Bustle vs. No Bustle

This is the back view of my gown and she was thinking, depending on the amount of fabric left after she hems it, that she'll do 1 in the middle of maybe 3.

I think you need to find a different seamstress. All bustles are supposed to be charged by point, so the more buttons and loops you need the more expensive it is. It kinda sounds like this seamstresses is try to scam you because she knows you don't want a bustle. It doesn't make sense any other way that she would charge you less for more work

An extra $100 if you don't want a bustle? Why would she charge you for something she's not doing?

I'd suggest a second opinion if it's not too late.

Bustles are priced by how long your train is, the fabric of your dress and how many points to complete the bustle.

Something's not right here. Why would there be a charge for something she's not doing (a bustle)?

This doesn't make sense. Look for other options.

Is she thinking that if you don't do a bustle she'll be cutting off and hemming the train? That's the only reason I can think it would be more without the bustle . . . and still odd

ETA: That's a beautiful dress

Yes, no bustle would mean cutting and hemming more fabric, essentially all the way around the dress and a partial part of the train so maybe that’s why? I’ll hopefully get more details at my fitting next week because that’s when I have to let her know whether I want the bustle or not.

So if you get no bustle she would eliminate the train and make it a floor length dress?

Did you also do a google search by your dress name with bustles to see what other brides with the same dress have done?

I'm no seamstress, but I wonder why she'd have to hem the train at all - I mean, I had a bustle, but the seamstress didn't have to trim/hem the train at all (even though the rest of the dress had to be shortened like 6 inches) - why couldn't she leave the train alone? (Again, not a seamstress, so I'm genuinely curious)

I say bustle it so you have the option to use it if you need it. A train is uncomfortable and gets stepped on by guests. If you plan to dance DEFINITELY get the bustle.

What's a $100 when you probably spent at least a $1,000 on the dress itself?

I told her to hem a portion of the train because its extremely long on me and I’m a shortie. We’re having an outdoor wedding with a cake and champagne reception so no dancing. I don’t want a long train but I also don’t want a bustle. I’m not sure why she would charge more either for what I would assume to be less work.

It sounds like you want a shorter train than the dress comes with and intend to have it down throughout everything. Consider though that even though you are not dancing folks may still step on your short train.

That aside, do you have another alterations person you can get a second quote from? Would you still want the train shortened even if you do the bustle?

My bustle doesn't have any buttons

She would still need to hem it even with a bustle but I think overall I don’t want the bustle(s) because of the sleekness of the back of the dress I just don’t like the thought of having hooks or buttons back there, maybe if my dress was a different fabric. My wedding is January 10th and she’s already started with cups, I’d hate to try to have someone else try the hemming and get it done in time. She has wonderful reviews and I’m not too bothered by the price because at the end of the day, my dress has to be hemmed either way.

If you're worried about adding buttons or hooks to the back of the dress, you can get a French bustle - it pulls the fabric up inside with ribbons, and they're all inside the dress - my train was also a sleek fabric with no embellishment, and that's what they did for me