Dress for Your Shape

Have you ever wondered what kind of dress you want for your wedding someday? If you are like me, you rummage through wedding magazine after magazine just searching for things you might like to incorporate when you finally have to make those decisions. I am not engaged but I absolutely love wedding stuff! Looking at  those magazines got me curious, though. As far as dresses go, I began to wonder if all the pages I dog-eared were really going to flatter my figure. So I set out on a quest to find out exactly what dresses flatter what body types.

For starters, I looked up what kinds of different body shapes there technically are. After a collaboration of different opinions, I came up with these results: straight, curvy, pear, hourglass, inverted triangle and plus-size. I’ll explain those a little bit. A straight figure is pretty slender with little to no hips or curves up top. Curvy pretty much speaks for itself, pear is heavier on the bottom than the top and inverted triangle is just the opposite. An hourglass figure has a waist that goes in quite a bit.

With years of experience in trying on prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses, I can tell you that what you think you want may not always be what you end up buying. Many times girls can conjure up an idea in their minds and try on something completely different, falling in love with the way it makes them look. Different dresses and cuts flatter different features, so be careful not to fall in love with a certain gown solely based on the way in looks in a picture.

I asked various people on Facebook what they thought about pairing different styles with specific body types and I got quite a bit of feedback. One person mentioned that big busted people look great in halter tops while some others preferred scoop neck or one shouldered dresses. For people with hips, the main consensus was empire cute or floaty chiffon material. As you can see, beauty can sometimes be in the eye of the beholder. It seems as though different people have different ideas on what looks good. After all of these ideas came in, I decided to ask people who might really have an idea: recent and future brides.

Morgan Boulware, a 22-year-old Nursing Student is planning her wedding which will take place on June 18, 2010. She has tried on a number of dresses and quickly found out her preferences. Morgan has a tall, hourglass figure and she wanted to find a dress to really show off her nice figure. There were many dresses that she had to choose from, like this one seen below.

This was a beautiful dress but the big bow hid her tiny waist.  Notice that the above  sweetheart neckline and below semi-strapless neckline is flattering on her. She may have a bigger bust, but the straight across neckline makes sure that the dress is not too revealing. Strapless dresses look nice on people with small shoulders and also people with a small or large bust. Its versatility is probably the reason the strapless look has been popular for so long.

This next dress below was also a gorgeous gown, but it wasn’t the most flattering shape. See below how the ruching adds weight to her? Since she is so tiny, a really tight dress is the type that would most flatter her shape. The thing to be careful about in that case, though, is to make sure that it isn’t too tight to sit down or dance in. Nobody wants a dress that makes them stand in the same stance all night long. Make sure you are comfortable in it, since you will be in it all night.

Morgan found that the mermaid and dropped-waist styles were the most flattering on her. She recommends that brides don’t wear a dress that is too tight or a dress that shows off an area of the body that is not their most flattering feature.  “People might try to find a dress just because they like it and not because it looks good. This could be disastrous for them later on when they look at pictures,” Morgan says. Take this from someone who now knows what they are talking about and get a dress that flatters your figure.

After talking to real people who have tried on dresses, I thought it would be nice to get a professional’s advice. Who better to ask than a woman who has been in the business for over 30 years? Sylvia Pearce has worked at Lakeland’s Robyn Lynne Bridal & Formal Wear since it opened 32 years ago.

When I asked her what styles flatter what body types she told be that women with hips should go with an A-line gown, which is narrower at the top and gradually gets wider towards the bottom. “Don’t get something tight on your tush if you are big on the bottom,” she says. Someone with a pear figure or fuller figure might want to get something that shows off their arms, shoulders or neckline. A sweetheart neckline can add a bit of spice but also is not as revealing as a halter. So, if you are a full-figure or busty person, this look would be flattering for you.

Sylvia also noted that girls who have petite figures can basically wear any style of dress. So, for those of you with little tiny figures, congratulations! She said though, to keep in mind the venue in which you are getting married when looking for a dress. For example, she recommended that a busty woman not wear a halter top to a church wedding.

Hopefully after all of this, you have an idea of what kind of dress to try on and buy. Make sure you check out Robyn Lynne Bridal & Formal Wear, one of Lakeland’s own bridal boutiques when it comes time to find your very own bridal gown.