Argh - I ordered a preloved wedding dress from Oxfam claiming to be a size 10

[sheshootssheimplores]

It turns up and it’s the tiniest thing I’ve ever seen. I can see it’s an American brand called Sincerity Bridal and the 10 has been rubbed out and 8 written in its place. I’ve gone on the website and the measurements to fit are 35/27/39. Now is that proper proper tiny?

I’m currently a UK size 12 and 11 stone. Does anyone know how much weight I’d need to lose to fit it? I’m guessing 3 stone or something crazy 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

The measurements would be a pear shaped ten but that dress does look teeny. Even if you starved yourself into it the odds are that it wouldn’t be the right proportions for you. But it is beautiful, so see if a local seamstress could add a couple of panels/corset back.

I presume someone has tried to reverse search the image just in case there is one in a bigger size available somewhere.

I can never work out how to do that

Return it - it’s not as advertised.

I’ve found serenity brides on Facebook so I e contacted them to see if they have any idea of the style number/name of the dress.

Sincerity bridal that should have said.

It's a beautiful dress, I hope you can alter it.
Modern sizing just baffles me. When I was in my 20s in the mid-late 70s I was a pretty standard size 12, and measured 34, 24, 36.
My friend was a 10 and she was 32, 22, 34.
She was slim, yes, but in those days not seen as teeny, tiny.
Now I am old and fat and those measurements are a distant memory ...

Very pretty dress op I have a 29 inch waist and a 34 bust and I'm a uk size 8 usually, sometimes though I need a 6 in tops and sometimes need a 10 in shorts as I have wide legs 😁 its mad how sizing works

From what I can guess they've put the measurements of a uk10ish on there when really it's a American 2ish looking at it which is a uk6 here

It is so pretty. I would have a think about alterations before totally giving up on it. You will need to lose 2 stone or more to fit it as it stands

To add to the confusion, I would see those measurements as a 12, not a 10! That's beacause I am a bit older than you, and can remember when a 10 waist was max 25/26 inches.

I am "shrinking" these days, as I am currently wearing clothes 2 sizes smaller than I did in my twenties, yet I am much the same measurements and weight. I could easily fit that dress, and I weigh just under 9 stone.

As an aside, I never buy used/vintage clothes without checking the measurements. The vintage section on Ebay is full of adverts along the lines of "Vintage size 16, but more like a modern 12". Many sellers give actual measurements, which bear no relation to today's sizes.

So to sum up, to me, it's an old 12, but now a modern 8/10!

Do you have anyone nearby who does alterations. A clever seamstress could alter it an an imaginative way you wouldn’t even notice.

Wedding dress sizing is usually smaller than high street. I had to go up 2 sizes.

Maybe this was for a bride who was a 10 and they took it in bec she lost weight.

It's insane to diet madly to lose 2 stone for a too-small dress if you are not needing to lose weight.

Oxfam did give the measurements but I’m not sure where they got them from. On the site they said size 10,
Bust 38
waist 32
length 58

I would say that’s not accurate.

I would say that’s not accurate.
Will you measure it? It looks smaller than that to me.

Depending on exactly what size this dress is as difficult to tell with a picture but can see the dress enough to see the measurements are wrong you may be able to alter it, I know some seamstresses can add material to a dress they call them panels and if done by someone who knows what they doing you can't even tell

The sizing sounds about right and wedding dresses often come up smaller than fashion clothes.

I am a uk 10 (occasionally 8) I weigh 9st 4 and have a 26" waist. I could probably diet into that dress. It's not tiny, but sounds like it was mis-sold

I’ve got 28 days to return it. So I’m going to see if I can find out the style number and try and source a larger size. Thing is it needs cleaning which I know is expensive. Once you start adding the price of alterations I may as well budget for a new dress.

They may have put uk sizing on it if sold in uk store - no way of knowing.

But I, like many brides, dropped more than a dress size between ordering and fitting so had my dress significantly altered.

Do you have any friends who are a realistic size for you to drop down to? If that can fit into it then it might be worth keeping but if they struggle than best to send it back.

If a panel can't be added due to style of dress looking at the dress I think a seamstress would be able to also turn it into a corset instead of buttons giving more inches to the bust as for the waist i can't tell with a photo

I think the shape of women in general has changed in the last few decades. Young women have much bigger waists than what we had in the 70s/80s.

I’m a size 10 and my waist is now 26” and I find the waist size in size 10 clothing to be too big/very generous whereas when I was a 10 and had a 22” in the 1980s a size 10 then fit perfectly.

The only person I know that’s the size I suspect might fit it isn’t a close enough friend. It would be weird 🤭

Unless you’re on a very very restricted budget I’d return it. Yes, exercise and eat healthily in the run up to your wedding, but you want your wedding dress to fit YOU, not YOU fit the dress. It’s your special day and you want to feel a million dollars.

As an aside though, I lost a stone without trying in the run up to my wedding and had to have my (size 12) wedding dress which fit like a glove on first fitting taken in considerably at the final fitting. And no crazy crash diets either, just enough exercise to keep me glowy and the adrenaline I think!

It sounds like Oxfam has put the usual measurements for a size 10 up. What does the dress actually measure?

Do NOT starve yourself to fit into this dress! This is it the Victorian age! Send the bugger back and look for something beautiful that fits and makes you feel amazing.

*isn't