We are all beautiful in our own way, we might be tall, short, curvy or petite, which all come with their own challenges when shopping for your perfect wedding dress. At Paddington Weddings we believe in working with your shape, not against it. Our aim is to help you find a wedding dress that shows off the parts of your body that you love and doesn’t highlight the parts you don’t love (and we all have them!)
Wedding dress shopping can be very overwhelming, especially with the wonderful world of social media showing us sooo many options, but we believe that your dress really does pick you and with the right help and advice your dream dress is out there waiting for you.
So to help you through a crazy world of wedding dress shopping, here are our top tips to finding the right wedding dress silhouette for all the different body shapes:
Petite
When you are ‘petite’ it is really easy to be overwhelmed by a design, we want to make sure ‘you’ wear the dress and the dress doesn’t end up wearing you! Simplicity is the key for this body shape, clean lines and simple silhouettes, generally with the same fabric all the way through the design, not cutting yourself off. Avoid heavy lace with 3d detailing, it doesn’t mean you can’t have lace, just make sure it is a more delicate pattern.
When it comes to necklines you will generally suit V necks and higher necklines, anything that takes the detail of the dress all the way to your shoulder which will elongate your body. A shoe string strap is especially lovely for you.
- Top Tip – Empire and waisted bodices are fantastic but just avoid drop waisted designs as this will shorten your legs and disproportion your body.
Busty
If you are fuller in the bust the most important thing to remember is support! You want to pick a design that is going to make you feel secure and comfortable from the actual wedding right through to the dance floor.
A ‘V’ neckline is a great way of elongating your bust area and minimising, it can often allow you to wear a bra if you chose to, this is also the case for the ‘Square’ neckline which is perfect for brides who want an open neckline but don’t want to show too much cleavage. Avoid a shoestring strap design as the weight of your bust can make the straps very uncomfortable after a while.
Don’t be scared of a well fitted strapless wedding dress or our off the shoulder ‘Cassandra’ gown is very flattering mainly due to the structure involved. Also any of our lace overlays on the bodice can be great, either in V necks or an extended shoulder.
A fit and flare or A line skirt will balance out a fuller bust, don’t go too straight with your skirt as it can make the design feel top heavy.
- Top Tip – Don’t have too low a back on what ever design your decide on, you need the back to be a bit higher to give you any support in your dress.
Lean / Athletic
You lucky thing, most designs will suit your figure so you have lots of ideas to pick from! You can certainly take detail, maybe a heavier lace or a very detailed bodice and a plainer skirt, saying that we find the modern clean lines of a crepe gown really shows off your figure. Plunging V’s or a high boat neckline can both be flattering, we especially love our tailored halter neck if you have toned shoulders and want the back to be very open.
- Top Tip – Often if you are taller you can have broader shoulders so make sure you balance your skirt out with a fit and flare style such as our ‘Nicole’ especially if you opt for sleeves.
Pear shaped / Curvaceous
With a Pear shape you are generally smaller through the shoulders and bust and fuller in the hip so it is all about rebalancing for your figure. Putting extra detail in the bodice area, such as a gathered sleeve on a plain dress or some fabulous lace in a bodice can be a great trick. Our off the shoulder neckline is also fantastic for broadening through the shoulder area.
Don’t go too full in the skirt, often brides try to hide their hips under full skirts and often a more fitted style can be more flattering. A circle cut skirt is also fabulous as it accentuates your smaller waist and top hip and then falls in beautiful folds, not adding any bulk.
- Top Tip – It would be well worth having a gown made to measure as the bodice of an ‘off the rack’ gown may need a lot of altering if you are pear shaped, this can be very expensive and sometimes ruin the look of the gown.
At Paddington Weddings our bridal stylists are fully trained to help guide you through our collection and help you find your dream dress. Our gowns are all created in our Brisbane studio so sometimes the perfect gown can be a combination of the top of one dress but the skirt of another. That is the joy of having a gown made just for you by our team, we have the flexibility to ensure the design is the best gown for your figure and your personality.
Good luck with your shopping and we hope to see you in the studio soon…. xxx
Images by
Luke Middlemiss photography / Kirk Willcox Photography / Tessa Cox Photography / Mallory Sparkles photography / Fontaine photography / Dan Cartwright Photography
Angela Brushe Photography / Glass Slipper Photography/ Anna Tomlinson Photography / Raconteur Photography / Joseph Bertossi Photography / Poppy Peterson Weddings