Adding sleeves to a dress

You can add sleeves on pretty much any dress! It's a bit trickier on strapless dresses, you'll most likely need to add a strap and then build off of that to make a sleeve. It depends on the dress, but if you go to a great seamstress they can do it with their eyes closed. Just make sure you choose a reputable one of course. You can either purchase sleeves with lace already on it, or get lace appliqués and add that to an already plain sleeve to match your dress. It all depends on the dress you choose! I hope this helped. Best of luck!

View Quoted Comment Thank you! Nice to know it's done often. I fell I love with a dress but then it became discontinued so I'm kinda trying to recreate it

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This is a beautiful dress. As Missa mentioned, you can add sleeves to just about any dress. When shopping, speak to the consultant and explain your vision. They may have some experience with alterations and be able to advise if they can be added to a specific dress. There may even be an in-house seamstress on hand who could help!

Not exactly true. There are some dresses with straps that would be challenging to add sleeves without it looking odd. I do think a lot of strapless dresses can have some type of sleeves added. Best to ask a seamstress at the shop before you buy it. Here's mine.

before alterations

after alterations