Wedding Blog
Okay, so my future mother in law has spoken with my alterations lady and has some news: she hasn’t worked on my dress yet, since she wants to have her “vision” set for next week- when she will commence bodice ripping . When I met her, she seemed a bit grumpy regarding how much work the bodice will need- apparently it’s a lot of de-beading.
Anyway, she told my FMIL that she thinks I’m going to need straps for my boned strapless dress. Seamstress believes my chesticular fortitude isn’t enough to withstand the immense beading all over my dress, and my D cups will need something else to hold up the dress. 
To be honest, I’d really like to keep the dress as is. I don’t want straps, and don’t really think I need straps! However, if she thinks the straps would work, I guess I should see if she’s right, right?
How many of you guys had your dress changed from how it came?
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Share this post: Seamstress Says…
Don’t stress it too much. I’m surprised that you found a seamstress who’s willing to go with straps when everyone seems to think that wedding gowns HAVE to be strapless these days. I hate strapless gowns with a deep, unreasonable passion, so I’m actually happy for you. I know, no one asked me. 
But really, think about how you won’t have to worry about walking around a lot, sitting down, running a few steps, bending over, turning, or any other strapless danger moves on your wedding day.
Hmmmm, I really think that if your dress is made strapless, you should be able to wear it strapless. There are plenty of ways to make dresses stay up and if it already has all the boning etc, it shouldn’t be THAT difficult, right? I obviously have no seamstress experience or knowledge, but that still seems really off to me. Tell her you want to have it be strapless and then if at the very end it doesn’t stay up, THEN look into straps, but I think she SHOULD be able to make it work!!!! Good luck!!!!
I’d like you give you points for use of the phrase “chesticular fortitude”!
ask if she can build a corset into the dress (sometimes called a corselette), this will hug tight to your body and the dress will be fixed to it, rather than having to cling perilously to your body/boobage!
i have no chesticular fortitude myself, mine is being sewn into my dress… but thats beside the point.
my seamstress seemed to be taking her time & running over me as well. i was getting a little worried so i called her back and went in for another fitting (using the hem length excuse. new shoes!) and really made her know what i wanted for the dress. i think that was all she wanted. one of us was going to be the boss, and since i took the role she didnt need to. strange but true.
anyhow tell her what you want. but i have heard brides say that their strapless dresses made them feel like they could pop out at any moment. not a good feeling for your wedding day. but those girls had robust chi chis. i don’t so strapless should be fine for me. :/
I had sleeves added to my strapless dress! Couldn’t find a dress with sleeves that I liked, so I had one created.
I had straps made for if during the dancing I need a bit help holidng up my own D’s. They are snap on straps. If I don’t need them, strapless all night I will be!
I agree with Mrs. Bluebell: if it was made to be worn strapless, you should be able to wear it as such! I can imagine that a corset might make things more secure, but it also might make for a lot of added complication at this point. However, I just wanted to say that if you do decide to investigate corsets, you have one of the experts not too far away - Linda Sparks at Farthingales.
http://www.farthingalesla.com/
Back several months ago when we thought my mom was going to make my dress, we took a strapless bodice workshop with Linda in Chicago, and she was great! Corsets are her real area of expertise though. If you do decide that you need more support, I wonder if she might have a ready-made corset at her store that would fit under your dress? I see there’s a 15% off all corsets sale coming up on 9/29…but adding a corset just seems like an awful lot of boning if your dress already has bones!
some people have additional straps made for support. but if you don’t feel like you want or need them, then go without!
hey, if you feel like your seamstress is not going to do a good job and want a 2nd opinion, i have a good one. i’m in LA area too, but she’s in Fullerton. she’s worked on my dress and had to take a lot of beading out also. no complaints from her at all, and no complaints from me. i highly recommend her as she’s done all kinds of wedding dresses from my friends and bridesmaids also. and she’s reasonably priced. http://www.amystailoring.com. good luck miss kiwi! feel free to email me if you need more info aoedorothee [at] yahoo.com
TAKE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE!
if you think you can keep the dress up and not be grabbing it every minute, then forego the straps. but better to have straps than a slipping dress… esspecially if the dress is heavy… don’t wanna have any photos of you always grabbing the dress.
i completely changed the train. it wasn’t my idea, it was the alteration lady… and WOW did it make a difference… soo much better! i get to check out my dress this week! hooray!
I would second what Sara said and find another seamstress since this one is apparently not getting things done on time, has a poor attitude and is wanting to change the dress in a way that you don’t want.
Also, I would leave it strapless for the first round of alterations, then see how the strapless dress feels when it fits you perfectly and make a decision at that point as to whether or not straps would be a good plan.
I don’t have much “chesticular fortitude” either but I’ve seen plenty of well-endowed girls wear strapless dresses, so I don’t know what the big problem is…
i’m sorry, but i think your seamstress was fine for suggesting straps. i think it was actually nice of her to offer since that can be an issue with strapless dresses, regardless of the size of your girls. (mine are tiny and strapless dresses fall down on me, my well-endowed friend has the same issue though) since she simply suggested them, you can simply say, “no thank you.”
the grumpiness over the beading and delaying work on your dress are different issues. i would suggest talking to her again and be clear about what you when and when you need it. if she doesn’t improve, then take it somewhere else.
As a very experienced seamstress, I can say that it is your undergarments that should be holding up your bust, not your dress. Get a really good fitting, strapless, longline bra to hold everything up and in place. There are undergarments available that are made to hold any body’s shape and size in place.
After that, your dress should have structure (boning, underlining, etc.) to keep the shape of the dress. The boning is not intended to hold up your body parts. If the dress is fitted properly it should be able to stay in place without continually slipping down. While it is true that some of the dress is held up by the fit over the bustline, most of the weight of the dress should be supported by the fit at the waistline, which is why a dress has boning all the way to the waist and sometimes over the hipbones.
Straps are one way to keep the dress from falling down, but they should not be necessary if the bodice is fit to your body correctly.
If someone absolutely wants straps without them being obvious, it is possible to use clear straps which are only about 1/4″ wide.
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Mrs. Kiwi, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation in 06: 27, Bookkeeper
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, P.E. Teach/Coach @ private schools in LA
Engagement Date: March 31, 2006
Wedding Date: November 3, 2007
Venue: Radisson Hotel
About Me: I'm a bookkeeper who failed high school algebra. I'm currently living in Los Angeles, literally a street over from where I grew up with Mr. Kiwi, my honey of three years. We have a jumbo mini-dachshund (seriously, he's huuuuge), and we're planning an autumn themed wedding on a shoestring, paid for by ourselves. The wedding date is my late grandma's birthday, I needed her there somehow, and that seemed like the best way for us. I can't believe I'm a Bee! I couldn't be more proud!
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