Is it normal to go up 3-4 sizes from street size in bridal/BM''s clothing?

[Deelight]

I am the MOH for a friend and went to try on BM dresses the other day the only one they had in store was way to small so the guy measured me and came back with my "bridal size" which is 3-4 sizes bigger then my street size

.

Nothing like trying on dresses to make you feel like a chubba bubba. Someone reassure me I am not the only one I know bridal sizes run small but this is a lot smaller then I expected, a size or two I was prepared for but not this.

 

[Clairitek]

You aren''t alone Dee! I think it really depends on the maker but I am positive that it is normal to have to get a bridal/BM dress with a number much higher than you are used to on the label.

I ordered a bridal size 10 and I am normally a street size 6. You definitely want to go by your measurements and not the number you are used to.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

By three to four sizes, do you mean going from an 8 to a 12 or going from an 8 to 14 or 16?


Definitely go by the manufacturer''s chart over what you normally wear. They go by the largest size according to measurement of your body which is smart in general, but sometimes doesn''t make sense in every case. For example, if your hips are an inch too big to fit into a smaller size, but your bust and waist are fine, if it''s an A line dress, then go with the smaller size.

Or if you''re only too big by a half inch and it''s not a super tight dress, then why waste money on alterating the entire dress down to the correct size? I''d rather wear spanks.


That''s just me though. Do order the dress to fit you right now, and don''t be unrealistic in your expectations regarding your size, but no need to throw away money on alterations for a half inch in the hips on an A-line dress either.

 

[E B]

It depends on the designer, I found, but yes- it's common. I'm a street size 6 and my wedding dress was a size 10.

 

[elrohwen]

My dress is Vineyard Collection and the BMs dresses are POB and all were pretty close to street size for me and my two girls. I was totally prepared for the girl at the shop to tell me I needed a size 12 or something, but she told me to get an 8 and I generally wear a 6 or an 8 in street clothes, so I was happy.

Why do so many brands size up so much? If a girl is a street size 0, she might be a 4 in bridal. Ok, so who wears the bridal size 0? Little kids? Doesn''t make much sense to me.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

It''s VERY normal. I was SO depressed when trying on dresses at the salon to see that the dresses we''re 10/12s and barely zipping up...And when I was a 12 street the idea of buying a size 16 dress nearly did me in.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Totally agree with the others - this is completely normal. Depressing, but normal. Also keep in mind that you can be thrown off an additional size or two if one measurement doesn''t "match" with the others - for example, if you have a slightly large bust or wide hips for your overall size, that could bump you up into a size or even two sizes bigger on top of the normal distortion from bridal sizing.

 

[tessari]

I was pretty annoyed when buying my dress. I am normally a size 2-4 with a 34 inch bust 26 inch waist and 36 inch hips. For some reason they measured my my bust at 36 inches, my waist at 25 inches and my hips at 40 inches!!! Like a cartoon character. And said I needed a size 10. Now that is way too big sounding for me as I am quite petite. The lady measured me so clumsily and I knew she was off but did not want to argue. I have a small waist and big hips but I am no marylin Monroe or kim kardashian. I ordered the dress in an 8 bc I know I will lose about 10 lbs and have a year or more to do it and bc the size 10 sample was huge on my upper body. It''s a strange process for sure!

 

[kittybean]

Date: 4/6/2009 2:03:33 PM
Author: elrohwen

Why do so many brands size up so much? If a girl is a street size 0, she might be a 4 in bridal. Ok, so who wears the bridal size 0? Little kids? Doesn''t make much sense to me.

I do. I have a hard time finding regular clothing that fits--street size 0 is often big on me, especially with many mainstream clothing brands doing "vanity sizing" these days.

 

[allycat0303]

Well I wear size 3 in street clothes. When I went wedding dress shopping, the saleslady measured me and said to buy a 6. So that was 3 sizes larger. I went back the next day, they remeasured me and said that I could probably squeeze into a 4 if I lost some weight. So we ordered a 4 (which is the smallest size that Paloma Blanca makes). After I made the order, I was SO SO worried about fitting into it. I think I measured myself every week for 6 months. In any case, when the dress came in, I knew that according to the measuring chart on Paloma site, I DIDN''T fit into my dress (in the hip area).

When I tried on the 4, it was HUGE. They have to take in an inch on the hip area, and the bust falls off me. As does the waist. I think bridal stores, and bridal designers want to make sure you get a larger size. I think the shop is more generous in measuring and the designer is more generous with the fabric. I believe it is to prevent a bride from not fitting into her dress, which would be awful. So try not to think too much about the size on the dress, I think it''s even more wacked because some designers run big, and some run small, so impossible to compare.

 

[Sabine]

This is also especially true if you aren''t perfectly proportioned. I have a large chest for someone my size, so although I can fit into smaller sizes of street clothes sometimes depending on fabric, cut, ect., when just going by the measurement of my biggest, er, asset, technically I should be up several sizes. When wedding dress shopping, the rest of me wore a 10, but I needed a 14 to accomodate the girls!

 

[CNOS128]

Don''t worry about the number! Sizes aren''t uniform across brands/designers, anyway. What''s important is getting a dress that fits well and looks great!

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 4/6/2009 2:45:30 PM
Author: kittybean

Date: 4/6/2009 2:03:33 PM
Author: elrohwen

Why do so many brands size up so much? If a girl is a street size 0, she might be a 4 in bridal. Ok, so who wears the bridal size 0? Little kids? Doesn''t make much sense to me.

I do. I have a hard time finding regular clothing that fits--street size 0 is often big on me, especially with many mainstream clothing brands doing ''vanity sizing'' these days.

Haha, well, I guess there are some girls who could wear it. I do understand the vanity sizing thing - I shop at Banana Republic a lot and almost always wear a size small in their tops. I''m 5''9" and a size 6-8 with a large chest! There''s no way I should be wearing a small

Still, I imagine the wedding designers would want to make their dresses big, rather than small, but not 4 sizes too big. And if a girl is too small for the bridal size zero (like you might be) at least they could take it in.

 

[zoebartlett]

Yes, it''s totally normal. I went up several sizes, actually. My wedding dress size was nowhere near what I normally wear.

 

[Bia]

Yup! For my brother''s wedding I was a street size 6, but my BM dress was a 10...no kidding. Needless to say I almost had a heart attack. But then I realized it was everyone, not just me.

Still, it''s amazing what a stupid number can do to your self-confidence.

You are not alone!

 

[JerseyGrl81]

I usually wear a size 4 and when they measured me it came back that I should get a size 12

in my wedding gown! It was because my chest measured 38 inches. I just went to try on the dress last week and it was big on me- I was a little disappoined and I know I should of went with a 10 at the largest, but the seamstress said it will be no problem to take it in and have it fit correctly. You can kind of see how it is big in the back in this picture.

 

[so cal girl]

Usually they recommend at least two sizes bigger for me (i.e., I am a 12, and they recommmend a 16, or sometimes even an 1. I tend to always get one size smaller than what they recommend, depending on the dress. My biggest measurement is always my hips, due to my enormous bubble butt. But all of the bridesmaid dresses I have worn (I think I''m up to 5 now) have been a-line, and the hip area has not been that important. If i was ordering something in a mermaid style, I may choose differently.

I may get in trouble for this, but I don''t think I have ever ordered a bridesmaid dress in the exact size they have recommended. I have always looked at the size chart and seen where my measurements actually fit based on what style of dress it is. I have never had a dress been too small. Actually 4 out of the 5 times I have had to had the top taken in because it was too big. My ribcage is small, my hips/butt are huge, and the waist is somewhere in the middle. So I usally go off the waist measurement.

I don''t know how accurate the size charts are sometimes, either. The last wedding I was in, the sample in the store fit me perfectly. It was a 10. Based on the size chart, I should have gotten a 14/16. I said, the 10 fit, I''m ordering the 10. When it came in, it was a little too big. By the time the wedding came around, I was 3 months pregnant, had gained about 10 lbs, and it was just starting to be a little tight. Nothing some control top hose couldn''t fix

 

[Black Jade]

Bridal sizes are like sewing pattern sizes. They are still close to what sizes originally were when standardized sizing was first invented (around the 1920''s). But ''street'' sizes get downsized every 15 to 20 years, because manufacturers think (rightly) that most women will buy a dress sooner if the size reads smaller. They have done this 3 to 4 times in the past 80 years. that''s why there are now sizes like 0 and 00. When a size 12 becomes an 6, what happens to a size 6? 0, that''s what. But the actual measurements of the person haven''t changed. So, no, you haven''t gotten any bigger just because you''re a (much) bigger sounding size in a bridal gown, and you shouldn''t feel any chubbier. Your dress size has nothing to do with how big you are. You can only tell how big you are from either a) your scale or b) a tape measure.

This is why Marilyn Monroe was a size 14, by the way. The sizes were completely different. She was 5 ft 5 and 117 lbs and would easily fit a 6 (or maybe even a 4) nowadays. this is why when you shop in vintage stores, the beautiful dress that is labelled size 12 is MUCH too tight (and why you can''t find sizes under 6, which simply didn''t exist.) This is why I, and many other women over 50, have pants in my closet labelled size 10 that are a close fit while when I go into a store to shop, a modern size 4 is on the loose side.

and your size is going to be even bigger if you''re well-endowed on top, but otherwise slender. You can probably buy a small dress size, because of all the knits and stretch fabrics that people wear nowadays, but in the bridal shop, they are going to measure around your bust, 38 inch chest is going to be a size 16, 40 inch chest an 18, etc. etc. It will SOUND bad but your friends aren''t going to see the label inside the wedding dress, and when they finish customizing it for you, it will fit better than any other piece of clothes you ever wear in your life (unless you start getting all your clothes custom made).

 

[galvana]

YES its normal. i wear a 4 paints and was trying on size 8 and 10 dresses.

 

[musey]

Yep. I fit on the pronovias chart about 2 sizes up from my street size.

 

[musey]

Date: 4/6/2009 5:40:26 PM
Author: Black Jade
when they finish customizing it for you, it will fit better than any other piece of clothes you ever wear in your life (unless you start getting all your clothes custom made).

Oh geez, I wish that had been true for me!

It didn't help that the sales associate talked me into ordering the size up since I was between sizes. It ended up being WAY WAY WAY too big, too big for the seamstress to do much with. It was still too big on my wedding day. Oh well.

 

[violet02]

I was between a 6 and an 8 and I got a 12 (which was a bit too big!) then had it altered down to fit. My dress was a liancarlo.

 

[diamondgirl4382]

My Sophia Tolli wedding dress is a size 12, I normally wear between an 8 and a 10. Does anybody have info about Mori Lee sizing? I am worried that my bridesmaids'' dresses are going to be too big.

 

[Haven]

It totally depends on the designer. At David''s Bridal I needed a dress two sizes larger than my street size, but my Melissa Sweet dress was only one size larger than my street size, and that was just to accommodate by bust size.

After alterations my dress fit beautifully, and I haven''t even thought of the "size" unless I''ve come across threads like this.

 

[doodle]

Date: 4/6/2009 7:48:56 PM
Author: musey

Date: 4/6/2009 5:40:26 PM

Author: Black Jade

when they finish customizing it for you, it will fit better than any other piece of clothes you ever wear in your life (unless you start getting all your clothes custom made).

Oh geez, I wish that had been true for me!

It didn''t help that the sales associate talked me into ordering the size up since I was between sizes. It ended up being WAY WAY WAY too big, too big for the seamstress to do much with. It was still too big on my wedding day. Oh well.

me, too! even with the two cup sizes larger cutlets in and with me being a 38DDD, my dress was still huge in the woobles after being taken in as much as it possibly could be!

 

[pocahontas]

I agree with the other ladies that going up a couple sizes is pretty typical for most designers. I'm a street size 6 and my wedding gown (Madelaine Gardner) was ordered in a size 10 - thanks to my big 'ole hips. FWIW, I had to have the waist and bust areas taken in, but other than that it fits like a glove. I know it's hard not to get caught up on the number, but that's all it is so don't sweat it, Dee. I'm sure whatever the size, you're going to look awesome and rock the hell outta that dress

 

[Deelight]

Girls you have all made me feel better...Having lost a fair amount of weight and inches stuff like this makes you feel terrible. On the other hand I am worried the dress might come in way to big in the areas he measured but I would rather that then way to small.

The dress in question is an AA dress I am in Australia so our sizing is a little smaller then that in the US but having shopped in the US before I know my US size as well.

The dress I tried on was a 12 US (14 AUS) it was to small so he measured the gap on the bust and compared it to the size chart - I asked him about the hips (which are my biggest measurement but the dress fit somewhat over them) and he dismissed it and said the hips will get bigger as the size goes up

, obviously I get that. He got me to try on a 14US in a different dress and I swore it was tighter (apparently this is impossible

but it was cut different and on a bias). I also according to him have a broad back funnily enough I have always been small across the shoulders and back - might be all the personal training LOL.

I own two formal type dress that and they would be between a 12-14 US and both are way to big on the bust and back but fit around my hips (I really need to get it taken in) but this dress has been ordered in a US 22

- I know sure as hell there is no way I am that size in reality - vainty sizing or not.

It will be interesting to see how it goes...I can't even find an AA size chart online to check against.


ETA: Just found a size chart but can't find my tape measure

 

[modernsparkler]

I agree. I hate wedding sizes!!! I am only 5''2" but I usually wear a size 0 or 2 petite in regular clothes. I have a 32 inch bust with a D cup, a 25.5 inch waist, and 34 inch hips. I ordered a size 10 in wedding dress. I was devastated but when I got it, it still needed to be taken in and I am hoping that altering it down to my size will make it perfect. So yes to answer your question, the bridal industry is CRUEL and certain designers are worse than others. But, what is most important is that it fits... there is nothing worse than things that are too tight and none of your guests are going to see the number on the tag- just how it looks on you and that is key when ordering!

 

[Deelight]

Hrmmm I just checked my measurements (from memory still can''t find my tape) and I am certain this dress by those charts is way to big.

I am going to duck into another bridal store this week if I can and try a dress on in my size or closer to it .

 

[rhbgirl24]

Date: 4/6/2009 2:19:04 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
It''s VERY normal. I was SO depressed when trying on dresses at the salon to see that the dresses we''re 10/12s and barely zipping up...And when I was a 12 street the idea of buying a size 16 dress nearly did me in.

Same here! Its horrible. I felt so bummed. The dress, by measurements is 3 sizes bigger than my street size! But I guess by everyone''s responses thats normal.