A-line to Mermaid

bellefemme12 · February 2015

How hard is it to have your seamstress add tulle to make an a-line dress into more of a mermaid silhouette. I tried on the Maggie Sottero Janelle and I love the beading, but I just want a more dramatic skirt...Has anyone done this before?

novella1186 · February 2015

Is this the dress you're talking about?

If so, this isn't A-line, it's fit-and-flare, which is closer to a mermaid style. I was initially going to tell you that A-line can't be made into a mermaid (it's more complicated than just adding tulle) so you'd be better off finding a different dress. However, with this dress, it could be taken in a little at the thigh (I have a similar dress and my seamstress told me a lot of girls choose to have that style taken in so it's a little more of a mermaid fit) and I would guess it shouldn't be too difficult for them to add tulle or some kind of under-layer at the bottom to add a bit more volume.

Before you buy it, though, talk to the seamstress so that you know for a fact that it's possible. They'll know exactly what can and can't be done with the dress.

Maggie0829 · February 2015

If it is the dress that PP posted, then I wouldn't look into having it taken in at the thigh at all, but rather just seeing if an additional petticoat or tulle layers would make the bottom a bit fuller. But really, if you wanted a mermaid style dress then you should have bought a mermaid style dress. Or if you wanted a dress with a more dramatic skirt then you should have bought one with a more dramatic skirt. Trying to take something and turning it into something that it isn't, isn't always the best way to go and could end up disastrous.

And IMO, I think that dress is gorgeous and you shouldn't change anything.

badbnagdway · February 2015

If it is the dress novella found, consider just getting a fit and flare petticoat that will emphasize the flare if you want the skirt bigger. I would recommend one but I haven't found just the right thing yet myself. I found that even the cheap one I ordered from Amazon (which turned out to be too short) made my dress a lot easier to walk in because it held the bottom out.

WildMagelet · February 2015

Maggie's website lists it as an A-line, which is probably where the OP got that idea - but that's totally a Fit n Flare.

OP, I would follow PPs suggestions and start by getting a petticoat in the shape you want and see how it looks before actually altering the structure of the dress. You may not need to make any alterations to the dress itself after adding a petti underneath.

bellefemme12 · February 2015

Thanks guys! That is the dress and I called it A-line b/c that's what it said on the site. I haven't bought it yet. Today is the day I decide between this one or a Casablanca mermaid that I fell in love with as well a few weeks ago. I think I may just buy a true mermaid so as to not worry about the seamstress getting this Maggie Sottero dress the way I like it.

novella1186 · February 2015

bellefemme12 said:

Thanks guys! That is the dress and I called it A-line b/c that's what it said on the site. I haven't bought it yet. Today is the day I decide between this one or a Casablanca mermaid that I fell in love with as well a few weeks ago. I think I may just buy a true mermaid so as to not worry about the seamstress getting this Maggie Sottero dress the way I like it.

If you REALLY want a mermaid, I say just buy the mermaid.

hyechica81 · February 2015

if you love a dress you love if for the whole package if you want things changed ex fuller skirt a diffrent top its like mixing and mashing two dresses together to get what you want and in the end its not always what you think it will turn out to be. i would consider looking at other dresses and sticking to a true mermaid.

think about what you love about this dress and go back to the salon show them the photo of this dress and say i want something similar to this but in the mermaid style

when i did my dress shopping there were things i loved and hated about a lot of dresses when i eventualy found my dress i did not want to change anything the only change i made to the dress was it had a lace one shoulder strap on the dress and i wanted a second strap for extra support it did not take away from the dress at all and with both straps you could not even tell it was added on

bellefemme12 · February 2015

So I finally bought my dress and ended up with a true mermaid by a totally different designer. It has the beading of the Maggie, but a little more subdued, and then had a true mermaid tulle skirt. I'm very happy

Thanks for the help! I'm glad I went with my gut and stuck to a true mermaid b/c I don't think the Maggie fit and flare would look nice with a lot of tulle underneath. It would change up the flow of the gown and it wouldn't look as nice when walking.

Maggie0829 · February 2015

bellefemme12 said:

So I finally bought my dress and ended up with a true mermaid by a totally different designer. It has the beading of the Maggie, but a little more subdued, and then had a true mermaid tulle skirt. I'm very happy Thanks for the help! I'm glad I went with my gut and stuck to a true mermaid b/c I don't think the Maggie fit and flare would look nice with a lot of tulle underneath. It would change up the flow of the gown and it wouldn't look as nice when walking.

Pics or it didn't happen!

bellefemme12 · February 2015

I bought this one in ivory. I'm just converting the back into a zipper with buttons instead of corset. So happy. The attendant just happened to pick this one before the end of my appointment. I wasn't too blown away by it when I saw it in the bag, but when I tried it on, it looked phenomenal and I loved it. Even my mom, who said "Oh this is nice" or "not bad" for most of the dresses I tried on, saw this one and said "This is your dress!." I love it and it is what I envisioned my dress to be. A little bit of beading with a dramatic skirt. I'm considering a beaded belt, but I probably won't...I'm doing a cathedral length veil and I think a belt and a long veil are doing a lot.

Maggie0829 · February 2015

Beautiful! And I love buttons down the back of wedding dresses!

I definitely don't think a belt is needed with all the other detail going on but a cathedral length veil is going to be amazing. I love long veils!

novella1186 · February 2015

Gorgeous! Congrats on finding your dress!

A-line to Mermaid

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