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…and how to avoid it? Well, not quite yet, but by the time it comes to our wedding day, I sure hope so!
What is overhang, you ask? I’m not sure what everyone else calls it, but it;s that little obstacle that is associated with a strapless dress. (Ohhhh, did you pick up on that small dress hint?) It’s just a small piece of boob tissue that naturally occurs and according to the woman at the dress store is something that everyone has. Although I don’t like that it’s all I can see when I look at the photos of myself in my wedding dress.
You see, I also come across this issue in other dresses, not just the strapless kind. This is a photo of my girlfriends and me at a friend’s wedding. We are all having fun and look great. Of course all I can see is that excess skin trying to escape the side of my dress.
I am third from the left in the peach/beige coloured dress. (Personal photo)
Now, this photo was taken in September of last year, so a good 10 months ago, and I have been pumping the hand weights, push-ups, chest presses, and virtually every upper-body exercise that will tone this area without bulking it up and making the whole situation worse!
However, at my recent dress fitting, it was still there. Everyone keeps telling me I am being silly and there is nothing there, but what does it all matter when I am bothered by it? That leads me here to this picture and these alterations.
Source of very helpful information for alterations (although I don’t believe this girl has any overhang!)
I am seriously considering some crafty dress alterations, as suggested by Weddingbee user Christi, if this is still bothering me at my next fitting. The lady is adding some cups to my dress, which apparently will “lift and separate,” hopefully making everything slightly smoother. Also, I’m hoping to be generally more toned and smooth in other areas, so it should be slightly less obvious!
Can anyone impart some wisdom on me for ensuring minimal overhang?
I’m not sure how to reduce the amount of tissue you have there, but I can completely understand. At my dress fitting yesterday we had this same conversation. My seamstress is adding straps that begin right where i have that problem in the front of the dress and attaching them in the back right where there is a little “overhang”. I guess my suggesting goes along with what other bees have done. Hid it with alterations. PS…I didn’t see what you were talking about in your picture until you pointed it out.
a trainer at my gym said that it is from eating too many carbs later in the evening…but who knows…my mother and i call it run-away boob if that makes you feel better because we both have them and i do the same thing asd you, lots of arm workouts.
I think on top of lots of arm workouts you should also add a lot of cardio. Everyone’s body is different but i tend to lose my upper body fat before i lose my lower body fat, so when i increase my cardio, i minimize my overhang by a lot. Maybe meet with a trainer for better direction?? Best of luck!
I don’t have any advice, but I DID name this particular issue when I started trying on wedding dresses: I call them “pit tits.” Soooooo classy, right?
Haha, I know EXACTLY what you mean, my sister and I both have them, but we call them “flub-a-lubs,” - we goth have totally different body types and have been extremely skinny and toned and 40 pounds heavier and not toned, and they have never ever gone completely away in certain dresses - so now I just blame the designer and look for dresses that have good boobage support, come up higher and aren’t supertight in the top of the bodice. Good luck!
I have them too! I think all women do, really. Even uber skinny girls have little baby overhangs lol. I’ve noticed I don’t have it as bad if I go bra-less and put cups in a dress instead. Really, I have no desire to do that to my wedding gown so I just keep lifting weights over my head like mad and praying they don’t show too much the day-of. Such is life!
I think everyone has this issue. It doesn’t make it any better, but at least we’re no alone, right?
Let me tell you, weight has nothing to do with it. I am a size 0 and underweight and I still had this problem in my dress. Putting cups in definitely helped.
Put on your dress and practice different poses and see what works best for you. As girls we tend to “huddle” together for pictures with our arms at our sides, not good. Try putting an arm on your hip, universally flattering. And I can’t emphasize this enough: good posture! When youre holding your bouquet, drop your shoulders down, and elbows back, if that makes sense. Good luck!
I have been doing the workout route for 2 years and do not have any of the “overhang” in strapless dresses nor did I have it in my dress….until the last fitting. She kept having to take the top in and once it fit properly, pop went the overhang (I call them chicken wings)! I was so distraught and focused on them that it bothered me for days. I am considering having her let out the top a bit if it still bothers me the next time I go in. I believe my seamstress when she says that even size 0 girls have the overhang when the dress fits snuggly up top. If you look at the top in the second picture (that’s my style top) you can see that it’s lose and gaping a bit. I think that’s the key!
The stars know just how to hold their bodies and pose so that these natural issues that we all have don’t end up as a “Guess who?” zoom shot on the cover of the star. There’s a reason why the hands-on-hips-back-hunched pose is so popular in the bridal mags too!
Seriously, I made an effort to never have my arms by my side all night long at my wedding, and there wasn’t a pic that disappointed me. Holding your bouquet w/ both hands naturally puts your elbows out. Keeping your champagne lifted about boob height will too. Good luck!
This is awesome - I love all the different names people have for it! Mine wasn’t too bad on my wedding day, maybe it’s because I had the cups sown in! I have also learned to put my hand on my hip in all pics, whenever possible. It always makes my arms look better!
If this is happening in non-strapless dresses you’re wearing the wrong size bra. Go to a place like Intimacy where they go to over D cup (sorry . . . I don’t know what your options are in Oz). It will change your life.
Or just stand between two people and put your arms around them! Problem solved : )
According to my doctor, breast tissue naturally extends a lot farther than we typically think of it–when she tells me how to do my breast self-exams, she always emphasizes going all the way up into the armpits.
I had this issue to, and then my alterations lady showed me how to “adjust” so any side “boob cleavage” is shifted. Try to adjust yourself once your in the dress by pushing the excess skin down and futher under your armpit. Basically, you’re repositioning the skin further into your dress. It may not entirely fix the problem, but it made a huge difference for me. Hope this helps someone else!
@therascalqueen: Im not sure that is it, I have had custom bra fittings for all my bra’s I wear? Although I am all over the stand between two people!
@kristophine: It most certainly does, that is all it is 
@Melini: I like the champagne tip
!@smores: We actually tried the “adjusting” yesterday, worked wonders!
My problem is that I’m not sure which I hate more–the look of “overhang” or the hunched shoulders look that Melini mentioned. I have been working so hard on my posture and to stand up straight with my shoulders back, so imagine my dismay when I tried on my dress for the first time and discovered that by standing up straight I was causing overhang all over the place… and when I hunched forward it all disappeared but I looked like Quasimodo. Ugh!!!
The advice Christi (your link) posted made a lot of sense to me and I had already bookmarked it. Thinking this is the solution! (okay that and possibly working out…)
I swear I have the same issue! Small frame or not, that non-sexy kinda side-boob-ish underarm fat sucks! It was all up and through my e-photos and it bothered me so much I barely noticed my fat tummy belly button pooch. Other than cutting salt out of your diet to reduce any swelling in the week before the wedding, I have no other suggestions, just commiseration…
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Mrs. Teaspoon, Sydney, Australia Age and Occupation: 27, Medical Scientist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Banker Engagement Date: June 4, 2010 Wedding Date: September 2011 Venue: St Aloysius' College, Milson's Point About Me: I am a mad scientist who enjoys swimming at the beach in summer and skiing powder in winter. Our favourite times together are spent with the sand between our toes, cooking up a storm, re-watching and re-reading every Harry Potter ever made, and spending time with our dear friends and family! We have travelled the world together in our 6 years of dating, from Paris, to Thailand, to Las Vegas, and we are tackling the many challenges of planning our special day the best way we know how---together!
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