Wedding dress alterations

They shouldn't have sold you a dress so large! When I bought my dress from davids bridal, they sold me a 12 and I am usually a 10. They told me, because I plan to lose weight, that every 20lbs is one dress size. The alteration price is probably very expensive because they will need to "reconstruct" and take your dress in quite a bit. I am sorry, hope it will work out for you!! Planning a wedding is stressful enough, worrying about a dress you already bought shouldn't be this stressful.

No, you can't be mad at the bridal shop. Especially if they told you it was a size 20. In their defense, if they're "off the rack" you had a chance to purchase a different one. That being said, going down in sizes is much easier than going up, but it will require a lot of reconstruction for that much of a gap. Is there any way to return the dress and check into another one closer to your size? I am doing what most might reconsider a reconstruct, and my total for alterations is less than $300. (Local shop, not a chain store who can upcharge.)

Thanks Michelle D. I was ugly crying on the phone with the dress shop telling them they did me a disservice selling me that dress.

I'm usually a 0/2 in dresses, but bought a size 6 off the rack. I took pictures of the excess fabric and showed them to my trusted tailor to make sure they'd be able to do the work before I purchased the dress. If it's going to take that much work, I would just return the dress or try to sell it. With the $1200 you would be paying in alterations, you could get a new dress that fits you with minimal changes.

ETA: I spent $130 at a local tailor shop for a 1 point bustle and taking in at the torso.

That's a huge size gap. Alterations when gaps are that big are very expensive, as you've seen. You can't be mad at the shop necessarily because they're an "off the rack" shop. I would try and find another dress for the $1200 and try to sell the one you have on stillwhite.com or preownedweddingdresses.com to at least get some of your money back

I feel out of morality they should have told you about the huge size difference and the reality of basically making a dress from scratch. However they are a business and their goal is to sell.

If they won't take a return or exchange try a local seamstresses in your area or even call another bridal shop.

When I got my MOH dress from DB they screwed up the sizing so bad I went to Alfred Angelo where I bought my WD and their seamstresses does outside alterations. Saved me a bundle and tears.

I would see if you can return the dress. If not try selling it and recouping some money back and go to another store to find a dress. I had to get my dress taken in two full sizes and it was $500. Good luck girl!

I could see you needing a larger bridal size than your street size but not FOUR SIZES larger. That's very odd that they'd sell you a dress that much larger than your normal size.

I have dropped at least one dress size since my fitting and expect to drop another before the wedding. Fortunately, my dress shop has a $425 max on alteration charges.

Didn't you try it on?

I tried it on. But when she put it on me, she worked so fast I didn't realize she was clipping so much. The bust line is huge, the sleeves, it's wide, it's long, big under the arms etc... It should've been somewhat proportioned to my body type. As the experts, It was a disservice for them to sell me something that wasn't close to what I needed. Their goal was to sell, not to provide excellent service. Thank you for the sales websites to sell my dress.

I'm having the same issue with a bridesmaid dress for my friend's wedding. I wear a 14 in street clothes. My wedding dress (which is a size too big) is a 22. The BM dress they ordered me is a size 26!! It has a sequin overlay that to make it fit, they are going to have to cut off SO MUCH of the design. She paid for it, so I told her if they have to destroy it to make it fit, I'll just buy one myself in the right size.

You're right. They just want to make sales.

Wedding dress sizes are normally 2-4 sizes up from what you normally wear.

I went through the same thing. Got a dress for 1200. Was quoted 1500 for alterations!!!!!!

I wear bridal size 12-14 depending on the designer and bought my dress off the rack, as well. My consultant wouldn't even let me try on dresses that were too large, there were a few 20-24 size dresses that were beautiful, but she knew my budget and didn't want me to be disappointed.

So, in my experience, no, they shouldn't have sold you a dress that far off from your normal size! Alterations to make it that much smaller will severely change the look of the dress!

@FMM, actually I think she has a right to be pissed that the shop told her most alterations cost $1200. That's total bullshit. Mine were less than $300, most are no more the average is $400-$600. That's manipulation right there. And as an aside, just because you had your alterations fine by a local shop does not mean you weren't upcharged. Small businesses usually charge now than large ones because they won't make money any other way. So more than likely your alterations were cheap because you didn't have anything complicated done, but because the local shop is cheaper.

I bought mine from a boutique so the dress was made when they ordered it. I'm normally a 0 but had to go with an 8 because the dress was such a tight fit and my hips are wider than my chest, but I knew the size I would be receiving. I wouldn't of felt comfortable purchasing such a huge difference if I didn't know. If that's the one you took with you and it was so large on, I would've asked for a different size tbh. I'm getting a lot hemmed and mine has an intricate lace pattern so overall mine is $325...

It sounds like you got jipped :/

I would say a size 20 is way to big but I'm not a seamstress

Bridal sizes are different. But I don't think it's the shops fault. You tried on the dress before you bought it, right?

It does suck to have to spend that much in alterations but depending on the amount of work needed I don't think it's excessive. My alterations were $1,100. I knew going into it that it would need some work. If you don't want to spend the $ try to find a dress at Davids or something

Exactly @Victoria E!!! That's what I was thinking. The shop consultant knows from years experience, there is a significant price gap in alterations for a reconstructed dress vs. just some readjustments/alterations. The average consumer won't know the difference. Btw, the dress I bought is along the lines of formal wear and not typical bridal dress with train or other fine details. It's a basic inexpensive lace dress.

I mean you didn't have to buy the dress if it was too big? Off the rack means "as is"; it was way too big when you bought it and its way too big now.

I don't think the store did you a disservice.

Oh my I'm a size 6 and my style of dress had to get a 14 but they all vary depending on designer and style. I only needed the top taken in (bid butt lol) and hemmed. With a change to the train which made mine custom it only came to 350. For 1200 you can buy a new dress!