Dress for Petite Bride

[Bunnyfeet]

To be upfront and honest, finding a wedding dress is a totally new thing for me. I was always kind of a tom-boy growing up, I really didn't even go to my prom, so aside from summer dresses I've never bought a formal dress of any sort.

I was just wondering what I should look for if I am really petite... I am 5'1" and 95 pounds. From a distance I actually don't look small, like I am not squat nor am I really skinny. I guess I would consider myself proportionately small. lol So I do have a little bit of shape to work with.

Thank you in advance, I just like having an idea of what I should look for before even setting foot someplace to look at dresses. Thanks!

[SkippyNXC]

to be honest u really WON'T know what looks good on u till u try it on. Typically good bridal salon workers can pull dresses that'll look good on ur body type...

but in general u'll prolly want to stay away from big poofy dresses...

I'm 5'(almost)2" and about 120lbs so a lil bigger than u but still consider myself petite... the key for me was to play off my assets. my tata's are kinda small n my hips are a lil larger than i'd like and my waist is tiny... so we needed to find a dress that really showed off my waist and NOT my hips... tata's can be taken care of w/a good bra LOL

i tried on a lot of A-line and modified A line dresses.... some mermaid styles... ended up w/a modified A-line that hits my body in exactly the right spot. I even tried on a poofy dress or 2 just to see what I'd look like.... while it didn't look AWFUL i felt the bottom kinda overwhelmed my body...

the best way to know is to try IMHO... u could read in 1,000 places what doesn't look good, try it on and LOVE it

i would also bring one or two ppl w/u who will be honest about what looks good n what doesn't (for me my sister and my mother, tho more my sister)

[Bunnyfeet]

Thanks for the advice !

I never wanted a puffy dress, so I don't mind that that will (probably) be off the options list.
I went with a friend of mine to a used dress shop yesterday, just to try on some to get an idea of what sizes are in my range, etc. I found I was swimming in most of them. And if I wasn't swimming, they would need to be resized a lot in the height department.

Is there a particular dress vender that is oriented more toward petite brides that someone has had good luck with?

[Kyriel]

well, I'm 5'0" and smaller on top and bigger at the hips as well, and my dress is an empire waisted a-line though it is slim till the hips. I love it :}

One thing I would suggest is to stay away from anything with a dramatic drop-waist. I tried a few on and I ended up looking like I was about to bust out a rousing chorus of "high-Hooooooo!" and go clean house with Snow White.

But regardless, you'll have to get it altered. They do make dresses in petite sizes but off the rack most are made for ladies who could possibly be up to 6' something, and are hemmed accordingly. I think I am going to have to lop a foot off mine!

[mitch]

One thing I would suggest is to stay away from anything with a dramatic drop-waist. I tried a few on and I ended up looking like I was about to bust out a rousing chorus of "high-Hooooooo!" and go clean house with Snow White.


Got silly visions of You with a broom in hand cleaning a shack. :rofl:

I'm 5ft 3 (and a bit) I ended up wearing 4 inch heels to My wedding. Not ideal, but it was only for a few hours. And the shoes were cheaper and quicker than having a few inches lopped off the Dress. I changed into Flats at the Reception (Which was held at Home) Because by then My feet were killing Me and i didn't care if My Dress dragged on the ground. (I rarely wear High Heels and forgot how to steer those Mothers)

Us under 5ft 5 should stay away from big puffing Dresses because We end up looking like the love child of a Meringue and a Marshmallow.
Simple lines and styles are always the best.

And they always say. "Good Things Come In Little Packages"

DH always replies "Yeah, Like Poison"

But we'll ignore that comment :rofl:

[Bunnyfeet]

Thanks for the advice! I love the look of A-line, so I may try those first.

I think a train (of any sort) or even a really long dress is just disastrous for me (I am not only short, I am accident prone). I am hoping I come across a dress with a little shorter hem in my Wedding Dress Adventures. They don't seem to be very common judging by my dress website browsing. Worst case I can just get it altered.

lol A quote my italian great-aunt always said (about my entire short family) "The strongest wine comes in the smallest barrels."
I'm finishing up nursing school and most patients look at me like, "RIGHT, she'll be able to help me out of bed." And I always do. They are shocked! It's all in the ergonomics lol

[SkippyNXC]

yeah dresses will need to be hemmed.... it's just a fact of life... b/c it's easier to REMOVE fabric to make a dress shorter and very hard to ADD fabric to make a dress longer...

[Whitewater]

The current industry standard for wedding dresses is:

They assume a height of 5'6". (Because that, supposedly, is the average height of an American female). Then they add 4" for heels, although I don't know very many women who actually wear 4"!! 2-3" yes. Maybe even 3.5" -- but rarely do I see a full 4" (or more)

So, they plan for a woman's height to be 5'10" and plan the wedding dresses accordingly, including proportions.

They also plan for a 34B, since somehow they figured that 34B was average for this mythical 5'6" woman in 4" heels.

Your alterations will be easier if you can manage to avoid beading all over and just get beading on the hemline or seam lines, also if you can find a dress that *can* have a good 12" chopped off the bottom. If there's beading on the hemline, it'll be easier and cheaper to just cut the bottom off and put the beading back on the new hem. If there's beading on the entire dress, you're going to either lose some of the pattern or they're going to have to take it up at the waist, which is more difficult and tends to ruin the shape/line/proportion of the dress.

At 5' even and 90lbs, you may want to consider getting your dress custom made. That's what I'm doing, and I'm happy beyond words with the results. I am also petite when it comes to height (5' 3 and a half inches, which makes me on the taller side of petite, because petite stops at 5'4") BUT I am considerably overweight and *very* curvy, and nobody makes dresses for curves anymore, they all look best if you have boobs but no hips and no belly and no rump.

There is sure to be a professional seamstress in your neck of the woods. Try Craigslist, put up a flyer or ask around at your local fabric stores, or try your local theatre/Renaissance festival/historical re-enactment groups. There will be somebody handy with a needle, I guarentee it.

HTH,

Whitewater

[Bunnyfeet]

Thanks ;)

And those proportions sound more barbie-like than realistic...

Actually, my FMIL and I are very close and she is a great seamstress. I will probably ask for her help because she always does a great job. And she has been itching to contribute for a while now! lol

The only advantage I do have is I have a pair of very comfortable heels that are probably around 3.5 inches that I love. My FH is not particularly tall but because I'm so short he's still a great deal taller than me, plus he will be wearing dress blues and when he's outside, the hat will make him look even taller. I'm hoping the heels will help make the height difference not quite so drastic looking.

Is custom-made a whole lot more expensive than getting a standard size/alteration?

[Danielle9608]

My only advice is to stay away from dropped waists they will make you appear shorter.

[lilmsjess]

They also plan for a 34B, since somehow they figured that 34B was average for this mythical 5'6" woman in 4" heels.



:rofl: :rolleyes:

very true...they forgot about us short girls, with big boobs, big hips and either big butt, or not butt(as is my case ;) )

[ChristineLS]

Huh, everything I've read about the average height of women is 5'4-5'5... I think the wedding industry is just over estimating thinking that clothes look better on a longer line. :/

[EarlyBird]

I too am short, and accident prone. Im about 4'10 (actually 4'9 i think)
i got a ballgown, which after i bought it, i had compeletely reone, finding that it didnt go with my little self.
I have a very large chest, but my waist itself is around a size 4 and my booty is large, so i had to buy a dress is a much larger size and have it completely taken in. in the end i wound up with MY dress that i originally bought and had it taken in to be an a line, 2.5 foot train, small 4 point bustle - this is after i originally started with a cathedrial 5 ft train ballgown... moral...
you HAVE to try things on. you will NEVER EVER know until you do. they mention that empire waists are good for smaller girls but when i tried one on i felt chopped up, whereas they say it ELONGATES..

[ChristineLS]

you HAVE to try things on. you will NEVER EVER know until you do. they mention that empire waists are good for smaller girls but when i tried one on i felt chopped up, whereas they say it ELONGATES..

Seriously! I'm not much taller [5'1-2 depending on who measures me] and I don't think empire waists flatter me at all either. They always seem to take me out of proportion and emphasize how close to the ground I am! ;)

[Kyriel]

The empire waist on my gown looked good on my short self I thought. But this is likely because I've got a small chest.
Though I have to take the top in because...seriously I think they upped the chest sizes on dresses from 34B because I am a 32B and I have room for 6 or 7 boxes of tissues in there!