Comments on: An Open Letter to Wedding Gown Designers

By: Lucy

Lucy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:53:15 +0000

Ladies, Casablanca Bridal also customizes their wedding gowns! When I ordered mine, the bridal salon took the measurements for the sleeve length I wanted, discussed the fabric options with me, ordered the gown from Casablanca, and ta da! I had a modest and gorgeous ballgown (and they raised the neckline for me as well!)

By: Jennie

Jennie — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:10:43 +0000

My niece just got married. She couldn’t find anything she loved (and she is a bit of an original) so she went on line and found a beautiful vintage dress for around $50.00 including shipping. It took a little bit of tailoring to get rid of the Muttons on the sleeves but it looked fabulous. Not only was it beautiful but it was enviromental friendly to repurpose something that was wasting away in a box. With “green” as the newest buzz word, it’s not a bad idea….

By: cynthia

cynthia — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 11:53:01 +0000

I totally agree. I am looking for a classic wedding dress……with 3/4 or long sleeves. BECAUSE I THINK IT LOOKS SLEEK AND GLAMOROUS. A little bit off the shoulders and longer sleeves. How beautiful. I CAN’T FIND IT ANYWHERE…. DO I HAVE TO DESIGN IT MYSELF AND HAVE IT MADE.
You are right about ALL the dresses are strappless or almost. And YES they don’t look good on everybody. I have been to a few weddings that the bride (even young) do not look good in a stapless dress.
I have looked through many hundred of pictures and can’t find what I’m looking for. I thought it would be simple….but….all the dresses look the same from the boobs up. NOT MINE….I WILL FIND WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR, EVEN IF I HAVE TO DESIGN IT MYSELF……….

By: JB

JB — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:31:36 +0000

Thank you for posting this!! I am in complete agreement. I am in the process of searching for a wedding dress, and it is amazing how few non-strapless gowns there are out there. What happened to OPTIONS?!!

By: bee

bee — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:01:28 +0000

Yes, but other considerations can make strapless the only way to go. I for one, not wanting to look like a cookie-cutter bride, found that the most classic and unusual bridal piece was not the dress but an accessory- a sleek mantilla veil edged in about 2 inches of Alencon lace that draped around my shoulders. I wore it the whole night. Wearing that with a dress with any kind of sleeves- even spaghetti straps- just absolutely would not work and obscure the flowing lines of the veil, which was really pricey and the showpiece of the whole outfit. (I didn’t even wear a necklace or bracelet of any kind- just my rings and tiny pearl drop earrings.) So “strapless” doesn’t automatically mean an identical dress. I didn;t have a single sequin, bead or rhinestone on my dress either- I think that’s one of the rarer elements among wedding dresses today.

By: La BellaDonna

La BellaDonna — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:55:00 +0000

I see Roz has entered what I would have. Essentially, it’s cheaper and easier for the gowns to be made sleeveless, so that’s what manufacturers are doing. I made my sister-in-law’s gown; she wanted something with sleeves, because she doesn’t like her arms, but she wanted a gown she could dance in and not die. In the end, I made a sleeveless bodice, which was covered in the church by a jacket overbodice with sleeves, to which the train was attached; the gown looked like one piece when the trained jacket was on, but it also looked like a complete gown when the jacket/train was taken off.

Johanna, I can’t do the tiny url thing, but here are three websites where you can get patterns for sets of sleeves. Yes, once upon a time, you could get patterns for sleeves ONLY, even as late as the 1950s. There are usually quite a number of choices for the period 1900-1919, for whatever reason. These are only a few, after a little searching; I recommend going to the different sites that carry vintage patterns, in your hunt.

http://www.bestvintagepatterns.com/catalog.php/andykathy/ct1845/Vintage_Patterns_1910http://trulyvictorian.com/catalog/90cat.html
http://www.agelesspatterns.com/sleeves.htm

In fact, don’t be afraid to pick ANY sleeve pattern that you happen to like, for your gown; it may require some adjustment, but that can be done. A white wedding dress is just a dress, after all; a non-white wedding dress, even more so, is … just a dress. Don’t be afraid to look at all sorts of different evening dresses, or even vintage nightgowns, for inspiration; an evening gown, in white may be just what you want. Don’t be afraid to take a street-length dress and just … lengthen it.

What I suggest is that you write down a list of all the elements that you would like your dress to have (if you have some idea of that already), and then start sketching. It may be easier than you think to have the wedding gown of your dreams.

A site with beautiful dresses, and a kick-start to finding links to vintage pattern
sites, is Erin’s Dress A Day: http://www.dressaday.com/dressaday.html. Go there and have an inspirational look around!

By: Evelynne

Evelynne — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:28:38 +0000

My understanding was that strapless is easier to fit to more people. I have a long torso and wide shoulders, so trying to get a sleeved dress to fit me is a nightmare. For my wedding, I wore my mother’s wedding dress, which is an empire-waisted long-sleeved winter gown, and I had to completely remake the bodice in order to get it to fit; it couldn’t be “altered” to fit me.

That said, there’s plenty of women out there who can probably fit standard measurements and wear sleeved gowns, so I have no idea why they are nearly nonexistent.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:57:06 +0000

Inspiring! And oh, so true!! Not everyone is meant for strapless and sleeves can be just as elegant and wonderful. I wish sleeves would make a comeback and I hope some designer reads your post and starts a new trend!!!

By: Carlene

Carlene — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:21:48 +0000

Ah… i totally agree. Im having the hardest time finding my wedding dress

By: roz

roz — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:40:26 +0000

They omit sleeves because it’s easier to fit all bodies without them. Brides are fooled into thinking sleeveless is their choice.

I had my dress custom made and, in the end, it wasn’t any more expensive than an off the rack dress with alterations.

3/4 sleeves, draped neckline showing collarbones. That day I was the prettiest I have ever looked.