Many of a wedding dress’s problems never show in the mirror while you stand still with your arms by your sides. They show when you sit down, climb a step, lift your arms to hug someone or have worn the dress for two hours. That’s why most mistakes have little to do with taste. They come from what you never got round to checking. Here they are one by one, each with something specific to try.
1. Choosing from a photograph instead of how the dress wears
A photograph shows a dress from a single angle, in carefully chosen light. It can’t show how the fabric falls when you take a step, how much the skirt moves or what happens to the neckline when you lean forward.
At your fitting, don’t stop once the dress ‘looks right’ on the podium. Walk around the room, turn quickly, sit on an ordinary chair, raise your arms and take a few steps backwards. Ask to see yourself from the side and from behind as well as from the front. If something has you constantly tugging at the dress, make a note of it. A few hours into the day, that same small gesture becomes real discomfort.
2. Trying on dresses with too many opinions in the room
Of course you want the people you love beside you. But each of them brings a preference of their own, and the one that matters most gets lost: yours. A large group can turn a fitting into a debate in which nobody notices how you actually feel in the dress.
A practical approach: bring one or two people you trust and tell them beforehand what you’d like them to look out for. Make a short list of what matters to you, too (being able to dance, straps that stay put, breathing easily), and measure it against what you feel, not just what you hear.
3. Overlooking the fabric and how the dress is made
Two dresses with the same silhouette can behave very differently. Cotton lace wears differently from Chantilly lace, and English tulle falls differently from silk chiffon. Duchesse taffeta holds volume, while chiffon lets the skirt move.
Ask what the dress is made of and what lies underneath: the lining, the structure of the corset, the way the skirt is attached. Run your palm over the inside, where the fabric will sit against your skin, and see whether it feels comfortable. Check whether appliqués, beads or fringing catch on anything as you move. For dresses in our catalogue, details of the fabric and lining are listed in each description, and anything not covered there you can ask about at your fitting. If you’re curious to see how a corset is made, the story of a made-to-measure dress, stage by stage follows a dress through each step in the atelier.
What to check on the bodice and straps
- whether the top edge of the bodice stays in place when you take a deep breath and when you sit down;
- whether the straps or sleeves let you raise your arms without pulling at the waist;
- whether the back fastening (buttons, lacing or zip) can be done up without too much difficulty, since someone will be helping you into the dress on the day;
- whether you feel any pressure point, however small, after ten minutes in the dress.
4. Choosing your size ‘on paper’ and forgetting about alterations
The size on the label is only a starting point. A dress that fits well at the waist may be too loose on the shoulders or too long, while one that fits at the shoulders may feel tight elsewhere. That isn’t a problem; it’s a perfectly ordinary part of choosing a dress.
What matters is knowing from the outset what can and can’t be altered on the dress you’ve chosen. Ask directly: the hem, the length of the straps, taking in or letting out the bodice, adding a detail. Not every fabric allows the same work; hand-applied lace appliqués, for instance, are altered differently from a plain fabric. How long alterations take depends on how much needs changing, so there is no single timeframe that applies to every dress. That’s why it’s worth talking to the alterations team before you make your final decision. On our wedding dress alterations page you’ll find the alteration services the atelier offers.
5. Trying on dresses without the shoes and accessories you’ll wear
A hem that suits heels may be too long with ballet flats, and vice versa. In the same way, a veil, a tiara or a cape changes how the top of the dress looks and the weight you feel.
Bring your shoes to the fitting (or a pair with the same heel height), along with the underwear you plan to wear. If you don’t have your shoes yet, ask what heel height is used for fittings. Think about the venue as well: on grass or across a marble hall, a long skirt behaves differently, and a train may need a way of being fastened up for dancing.
6. Settling on one silhouette before trying others
Many brides start with a fixed idea: ‘I want a mermaid dress’ or ‘I want a full skirt’. That’s a fine place to begin, but a silhouette is something you feel on the body, not in a description. An empire cut, with its raised waistline, wears quite differently from a princess skirt, while an A-line brings volume more subtly.
Say what you want to feel (freedom of movement, a long line, a fuller volume), then try two or three different silhouettes, even if one seems unlikely. Sometimes one of them changes your plans. Other times you return to the first and choose it with greater confidence.
One dress for the whole day, or for a single moment?
If you’re planning a separate civil ceremony or a second outfit for the party, think early on about how they work together. Among the dresses in our catalogue at the time of writing is the Love SC11 wedding dress: a short dress in Duchesse taffeta with a silk lining, in off-white, available in sizes 38 and 40. We mention it simply as an example of a different length from our long dresses; stock can change, so it’s worth checking before your fitting.
What to take away from your fitting
There’s no need to decide on the first day. A good fitting leaves you with a few clear answers: how you feel after ten minutes in the dress, what can be altered, what stays as it is and what you still need to ask. Write them down straight away, while they’re fresh. If you’d like to see several cuts in one visit, you can browse the wedding dresses in our showroom in advance and pick a few to try on. To see them in the atelier, book a fitting and we’ll talk through each one together, without any rush.
TO BRING TO YOUR FIRST MEETING
- The images that inspire you, and your questions.
- A sense of the occasion and of what makes you feel comfortable.
- The details you would like to discuss with the atelier.