In iDo, I talk a lot about being an educated consumer when you’re shopping for your wedding. Not only does knowing your stuff usually save you money (if you’re into that sort of thing), but it also ensures that you don’t settle for the very first thing you see, whether you’re looking to buy a wedding gown, wedding favors, or your reception meal.
But this post is about wedding gowns, and wedding gown hemlines in particular. While it’s easy to walk into a bridal salon and ask for a wedding dress with a hem that falls below the knee, it pays to be able to ask for an intermission or midi hemline. Plus, knowing the terminology allows you to search for wedding gowns using Google Image Search without having to wade through hundreds or thousands of pictures of dresses that are either too long or too short for your tastes. So without further ado, here is a short glossary of common wedding dress hemlines:
Floor or Full – Just what it sounds like, a wedding gown hemline that reaches either all the way to the floor or ends about an inch above the floor so the tips of your shoes will show as you walk. Most of the wedding gowns you encounter will likely be this length.
Ankle – If you’re particularly proud of your bridal shoes or terribly afraid of tripping over your hem as you make your way down the aisle, this may be the hemline for you. The ankle hemline looks traditional, but can make moving around easier.Ballerina – One of my favorite hemlines, the ballerina sits about two inches above the ankle. It’s a bit easier than it was to find this hemline on a wedding dress, but if you want it and can’t find it, you can always ask your seamstress to modify a full length gown.
Tea – This hemline was popular during the depression years and has experienced a resurgence of popularity now that everyone and her sister is having a beach or garden wedding. Tea length hemlines fall to about mid-calf and look just a little bit retro.
Intermission or Midi – A hemline falling between the knee and calf. Depending on how tall or short a bride is, a wedding gown that boasts a different hemline can fall like an intermission or midi.Handkerchief – I haven’t seen this hemline on many wedding gowns, but they are out there. The handkerchief is made up of panels that end in points or cut to create points resulting in a jagged line with the longest points usually ending at mid-calf.
Street – The street hemline is just a touch shorter than intermission length and falls just below the knee. It is found on more casual wedding dresses and, more frequently, on wedding suits.Mini – The shortest hemline of all falls above the knee or higher. I posted about mini bridesmaids dresses a while back, but it doesn’t seem like they caught on. Sometimes wedding gowns with the mini hem have removable overskirts.
Hmmm, am I forgetting any?
It IS easy to ask for a wedding dress with a ham that falls below the knee, but it’s not a very easy thing to find, unfortunately. They WERE, however, able to find me a lovely tea-length dress trimmed with bacon.
Ahahaha, lordy. It is so hard to attach those hams.
But bacon? That we can do: http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/debs-style-file/just-plain-bizarre/2009/07/my-love-of-bacon-put-to-the-test-by-bacon-dress/
Hee! Ham.
Darling NtB, you actually illustrated a hEm that you didn’t discuss: the bubble skirt. See top right illustration, folks. It comes in every length and can’t go away fast enough for my personal taste. I never have seen the attractiveness of making it look as though one is wearing a beach ball in one’s skirt.
Oh, and while I absolutely take La Petite Acadienne’s point that the bridal salon may not have every hemline a bride might request, I would say that it makes a trip to a custom dressmaker or fabric store easier, too. Besides, if you walk into the salon, ask for an intermission-length handkerchief hem, and receive nothing in return but blank stares and mumbling about strapless ballgowns, then you know it’s time to remove yourself quickly from the premises and try elsewhere.