Plus-size dress shopping: Round 1
21 Oct
So I went down to North Carolina to attend the baby shower of my best friend, and my Matron-of-honor. While I was in town she suggested trying on some wedding dresses. So we made an appointment and browsed the selection online of dresses that came in my size so we could make a list of which ones I wanted to try on. When we got to the store I handed over my list of dresses and was disappointed to find out that they only had one in a size I could try on. It was a total bummer! It still surprises me that in this day and age its hard to find plus size wedding dresses that you can actually try on!
So this is the only one from my list they had for me to try on:
There is a dress online that I really like that no one has in stock to try on. My local bridal shop said they would order it but if I didn’t like it or it didn’t fit I couldn’t return the dress. So now I’m stuck not sure if I should order it or not. I was hoping I could try on a short dress just to see if I even liked the style on me. Of course they didn’t have one for me to try on, but the consultant brought out a blue short dress and handed me a short wedding dress to hold up in front of myself… I felt like an idiot doing this, and I’m pretty sure it tells me nothing about how this dress would look on my body. I had been to another bridal shop with my other maid-of-honor (yes I have two – a matron and a maid-of-honor! I love them both so much I couldn’t decide between them) and the shop only had one dress in my size but the consultant insisted on having me hold tiny dresses up against my body thinking that this technique would sell me a dress.
So here is me holding up a tiny short dress…
You can tell from the look on my face Im not enjoying this!
After this I asked the consultant if she had any other dresses in my size that she thought I would like based on my list. She was very reluctant to bring me anything else because she had decided that I had my heart set on a short dress. Which may be partially true, but I am still very open to anything since I have yet to put on a dress and feel that WOW feeling. That’s what I’m really looking for when I try on these dresses is the one that makes me really feel like a bride.
So this is the last dress I tried on:
All in all I think I liked the very first dress I tried on the best. Our wedding has an underlying 50’s theme which is why I would love a short rockabilly style dress. I think the first one has a little 50’s vibe to it. I’m going home to visit my family for Thanksgiving, and my mom is already calling bridal shops to find out which ones carry plus size samples.
Has anyone else had to struggle with plus size wedding gown shopping?
This drives me bonkers. I went through it with my closest girlfriend and was appalled. But you’re not the only one – as we work to reclaim what it means to get married we can also reclaim what it means to be a beautiful bride. There’s definitely interest in dealing with what it means to be a beautiful plus size bride. I found this blog awhile back: http://theplussizebride.blogspot.com/
If you’re looking for a short dress, consider a bridesmaid dress.
My partner and I both wanted short dresses and ended up with bridesmaid dresses. It definitely helped us stay on budget!
A lot of lines come in white/ivory. Both my partner and I ended up with bari jay dresses and LOVED them!
My friend got married last year and she had the same problem in shopping for her dress. I think that she ended up finding a store closer to Baltimore that had more of a selection. On a happy note she did end up getting one from a bridal store that she loved and fit her beautifully. Though, I do tease her that during the ceremony I saw my first demonstration of what a heaving bosom was.
Hey, I took those photos! :) I am the matron of honor mentioned in the blog entry and I was so disappointed that the bridal shop let us down. It wasn’t just that they didn’t have many plus-size samples, but that the saleswoman basically gave up on us because she obviously didn’t know how to recommend dresses for a curvier body type. Personally, I think the short dress would have looked great. Sar, I hope you can find some to try on, and I wanna see pics when you do!
Kristin! I should have credited you for the photography! I really hope I can find a short dress to try on… maybe I should try on a few bridesmaids dresses! I would be very budget friendly! Thanks for the support everyone…