Attire & Accessories Forum

Help! my dress doesn't fit :(

I purchased my dress on March 27. It came in towards the beginning of July. It didn't fit the way I expected it to, at all. I had gained a bit of weight, about 5 pounds, from the time I bought it to the time I picked it up. So I started running, eating well, etc. Lost the weight.. and it still doesn't fit. It fits better than it originally did, of course, but still not correctly. I have no idea what to do. This dress wasn't exactly cheap! I can't really afford to lose the money I spent on this dress, so buying a new one really isn't an option unless it definitely can't be let out... my sister is saying it is possible to get the seam let out near the butt, like at my waist, anyone ever have a problem like this?

Re: Help! my dress doesn't fit :(

  • This is the dress fyi. One pic is without spanx, one pic is with.
  • You need to have it altered.  Almost everyone needs to have their dressed altered in some ways because hardly anyone has a body that matches the designers measurements to a tee.  So when you are about 2 months out from your wedding take it to a tailor to have your first fitting.  They will most likely take the dress out around the tightest part (which looks to be your waist/midsection because that is where it won't close) and alter it to fit your body perfectly.

  • Thank you, Maggie! This wedding planning process has not been a breeze for me and this was just the icing on the cake. Thank you for giving me some hope.
  • I am sorry to hear that things haven't been going the best for you.  Tailors are miracle workers and I am sure that your dress will be perfect.

    It is a gorgeous dress by the way.  The lace is beautiful and I love the hem line.

  • If you bought your dress in the same size as the one you tried on, it may not fit as well as the sample because the sample has been pulled on and off over and over by people trying it on- fabric stretches.

    As long as there's enough fabric to let it out, you should be fine.
  • Agree with PPs. It needs to be taken to a tailor and be altered. They are miracle workers.

    That dress is beautiful.

  • I would take it to a tailor now and ask what your options are. Because I'll be honest, it looks like its about 2 whole sizes too small. That's not just a little bit of fabric alteration here and there.

    You'd probably rather know now if a seamstress can alter it at all versus finding out later. If they can, great! If not, at least you'll have time to come up with a plan B (buy a new dress or lose more weight, but you're quite small as it is).
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  • i am wondering if they ordered you the right size i am a street size 22 and my dress was ordered in a size 26 the waist fit perfect not to tight not to loose but my bust had to be taken in at least 4 times 


    if the dress was ordered to small then its the salons fault and they have to make good and get your dress in the correct size 


    hopefully with the right seemstress they can make it fit 

    love the dress and best of luck with alterations 

  • I would take it to a tailor now and ask what your options are. Because I'll be honest, it looks like its about 2 whole sizes too small. That's not just a little bit of fabric alteration here and there. You'd probably rather know now if a seamstress can alter it at all versus finding out later. If they can, great! If not, at least you'll have time to come up with a plan B (buy a new dress or lose more weight, but you're quite small as it is).
    I definitely can't lose more weight. I love the size I'm at now, I feel so healthy and confident. I wouldn't want to ruin it. Thankfully I'm in contact with a seamstress and things are looking good. I'll keep you all updated.
  • edited September 2015
    And thank you everyone for your compliments :) I would be so sad if I couldn't wear this dress, it's the only one I liked!
  • Try not to stress! This happened to me too, I ordered the correct size (what they recommended) and when it came in was too small. The seamstress let it out and it was fine. Mine also had a lace illusion back and pearls and you couldn't tell it was ever too tight. Good luck!
  • I am having a similar problem. We ordered a dress in the size that matched my measurements the closest and when it came in it was almost perfect. I have also been working out, eating better, and doing a little bit of strength training. I tried on my dress more recently and found that my strength training had actually widened my lats a little which in turn caused my dress not to fully zip. I have since modified my work out routine to correct this issue and am on my way to a perfect fit. I will still need alterations to add embellishment, hem and bustle, and to adjust the bust ... hope this helps.
  • Let us know how you get on - your dress is stunning and congrats on your hard work. If you feel confident and happy then good for you :)
  • Thank you, everyone! I spoke to a seamstress and she says she should be able to fix it! Fingers crossed, and I'll post updates when I can!
  • Okay, went to the seamstress today, and there were more problems than expected with this dress, all fixable of course.

    Basically, I have a very short torso. This dress was CLEARLY designed with long-torsoed people in mind. The bra cups in the dress stick out too much, so she is fixing them to fit me. The main problem with the back is that I have kind of a large ribcage. She is taking out some fabric in the back, and I can't remember exactly what she said she is doing with that, but it's going to look great! Also, I mentioned I have a short torso, but my hips aren't exactly small. The dress is a natural waist dress with a band that goes all the way around, but the band and the fabric around my hips always rides up around my waist and bunches up. Every single time I have worn this dress, I end up yanking it down. So we are raising the waist line a bit. It looked almost like an empire waist from the way she pinned it. Also, it is about 3 inches too long, so she's cutting out fabric from the waist and lifting the whole thing up to where it barely skims the floor in the front, instead of going out a bit and touching the floor in the front.

    Those are all the "necessary" alterations to make the dress fit me the way it should. I do have a crystal belt I am wearing with the dress, and she is sewing that in. The ribbon bow on the belt is white, and my dress is ivory, so she is cutting that off and making me a new slightly larger bow that matches the dress. She is also doing an over bustle. I know none of these alterations are really needed but hey, might as well.

    Basically, as yall all mentioned, my seamstress said it is extremely common to need alterations. She said that everyone has a different shape and that dresses look different on everyone. She is pretty much making this dress look like it was custom made to fit me after all of her alterations! I'm paying a pretty penny for this, but she literally said I can pay her "whenever" as long as I pay at least a third of the cost of the alterations by the time I pick up the dress.

    For reference, here is the dress worn on a model who clearly has a long torso.imageimage
  • That is a gorgeous dress! Don't get hung up on how it looks on the model. I'm sure it will look absolutely gorgeous on you. My daughter was very disappointed in how her dress looked on her at first) based on how the picture of the dress looked on the model. On the day of the wedding she looked gorgeous. The alterations people know what they are doing. Remember most people aren't 5'10" 110 lbs models. You will be beautiful.
  • That is a GORGEOUS dress! I love it. I think you will look beautiful once alterations are done to fit you properly. You sound like me - I have a short torso, but also feel like I have a large rib cage. I usually order a size larger in dresses than pants because of it.
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