Supplement to the Davis Clipper
Finding the perfect gown Continued from p. 1
time to look that you don’t feel rushed into selecting the dress. Visit any bridal shows that might be occurring during this time. Boutiques and other wedding places will sometimes offer coupons to show attendees that end up being useful later. Also, make sure to set appointments in advance. Many bridal gown boutiques require this in order to make sure that a staff member is available to guide the bride through the entire process. When setting the appointment, be sure to check with the boutique on what day of the week they send out their orders, a detail that can sometimes increase your shipping time by up to a full week depending on what day you come in. During your appointment, keep an open mind. While it’s usually a good idea to look online and in magazines to get a sense of the dress style you want, it’s nearly impossible to know what style of dress will look best with your body type until you try it on. Try on dresses in at least two or three styles so you can be sure you’ve covered all the bases. Also, don’t necessarily dismiss a dress just because it doesn’t wow you on the rack. It’s impossible to tell the true drape and shape of some dresses unless they’re being worn. On top of that, the dress on the rack will likely be a few sizes too big in order to accommodate the greatest number of potential brides. Though that can make the dress look less appealing hanging up, bridal boutiques have ways of temporarily resizing the dresses once they’re on so you can get a better sense of what it will look like after alterations. Once you’ve found a style that looks good on you, however, stick with it. There are five basic styles of dress — the basque waist (a low u or v silhouette), A-line skirts (fitted at the hips, gradually widens toward the hem), ballgown style
(the traditional princess dress), sheath dress (designed to hug the body), or mermaid style (tight to at least the middle of the leg, then flares out at the bottom). Within those styles, however, there are hundreds of little variations for a bride to choose from. In the end, though, it’s usually a good idea to restrict yourself to the choices available in no more than three bridal boutiques. Three should be enough to offer you plenty of selection without giving you so many options that you go crazy. After all, the dress should be the crowning jewel of the wedding, not a distraction. DRESSES will look differently being worn than they do on the hanger. Photo by Jen Barnett
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