Why do wedding gowns have to run so small??

The sad thing is—wedding dresses are actually normal sizing. Clothing stores put vanity sizing on items to encourage sales. Wedding dresses still have standard sizing.

Very late replying on this but, I'm usually a size 2-4 I was devastated they didnt fit and begin to cry and didnt want to try on more dresses but then I found the perfect one. Although it's a size 10, I loved it and I'm glad I found it.

My wedding gown is a marchesa notte. I normally wear a 12 or 14. I had to get a size 20. But I’m trying to not let it upset me because no one can see the tag and it’s going to be altered to the perfect fit anyway.

View Quoted Comment Yes!! I was internally freaking out!!! I’m normally a 6 and at the gown shop they measured me and said “ok so you’re measuring at a size 14”, I nearly cried!! A 14!!! That’s MASSIVE!!!

I just went wedding dress shopping... a 6 in jeans and 8 in dresses.
The lady started to bring me size 12 dresses... talk about feeling FAT!!! I am not saying a size 12 is “fat.”... but when I am normally a 6... and a 12 is fitting snug on me... I felt as if I had gained a bunch of weight without notice!!

Anyways... I feel better now from this vent.❤️❤️

Wedding dress sizes are pretty terrible..

Agreed! Having to try on sizes three times larger than the one you usually wear is unsettling enough, but for me lately the stores do not have selections big enough. I am a 6 or 8 in regular dress sizes and 12 to 14 in bridal gowns. There have been at least three stores with hundreds of dresses in stock where they didn't have a SINGLE gown over size 8.....That means only girls regular sizes 0, 2 or 4 can find something to try on. what gets me is that if a dress is too small you cant try it on AT ALL.

Bigger ones at least they can clip and you can see what it looks like on you, but when too tiny you can't pull it above your knees. Not sure how that makes any business sense, but I did leave very sad and disappointed. When you are a size 6 and you go excited into a bridal store and NOT ONE dress is big enough for you to try on, it certainly does a number on your self esteem and kills the excitement. I am almost at a point where I want to go to a normal designer store, buy a white dress and call it a day. Chances are it won't cost $5000 either.

I... I feel so ignorant to this. I'm tiny so I knew I was going to need a size 2 dress beforehand. I've never heard or seen this happen so I never knew about this, wow! All the dresses I tried on were too big and swallowed me but I'm used to that being so little. It sucks that this happens - I'm sure that could put a damper on the experience.

It's actually the reverse.

Your street clothes are what "run small."

Vanity sizing has led manufacturers to label things smaller.

Marilyn Monroe's famous "size 8" figure? It would be a size 2 in modern street sizing. (Her measurements when she was wearing a "size 8" were 35-24-35.)

If you've ever tried to buy vintage clothing (genuine vintage, not vintage inspired), you would find this same dilemma. I'm a normal modern dress size 2, but in 1950s dresses, I am a size 6-8 (depending if it's open in the hips or not). I have a 23" waist, which is not what most people would say is a size 6+ nowadays.

At the end of the day, if it bothers you that much, have the seamstress remove the size tag.

The only real issue is what another bride mentioned, which is stores not having a wider variety of sizes for trying on. This is just plain dumb, since the average woman now is a size 14 street, size ~18 formal gown.

This thread is making me feel better about my life, I’ve been trying to lose weight and I’m now down to an 18 but the dresses I’m trying on in even size 22 and 24 are running small. I started to panic that I was too big to even buy a dress. I know it’s just a number but still...

It’s just a number. The size is the exact same measurements as what you would wear in a 6. At the end of the day no one’s looking at the tag of the dress to see what size you’re wearing. As long as it fits you perfectly in all the right places, that’s all that matters.