Wedding Dress Sizes Matter
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Feeling confident and sexy in your wedding dress is one of the most important things on your wedding day - whatever size and shape you are.
Your wedding is the one day that you should look and feel amazing, no matter what size you are. However, for some women finding a wedding dress can be a stressful and frustrating experience. Women who do not fit the stereotypical size 10 can face many limitations when it comes to choosing styles, colours and lingerie for their wedding day. Some bridal wear designers are realising this and are expanding their range to cater for brides of all sizes.
Mariana Hardwick in Melbourne is well-known for her stunning wedding gowns. However, what many people don't know is that her made-to-order gowns go up to a size 20. She also offers a made-to-measure service.
"Our design philosophy at Mariana Hardwick is to create timeless and figure-flattering designs that accentuate a woman's best features and minimises the parts she is less happy with," says Georgia McCorkill, design co-ordinator at Mariana Hardwick.
While maintaining your sense of style is very important, Georgia says there are particular ways to flatter a larger frame in a wedding dress. "Structure and boning is very important to support the bust and create a smooth silhouette. Draping is good to cover the tummy and off-the-shoulder sleeves are fantastic to make the most of great decolletage while covering the upper arms," she says.
Rochelle Manuel, owner and manager of Large and Lovely in Norwood, South Australia understands. "I am a size 32 myself and I have been married twice. This means I have had to find two bridal gowns and I quickly discovered there was little choice available," she says.
Rochelle took over Large & Lovely three years ago and struggled to find a manufacturer that could meet the needs of her customers. She says many manufactures in the fashion industry do not realise where larger women carry their weight. "We have other proportions of the body we have to think about. For example, plus-size brides really don't want to have a strapless dress; they want to cover their upper arms."
Rochelle's first hand experience inspired her to find a manufacturer in Canada that offers up to 100 styles of wedding dresses. She has also launched a website, www.largeandlovely.com.au, that allows brides across Australia to order dresses through the company. "At Large & Lovely, brides are able to choose what they want. They are not stuck with just one or two styles," she says.
Not only is it important to find a gown that suits your shape - it is crucial to find underwear that gives you support and a smooth finish under your dress. Debra Kinney opened Sydney-based lingerie store DeBra's four years ago after realising there was a huge demand for large-sized lingerie, not only in Sydney but nationally. DeBra's stock an extensive range of bras, bodysuits and corsolettes designed especially for fuller-figured women.
"We have women email us from all over Australia and they are so grateful that at last someone is able to help them and provide them with garments in their size," she says. "Our bridal corsolettes are one of our biggest sellers because brides who are over a size 18 simply cannot find a corsolette in their size in department or lingerie stores."
Debra says DeBra's try to makes brides feel comfortable and sexy on their wedding day. And at the end of the day, this is the most important thing.
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