Dress versus Me

I'm a DD and was afraid I'd have a problem finding a dress with enough coverage but I did. Did any of the consultants discuss things they can do to make them fit better during alterations and what kind of bra you should wear? I also didn't have a "this is the one" moment. In fact i kept looking and tried on about a dozen more dresses. I finally realized that it checked off a lot of the boxes on my wish list and I felt beautiful and confident in it. Good luck. I know the perfect dress is out there for you.

Yes, I’m large up top as well and the dress I chose didn’t quite fit my bust; they were literally coming out. The seamstress altered my dress such that my bust was secure. When you try on dresses, bear in mind that the seamstress will alter the dress to better fit and flatter your figure. The way the dresses look on you now won’t be exactly how they look after the magic happens. The one you choose will look even better than when you try it on because it will be altered to fit you. Trust me! My seamstress did for me. After the first alterations on my dress, the bust was great, but it didn’t look like I had a tush. So, she brought the dress in a bit underneath and viola! There it was! Magic 😊

I agree alterations can work magic, but they are also likely to be expensive, especially if there will be a lot of work to do. There are definitely some dress styles/features that are better matched to some body types than others. If you're concerned about being comfortable about your chest, I'd focus on dresses that have substantial straps/shoulder coverage and significant boning & structure in the bodice, as both will make it easier to "keep the girls" in place and/or allow you to wear a supportive bra that will do so. Daughter is thin, but a 36DD. Her dress had thin decorative straps (not much support/no bra strap coverage), a low back, and a TON of built in boning/structure, and we still spent a third of the cost of her dress trying to get the bodice to fit "just right" and keep her chest where she wanted it. Knowing what we went through, I now know that some options, like an illusion back or a strapless style, would have been even more difficult/expensive to "make perfect" for her. Good luck!

Agree with MOB So Cal. You will want boning and structure for added support. Mine had a built in corset (boing and bra). Depending on what you’re looking for or what flatters your figure, go with the silhouette that best fits and flatters you without alterations, but know that seamstresses can really work wonders to make it fit just right and look more amazing. If you find one that does not require a ton of alterations, that would be ideal. Also, make sure you shop around for seamstresses and prices. When you are dress shopping, ask them if they do alterations and if they offer discounts for purchasing with them. I was fortunate enough to purchase my dress at an alterations store that also sold wedding dresses and alterations for my dress were less than $250, but they also gave us a discount for purchasing my wedding dress from them.

Sometimes I feel like not everyone is going to have that emotional wow moment with a dress. For me I grew to love mine. But I def didn't have a wow moment with it initially

Coming from someone with a DDD chest as well, I talked to the ladies that helped me saying I need something with straps that will support me and keep me in where I need to be that being said I bought a dress that has no lining in the bodice so I can’t wear a proper bra with it and am completely fine in it and love the way it looks. The bridal salon I went to kept telling me v-necks looked wonderful on me and she made a point to tell me every time that I had one on. It made things a lot easier when I’m not a super confident person. I also found that going with a smaller shop than a big store like David’s Bridal was easier as they are better at communication with their dress makers and often the dresses can be ordered in custom sizes at no extra cost. That really helped me as my chest is two sizes larger than the rest of me and with it being larger and me being so short(5’) they were able to put me in a non petite dress so the bodice fit properly and sent in my height measurements for the length to fit right without them taking away the detail of the dress by hemming it.