What to do to make dress fit better

Are you open to getting a quote from a seamstress? Having the dress hemmed is probably your best bet.

You need it hemmed.

If it's in the budget i'd say a hem, but if you are doing a hoop skirt that could work providing it's big enough to lift it

View Quoted Comment I spent $180 on my dress and the quotes I've been getting are $150-250 For just the hem

View Quoted Comment I don't really have the budget to get a $200 hem

View Quoted Comment Any tips for what kind of hoop skirt to get?

View Quoted Comment

Does the salon where you got the dress have a website? If so they may have suggested ones with the dress. It's hard to say without seeing the dress in person

View Quoted Comment That may be problematic since I didn't get my dress from a salon

Have you thought about alterations?

Look for a local seamstress. One without a store front., a seamstress who works from h
The house. Much more reasonable in price.

View Quoted Comment I have but I'm looking for other options as well

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the advice

Me. Totally me. This happened to me aha. For some reason... I didn't get it hemmed because I thought there didn't need to be so during the whole time I held the dress

I used a seamstress who worked from home and spent $100 total on alterations, bustle, bust taken in, and sleeves added. Do a google search and see what pops up in your area.
I also added a hoop skirt. I got mine from amazon for about $20. paired with heels, It eliminated my need for a hem.
I used a fit and flare/mermaid slip as I had a fit and flare dress. With your dress, I think you could
use an a line/ball gown slip.

I would have it tailored.

In a pinch you could use hem tape, but that'd be a looooooot of hem tape. Or if you know anyone that sews, a hem isn't too technically demanding. A hoop skirt could also give it some lift; if you get one with a lacy or tulle bottom it won't even matter if it shows a little bit. Just be aware that if your dress isn't made to spread widely like that you won't be able to get a whole lot of lift out of it. Also look for hole in the wall tailors; they might have better prices than ones that work with boutiques or that have websites. I'm in a similar pinch in that I don't know if I'll be able to afford a bustle on my gown, so I feel your pain!

Check with a regular dry cleaner who does tailoring, since the skirt has a simple hem with no lace they should be able to do that easily. You definitely don’t want to be tripping over your dress all day.

Bite the bullet and get it to alterations! The last thing you want it’s to be tripping on your dress at any moment! Good luck

If hemming isn't in the budget you can always use fabric tape! That's what I did and it worked out great! I just did the front part right before it flared out into the train, just enough to hit my feet where I could walk without stepping on it. The lace on my dress was heavy too and it held up wonderfully!

This is the fabric tape I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/b07byvyk1w?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Also, I didn't use much at all. I used about 8 1inch pieces total. Leaving about 5in in between each piece. The first picture is hemmed the second is what it looked like before.