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 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

That's a weird size as the 39 hip would be a 12, and 27 waist more like an 8...

I'm 10 st 5 and I don't think I could slim down into that however hard I tried, not least that into that waist measurement... Even with a 31 inch waist dropping four inches would be a hell of a challenge.

Can you squeeze it on at all? For the sake of one day it might be doable if you love it!

I think you should post a picture also just because I bloody love a wedding dress discussion

If you can shoe a pic of the label I can advise re cleaning . I bet it's polyester so you can shove it in the machine .. how much did you pay for it?

Ooo you did post a pic! It's lovely.

Could you get an identical dress made?

eBay link

Pressed post too soon! This one looks very similar and it’s a 12/14

Have you actually tried it on? Try it and you'll know in your heart of hearts whether there's any way it could be made to fit, say by a combination of losing a little, realistic amount of weight plus some alterations. If it's nowhere near, send it back and move on.

Thats a good point mumtoadancer. It probably has been altered.

CatToddler I did see that and thought the same. I also thought it looked quite small (though not as small). I shall put it on watch.

Leno it doesn’t fit at all. The dress itself is slim fitting, the rest is a detachable train, so the bottom won’t go over my hips. I know it needs to go back, I’m just looking at it hanging on my wardrobe door.

This is the M&S size guide. So a 10 is pretty much in line (but more a 12 on the hips, which would be a US8).

The issue may be that this dress is designed to fit that size, whereas ‘normal’ clothes seem to be made to fit people who think they are 2 sizes smaller than they are IME. I’ve got a 27” waist and sometimes have to buy a 6 to get something that doesn’t swamp me. I’m not a 6. I was an 8/10 when I was 18 and I’m bigger 20 years later.

I think that dress could be about 20 years old based on the style and the style of the other Serenity dresses on the internet. It seems very late 90s early 00s based on what was in the fashion at the time especially for brides and prom dresses etc.

Back then I UK size 10, weighing 8 and a half stone with 34, 24, 33 measurements. I now weigh almost 3 stone heavier and have the measurements 36, 29, 36 and yet alot of UK Size 12 high street clothing comes up large on me and I'm still a size 10 in a few shops. Their sizing charts are often way out. That's vanity sizing for you. What is now a UK size 6 is the same size as my old 10s from 20 years ago that are in the wardrobe. My Mum's 90s size 16 dresses fit me perfectly.

I'd go with the possibility that this is a vintage sizing and has been further altered to fit a bride. To be it looks like it would fit a person who was a size 8 today. In all honesty, I think I'd return it now.

So I managed to get it over my hips with the aid of slippery tights. What I hadn’t factored in was my weird body proportion. I have a long torso with long arms and by getting it over my hips I was able to see that even if I got thin, the waist was sitting inches higher than my actual waist. So that got my break sensible again and it’s now packaged up ready to go back.

I can see that I really need to try on some dresses but I still don’t want to buy new, so I need to find a shop that focuses on preloved dresses and get my backside down (or up!) to it.

Thank you for everyone’s kindness on this thread. It helped a lot xx

*brain

There is a cancer research charity shop in Chichester that sells second hand wedding dresses I believe .. also as I said below you can wash the majority of them and they come up lovely so don't be afraid of buying a cheap dirty one .

Thanks gubbsy I suspect you were right and that it was polyester.

It looks as if there are now a dozen Oxfam bridal shops
www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/local-shops/oxfam-bridal-departments

I guess another option would be to find some preloved dresses that you like the look of online and then see if they are still in stock in bridal shops.

Oooooooooh that Oxfam bridal shop didn’t come up when I googled preloved wedding shops near me. Right, I shall scooter off down there and have a look.

It's not you, it's the dress OP! That dress looks way smaller than the measurements, which to me look more like an 8-10 anyway. Under no circumstances try to diet your way into it! I wonder if it was a size 10 which someone smaller wore and had to have taken in at the waist?

I was 10 stone and 5'8" when we got married, so usually a 10/12. I bought a size 14 dress of Ebay and had it taken in. Wedding dresses are notoriously weird sizing and tailors have more to work with if you size up I think.

Good on you for going secondhand too. I am always showing off how cheap my dress was - so proud 😂. But really, for the fact it was a designer dress and looked fab, if I do say so myself, it really was a total bargain.

*off

Are the measurements from the website or from measuring the actual dress? The dress looks like a UK6 at most.

It's gorgeous, but does look tiny! Especially the waist - second those who think it looks more like a UK 6.

Good hunting, and keep us updated with pics of dresses you're considering!

I'm a charity shop volunteer and sizing is a nightmare for us.

Sizing is all over the place. We all know that in 2019, a H&M size 10 isn't the same as a M&S size 10. Vintage clothing is smaller. American and European sizes are different. We might have 5 black "size 12" skirts on sale and each might be completely different sizes.

Return it to Oxfam and they will refund your money. They know this happens all the time with buying things online and not having the chance to try them on first. There is a Oxfam bridal shop in Heswall on the Wirral if you're anywhere near there!

Better to get too big and get it taken in!

I got a large vera wang back in the day, it fell off me, but I knew it would. I paid about 200 pounds to custom fit it.

It ended up perfect for very little money!

My wedding dress was a 10 and I was around 33/25/35.
Sizes have been inflated now.
39 hips were never a size 10 more like a 14.