Wibu to buy this dress even if I know it won't fit me (yet!)?

[sharkirasharkira]

Dp and I have finally decided on a wedding date so I'm now looking at wedding dresses!

I've found one that I absolutely love, it is my dream dress. Has all the elements I want and is just generally bloody stunning. It may sound silly but also the dress' 'name' just happens to be that of a very close family member who passed away last year and it feels like a nice way of including her in our day.

The only problem is..its an 'old' dress from 2016 that has now been discontinued so they are not making them anymore. Its unlikely I'm going to be able to go to a bridal shop and try it on to see if it fits my shape and is flattering.

I have found one online, in the UK (quite difficult, most of the ones I've seen online are from America or Australia, which adds £££'s in shipping fees), and its within my price range!!

But its a size 8 and I'm a size 16

I do want to lose weight (I am trying) and I have over 2 years before the big day but if I don't lose the weight or its unflattering on me then I've just wasted a few hundred pounds that I can't really afford.

Wibu to buy it anyway, given that its a £1700 dress new and is on sale for a fraction of that and just hope that I eventually fit into it? Or would it be a silly waste of money?

[PretABoire]

Have you been a size 8 in the past? And would you sell it on if it didn’t fit closer to the time?

[SilentBob]

Show us then 😉

To be frank- could you feasibly sell it if you don't fit in to it? And is there a second choice if so? Sorry if that's insulting

[Canwejustrelaxnow]

It does sound crazy. Are you capable of being a size 8? Even if I lost every inch of fat I would still not be an 8.

[PattiStanger]

I was going to say buy what you want until I saw the size difference, tbh I wouldn't, I think you might spoil the next 2 years trying to fit into the dress rather than enjoying the run up to your wedding and if you don't lose enough weight how will you feel?

[MeanTangerine]

How tall are you? If you're 5' 10, I'd say no. If you're 4' 10 and have a history of successfully losing weight, go for it.

Wedding dresses are often sold a bit oversized so that a dressmaker can take them in to get a perfect fit - is this dress likely to be one of them?

[PancakesAndMapleSyrup]

Wedding dresses are sized on the small side anyway and you usually go uo a size when ordering a dress. Given that above snippet you are really looking at a size 6 dress. With the best will in the world its unlikley to ever fit you. Dresses can generally be altered by two sizes (up or down) but that is the max. If you bought it and then had to alter it so much to fit you it wont look like the original dress in the first place. I would (if this is your absoloute dream dress) get lots of photos of it and get one made up by a dress maker when you are nearer the time. Find out what fabric its made of and see also if they can send you samples of the fabrics used since they are discontinuing it. Please dont waste your money!

[LoopyLou1981]

Have you checked that the ‘size 8’ is UK sizing? A lot of wedding dresses are in US sizing which would make it a UK 12 (and therefore very achievable) x

[MysweetAudrina]

Honestly I think you would be mad. I thought you were going to say a couple of dress sizes. I wore a 12 for my wedding and I looked slim. I don't think my frame could ever fit an 8. I would look skeletal. If you had said a 12 I would have said go for it but an 8? seems extreme and unlikely even with the best intentions. The run up to a wedding can be quite stressful also making it harder to concentrate on weight loss.

[Tink2007]

As someone else asked, have you ever been a size 8?

Would you really want to spend the next two years completely dictated by “having” to fit into that dress?

[ijustwannadance]

Keep images of the dress and get one like it made to measure nearer the time.

[PartyRat]

From my experience trying on wedding dresses at the end of last year, most dresses tend to run smaller than standard high street sizes. I was told if you're a size 16 you would generally need to go for an 18-20 in a wedding dress. I'm a size 12-14 and my wedding dress was ordered in a size 15 (my designer does half sizes!)

What style of dress is it? That would have a big sway on whether it's even worth considering! If it's a tightly fitted dress I'm afraid it's probably not likely to fit

[pinkdelight]

No. There are lots more dresses in the world and lots of other ways to honour your family member. If you were a size 12 and used to be 8, maybe. But 16 to 8 is pretty crazy and not what you should be spending the next 2 years trying to become. You won't even look like yourself! By all means eat healthily and exercise and you'll probably lose a fair bit of weight and feel fitter by your wedding, but size 8 is too much. Let it go.

[userabcname]

Agree with PartyRat - I was a size 10 when I married but my dress was a size 14. Wedding dress sizes are a bit odd!

[gearandloathing]

16 to 8 is too much IMO. I am currently a 16 and for my wedding 2 years ago I dieted pretty hard and got down to a 12-14 but my body couldn't really go much thinner.

[Bluntness100]

I would also sat have you ever been a size eight? If this is your normal size and you've just gained weight then go for it, it will be hard but doable.

If you've never been an eight the odds of getting there may be quite low. That's a tiny dress and I suspect when you see just how small it is you will be horrified.

[gearandloathing]

Could you get a professional dress maker to copy it?

[Colonelpopcorn]

I personally wouldn’t.
Wedding dresses come up small anyway.
It’s a big pressure.
And also, I’ve seen many brides who lose so much weight for their wedding they don’t look like ‘them’.

[NoFuckingRoomOnMyBroom]

Tbh I think a 16 down to an 8 is a big ask-I'm a 12 previously a 10 & don't think I'd ever make it to that slim. It's also a lot of money if you don't succeed
Show an image to a dressmaker-A good one will be able to copy it.

[margotsdevil]

The other thing is - have you actually tried on any wedding dresses? I had a photo of my absolute dream dress; my best friend co-incidentally sent me a photo of the same dress as she thought I'd love it. I spent hours driving round to track it down and was SO excited that I'd found in and in a sample size that would fit (because a size 12 sample is a size 10 if you're lucky )... and I HATED it. The dress i ended up with was the polar opposite and I didn't even like it hanging up in the store, but the assistant persuaded me to try it and I fell in love with it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that wedding dresses aren't just any other dress and they are so different to your normal clothes that what you think you love and would be perfect might not be - and vice versa...

[DianaPrincessOfThemyscira]

I wouldn’t. It would be a waste of money and leave a sour taste if you can’t wear it.

By all means look to buy a size smaller but even if you manage to diet into a size 8 you may find the wedding dress is too small. They are cut to more ‘traditional’ sizes.

Also, if you’re anything like me, you’ll lose a load of weight then gain it back before the wedding because of some stress.

[TroubledLichen]

Please don’t ruin the run up to your wedding by trying to fit into an unrealistically tiny dress. Why don’t you try to find a dressmaker who can recreate the dress from the photos?

[itallhappensforareason]

I wouldn't do it. Wedding dresses come up small anyway so when you say size 8 you are really talking a 4 or a 6. When I bought my wedding dress I was a size 14 but I measured up as a size 20 against the designer's sizing. I was brave enough to go ONE dress size down as I was trying to lose weight, and it fit perfectly 1 year later. Don't waste your money.

[sharkirasharkira]

I'm pretty short tbf - 5ft4, so being a size 8 is within the realms of possibility but possible a little smaller than I would have liked to go. But I would be willing to do it just for the wedding day!

I don't have a good history of losing weight so far but I really need to sort something out because I can't get any fatter than I am

I could almost certainly sell it on, its beautiful

[mrssmith79]

Just be aware, a bridal 8 is way smaller than a normal 8.
You've got the luxury of time, set up an eBay alert and keep scouring sites that sell preloved gowns.

[NoFuckingRoomOnMyBroom]

It is beautiful but not uncommon, have you had a good look as the wedding dress shop near me frequently has very similar looking dresses in the window.