Bridesmaids dress doesn't fit- options?

[pollysproggle]

I know a dress can be taken in but can a dress be made slightly bigger?

My dresses are from an online retailer. I've had a bit of a nightmare with one bridesmaid who has now put on weight.
Dresses were ordered a few months ago and were tried on, I ended up sending them back and getting a slightly different style but from the same retailer.
2 out of 3 bridesmaids are happy with their dress, 3rd bridesmaid was happy with dress and it fitted perfectly then she went on a 5 week holiday and put on a stone, now the dress is too small.
The dress is a 16 and currently she'd probably need an 18 however the largest size in this style is 16.
Ideally she should and probably wants to Too, lose the holiday weight but what if she doesn't?

I don't want to put pressure on her to shift the pounds but I'd probably have to change all 3 dresses again if she doesn't. Can't wait around to see if she does as I'll miss the cut off period for returning.
Can a dress be made bigger? The problem is it only zips up half way at the back, skirt part is fine

You sound like a nightmare.

That's all.

You could have a panel put in at the back to turn the zip into a lace up fastening. It’s a straightforward job for a seamstress.

Ignore PP you don’t sound a nightmare at all. No clue what to do.
How long until the wedding? What does she say about the fitting? You could wait awhile and then do the panel adjustment if needed a bit closer to the time

Namechangeroo
Why am I the nightmare??

I'm asking for help with a contingency plan so her dress fits her on the day...

Namechangeraroo what a horrible thing to say it's not the OPs fault the bridesmaid has put on weight. Don't worry pollysproggle a seamstress will be able to put a panel in the back.

You don’t sound like a nightmare. Just ignore the other poster.

Oh dear. But don't worry - there will be options, ha4 to say what without knowing more about the dress, but a good seamstress will be able to do something.

If there is enough allowance in the side seams then it can be let out by a dressmaker. I think you should get it sorted now rather than waiting as surely it’s better that it will possibly be too big for her if she loses weight than it be too small.

Great thank you, panel sounds good!

I just wanted to know that it's possible to do as if not I'd have to act now to get all the dresses back and start again.

A panel can be put in but I’d get some quotes asap. Any alterations can be expensive and so it might be as well to look at changing if you can. It’s a nightmare I know but does depend on how much you are spending on the dresses in the first place

My bridesmaids are all different shapes, sizes and heights so it's been a struggle trying to find 'the dress' that they'll all feel comfortable in.
These were perfect and everyone loves them it's just this last hiccup but I feel confident now that something can be done if need be.

Wedding is in 8 weeks so I'll talk to her about the panel option- I'm sure it'll be a relief for her too

From experience I've found that most dresses can be let out 1 size. But it does depend on the material and how much is left in the seams. If not adding a panel or adding a different fastening could work.

They definitely do panels with laces. I wanted a wedding dress that was too small and they suggested it. The panel was £75 and the cost of putting it in was included in the alterations. ( I thought this a bonkers price and bought the dress in the right size online).

Bridesmaids don't have to match. It's a dated look now. Disclaimer : mine all match but only because none of them would actually decide on a dress themselves, so I had to buy them one they all liked. You could get a her a cheaper dress in the same theme from ASOS and buy a sparkly belt/ shrug/ change the length of the other bridesmaids so they look different but similar.

Agree Freemantle,
I went for the same dress in 3 different colours. There were originally 3 different dresses, then 3 identical then these.

Really don't want to mess about anymore with new dresses completely or have one odd while the other two have the same.

I've asked around and think I've located a friend of a friend who does alterations who is fairly reasonable.