Heels and flats: which do you tailor your dress to if you are changing shoes?

I've wondered this as well (I'm doing low heels for the ceremony and flats for the reception - everything after the first dance I think). Is it possible to do an in between?? Would tailoring with the flats really make the dress so short that it's noticeable when wearing heels?

All very good questions.

I would talk to your seamstress and see what they say. They're the experts and have dealt with this kind of dilemma before.

Sorry, I just watched the movie "Valentino The Last Emperor" yesterday and all I hear is him saying "seeing a woman's ankle when she walks in an evening gown is the most disgusting thing in the world" when he's at a fitting. LOL! That being said I feel for you on this one. I chose to let mine drag a little..

This is a question I plan to ask my seamstress at my next fitting. Right now I am having my gown tailored for heels otherwise I'd never be able to wear my heels if I focused on my flats. I am thinking the way it gets bustled will help out when I switch to my flats. We will see what my seamstress says/suggests.

That's a good question for the seamstress. Maybe you can split the difference between them? I lucked out. My heels and my toms wedges are about the same height. I didn't plan it, it just worked out that way.

You pretty much laid it out exactly as it is: If you have the hem measured in your heels, it will be too long when you switch to flats. If you have it measured in the flats, it might be too short for your liking when you're wearing the heels. I would not suggest doing an in-between length, because then you will basically have BOTH problems.

My 1st suggestion is have the seamstress do a quick pinning of the hem with the flats on, so that the hem is just grazing the floor (about the longest it could be before entering the trip-zone). She can just eyeball it at that point, not do the full measuring where you have to stand there forever. Look at it in the mirror, get a feel for it, and then switch to your heels & see what the difference is. Whether or not it is ungodly short or not-so-bad totally depends on the heel height, the fullness of the skirt, style of dress, your own perception, & maybe even the wedding venue (in grass, for example, a little shorter is not the end of the world).

If you look at it & decide you will not be happy with the shorter length in heels, then have the hem measured with the heels on, and talk to your seamstress about the possibility of bustling the dress in a way that pulls the front up as well. A good seamstress should have some ideas. Personally, if you go this route, I would have the hem measured & sewn first, and then come back to have the bustle pinned, because you will get a better idea of how the fabric will fall without all the extra hem material bunched & pinned up underneath.

With a hoop slip & some heels, I didn't need a hem on my gown. But for the reception I switched to flats & ditched the hoop slip. I did my own bustle & played around with it so that I managed to bustle it all the way around. Mine had a satin layer underneath and lace layer on top. A simple satin layer is easy to bustle in the front. You just fold the bottom up inside, creating a fold along the hemline, and attach to itself (or to lining) inside with ribbons or buttons. The lace was more tricky, and if your dress has a similar outer layer, your seamstress will have to play around with it to find something that works with your specific dress, because they're all different. OR if you have a dress with pickups/tucks in the skirt, those are SUPER easy to bustle all the way around -- all they have to do is add ribbons inside to pull each pick-up up further. As for any lining or inner-netting layers (any layer that is not part of the outside of the dress & does not show at all, but is just there for function), those can just be hemmed shorter so you don't have to bother with bustling them... no one sees those layers anyway.

Sorry this got so long, but I hope it helps! My experience: 5 yrs doing alterations in a bridal shop. Attached is a pic of my bustle. From the side, you can kinda see where the side was pulled up with 2 buttons (one a little ways down from the hip, one closer to the bottom). In the front I pulled it up & folded it flat (instead of "swoops" like the back) along the seamline where the skirt meets the bodice. Worked out well for mine because the embroidery was so busy, you could hardly tell, and clear buttons blended right in with the beading. Like I said, your dress may need to be bustled in its own special way depending on the style, but I'm confident there is a way!

Oh, one last note: If you decide you don't like either option, you may just need to make peace with the idea of picking up your skirt when you walk at your reception. It's not my favorite option (especially as a seamstress, I HATE seeing dresses dragging), but it's an option nonetheless.

Good question! My dress fits perfectly with 3.5 inch heels with no alterations, so I'm just going to leave it at that. I would imagine it would be better to have a dress that is slightly too long than slightly too short...

Hi Christine! Change your avatar

Its better for the dress to be too long. Have it hemmed for your heels, and the dress will be bustled for the reception so it won't be as bad.