Dress Tips

You could have some cups seen in to give a little fill or wear the sticky bra.

My bestie used dress tape. Use 10x as much as you think you'd need, and have extra with you for when you sweat and stuff. I'd also bring a towel so that your skin is dry when you reattach!

Daughter's dress had a lot of structure in the bodice, including boning and very shaped "cups" built into the bodice between the lining and the outer fabric. She's a 36DD, so never expected to need additional padding, but the bodice was pretty loose on her, and because it wasn't tight enough, it tended to wrinkle below her bust line. In alterations, they took the dress in along the side seams to make it as tight as possible on her midriff, and then ultimately added two sets of cups into the bodice. Basically, they "stuffed" the bodice until it fit her more snugly. It didn't make her look "bigger," but when the space in the bodice was well filled, it gave her a little bit more "lift" and made her feel more secure inside the bodice of the dress. We bought dress tape, but she didn't end up using it after both sets of cups were sewn into the dress. (One set of "push-up" cups were sewn in place below her breasts, giving her lift, and then another smaller set were sewn into the top edge of the bodice to fill a little bit of space that otherwise was gaping on her.)

She never thought she'd have to stuff her wedding gown, but she confessed after the wedding that a couple of friends told her she looked amazing in her dress....

Are you sure there’s no way to alter it? I feel like a good seamstress should be able to without messing with the waist line. The dress needs to be brought in to be closer to your body at the top. It might mean opening up the fabric on the front of the cups to reshape the bodice, that’s what they did for mine. I just don’t think dress tape is going to give you the effect you’re looking for.

I’d start by getting a second opinion from another seamstress ! My seamstress did all sorts of small shifts to get the bust of my dress to sit right without affecting my waistline at all. My dress style had some similarities to yours

Totally agree with getting a second opinion, but if they really can't fix it, having some padding sewn into the bust area will still give you a natural look while also fixing the fit. It sounds like it would look like you stuffed it, but it really won't if done by a good seamstress!

I’ve used fashion tape and it didn’t work for me.
1. I’m busty and my boobs have a mind of their own.
2. If you sweat, it will lose it’s stickiness. You’ll have to reattach constantly.
3. It stinks to constantly worry about whether your tape is about to loosen front our skin.

I would visit another seamstress. There has to be a way to do it.