Help for Untraditional Wedding Dress - Budget up to 3k?

[lesley33]

I am getting married in late summer. We are having a smallish informal type wedding - about 70 people. I want to look great on my big day, but I don't want a big white wedding dress. I am having trouble finding something suitable and I wondered whether anyone had any ideas?

I am 47, a size 16. 5ft 3 and would be an hourglass figure if still slimmer. I have dark hair and a "celtic" type face. I have large breasts - even when i was slim. After 4 DCs I have various lumps and bumps, so a dress could not be clingy. I also have disproportionately large upper arms so need a dress with a sleeve to at least the elbow. I don't want to wear a wrap that I constantly have to be adjusting.

I like stylish, elegant dresses and most colours, particularly red, but also green, blue and multi-coloured. Although I don't like gold colour. I don't like lots of ruffles i.e. too flouncy in a feminine way. I would prefer knee length or a long dress. And I have to be able to dance in it. Happy to spend less, but could spend up to 3k.

Any ideas?

I think I'll try to find the same type of shape dress in the high street and see what it generally looks like on me.

Glad you like it! And at £87, custom-sized, it's probably worth a shot!

tethersend - I am short and dumpy, but I do have some waist and big boobs. But my shortness, might make it look fattening.

Empire line can be tricky if you're shorter and generously norked - you can end up looking like you have less waist than you do. It'd be hard to tell with that dress without trying it on - it might look amazing, or it might make you look pregnant

I guess if your budget is up to £3K, you could probably afford to have an £87 dress made on spec though

After looking at so many lovely dresses I wish i had more occasions to wear stuff like this at!

Similar to 1950's style people have linked to

But personally like you I love the Chiffon dress AndiMac linked, beautiful.

Yes I could - although I don't want to waste money. But if I try on an empire line dress on the high street that would give me enough of an idea though about what it would look like surely?

awimbaalltheway - Nice dress, but not really an alternative wedding dress imo - tahnks though.

Hmm...it depends. The thing that makes that dress work IMO is that the empire line curves up in a sort of v-shape under the bust rather than just going straight across. So it creates a nice outline for showing off your cleavage, whereas one that is just banded straight across can sort of separate without lifting. IYSWIM

I've thought some more and think it would not be flattering. But I agree that you could get it and get it altered/use it as inspiration for a dressmaker.

How would you adapt it to make it flattering?

I wish you could draw on here!

I would have the lace bodice extend lower, either in a v shape opposite to the one it has (inverted) or still inverted, but more fitted around the whole of the waist/hips.

Does that make any sense?

too wedding dress like?

More like this, tethers?

That's nice OTheHugeManatee, I had no idea how hard it is to find sleeved evening dresses!

Yes, a bit like that but perhaps retaining the 'v' and more of a gathered detail at the front.

I can see it in my head, honest

Sorry awimbaalltheway - I really don't like knot dresses.

tethersend - Yes what you said makes sense. Kind of loses some of what I loved about the other dress - but I can see the dangers that I would just look pregnant. As I will be 48 by the time I marry, that would get tongues wagging!

Good luck Lesley.

I like this thread, sorry marking my place, I am useless at finding dresses.

Tethers I really liked the Frock.com

I completely agree with Tethers. The chiffon one is georgeous, but I fear you will look PG in it - your proportions sound similar to mine, and I always look PG in empire line things.

However, the bodice bit is really perfect so perhaps you could show it to a dress maker and have something more waisted based on that.

I also love the V-necked bell sleeved one very much - perhaps oyu could find a way of combining the best bits of the two?

I do like that blue dress linked by OTHM, but somehow it is lacking the punch of either of the other two.

Also, as your budget is decent it would be a shame to have something which is a great style but prob. not terribly well cut, which I doubt it will be for that price. When you are short, and big of nork, you need all the help you can get from decent tailoring!

sorry for the errant e in gorgeous. I must have had George Clooney on my mind!

Thanks - I don't want to look pregnant. And i take your point about how well cut it will be at that price. I like the shape of the blue dress as well, but agree it lacks the punch I am looking for.

This would have been so much easier if I had got married at 20 when I was very slim!

Perhaps I should go back to joanne fleming and talk to her about an adaptation of the saskia dress I like? Perhaps altering thsi dress to have a more defined bosom area like the empire dress might be more flattering?

The chiffon one is so beautiful, I would be very tempted to give it a go, I know what people are say about looking pg, but I think it is worth a try - I think the material looks fluid, so it might skim in the right way. It is a shame there aren't other angles to look at it.

I did feel slightly suspicious of a lack of a photo showing how the dress actually hung naturally.

Go try one on and let us know what you think!