I LOVE my dress...BUT...pictures provided

[MissMoodyMoo]

So I bought my dress off the rack as it was a sample sale so I saved hundereds and it's absolutely gorgeous 😍😍😍 BUT it's strapless and I want some sort of sleeve 😭 is there anyway I could add sleeves? Wedding isn't until 2020 and the dress was an impulse buy as I didn't want to lose to opportunity as it really is amazing and I know it's my dress but the more I think about it I just can't pull off strapless 😞😞

There was a thread on here a few years ago with a similar dilemma - a lovely seamstress MNer made an addition to the dress (a sort of chiffony shoulder cover) then it all went a bit downhill as bride loved the addition then decided she didn't Not suggesting the seamstress MN'er pitch in again but just that she thought it was easily do-able so am sure if you went to a decent seamstress they'll be able to sort it for you. Good luck!

I have a strapless dress and over it will be wearing a lace top / bolero that fastens with buttons at the back. I also got my dress in a sample sale! Yours is lovely

I had the same q when I got married a few years ago and there were no sleeved dresses in the shop. I found a seamstress who did it for me- she used tulle and lace appliqué to match the rest of the dress and to fit my description. Tbh I wasn’t totally happy but I think if I’d been a more mature bride I’d have been able to push for the changes I felt were needed. Please pm me and I can share more detail/photos etc if you’d like.

Be cautious - I bought my lovely sample dress (small size 10) over a year ago- the wedding is in spring and I’ve put about 5 lbs on and it barely closes 🙄

I’d be cautious of doing anything to it until closer to the time

Sorry to be a naysayer but I think it would be quite difficult to add sleeves in a fabric and style that didn’t look obviously added. If you are planning on other alterations like shortening the train, you could re-purpose the lace for that. But I think you’d need to be incredibly lucky to find a bolero or fabric that worked with such an elaborate dress. You could go for the fabric used in the belt/waistband which would be a lot easier to match but I think that would detract from the dress and look nowhere near as nice.

Have you thought about a veil though? A long full veil would obscure any stretch marks the backs of your arms - which you really only need worry about for the ceremony bit anyway. Nobody will be observing you closely from behind at the receiption.