will use the name of the first sales associate I spoke with and get a bit angry. Even if nothing else can be done, they need to know giving out incorrect information to make a sale in unacceptable! It is so ridiculous. I didn't want to make this awkward for my tall bridesmaid because I know she has had these issues all her life.
  
  Thanks again!
  

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• butterflytina7 member

  

  January 2010

  I currently have a similar dilemma for my June 12 wedding.  FYI - Take a look at the DB size chart.  Every dress is 58" long, if you're a size 2 or 20.  It won't help to order a bigger size to get a longer length with DB.  You will just end up with a BM that has a ton of alterations.

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