Size Chart

Wedding dresses

Bridesmaid and prom dresses

Measuring yourself at home

Dear customer,  since we practically insist on your measuring yourself before ordering I thought it best to write you a little guide on how to measure properly. It is essential that you can do this correctly for your dress to fit and to ensure you order the correct size.

It is all to easy to assume that your regular dress size will do for bridal and formal wear to but sadly this is wrong as the sizes are vastly different because there is simply no ‘give’ in formal fabrics compared to the stretching, forgiving fashion fabrics from our favourite high street stores.

For example, you may be a 12 when you buy all your cotton summer tops but when it comes to formal wear a 12 is more likely to measure up at a 16. Now ladies, don’t be ashamed to wear a bigger size, it does not demean your pre-event dieting efforts. Wouldn’t you much rather look stunning, cool comfortable and confident in a larger size dress than awkward and stuffy squeezed into a smaller size just so that you can say it's a ‘12’? Besides that's why the label is sewn on the inside… No one but you and I know its secret! 

Please, I can’t stress enough how important it is to measure and reference back to the size chart. The reason why it is so important is that if you order the wrong size, you must pay the expensive costs of sending dresses back and forth for exchange or refund Measuring will save you a lot of extra time and money, preventing unnecessary hassle, which you really don’t need before your special event. This guide will also be useful to customers who are ordering made to measure items from us or arranging an alteration on their purchase.

Four most common measurements;

Bust

This measurement is one of the three most used when ordering a dress. ‘Bust’ means the full circumference of the fullest part of your bosom and round your back together. When you measure, wear a bra or other support garment that offers equivalent support that the underwear you intend to wear with the dress will (if possible the same bra). If you intend not to wear a bra then measure unsupported (and unpadded).

Use your bra-strap as a rough guide for the tape measure because the back of the tape needs to be straight, not sagging. Do not squeeze the tape around you; let it rest lightly but not loosely. Best to measure in inches at this is what most bust/waist/hip measurements are listed in. As with all measurements it is best to get a friend to help you or better yet a friend with dressmaking skills!

Waist

Please resist the strong temptation to breathe in for this measurement, even if it means you friend sees your measurement! If you breathe in to reduce your waist size then the dress will pucker in the middle and emphasise any ‘rolls’ you may have instead of skimming over them nicely and you will be very uncomfortable and possibly not even be able to sit or (shock-horror) do up your dress which really is worst-case scenario.

The best way to measure your natural waist is to tie a ribbon around your tummy and wiggle until it settles very definitely (on your waist) tie snugly but not tightly. Keep it tied in a bow, especially if you are taking other measurements (as it will provide and unmoving reference point for you to help with accuracy). Now you have the ribbon there to tell you exactly where your natural waist it, you can pull the tape measure around you and take the measurement (usually best in inches).

Hips

For most women, this is going to be the widest measurement, so please don’t shy away as it is essential to make sure the dress will fit over your hips and bottom nicely. With some of our puffy bottomed dresses hips is not going to be a problem as they expand over your hips into the classic bell shape, but you do need to watch out for long bodied bodices. If you have opted for a slinky design then this measurement can’t be disregarded.

Measure around the very fullest part of your hips (as a rough guide this is usually where the leg of high-leg style knickers ends). It is helpful to look in a mirror sideways as you are doing this, placing the tape completely horizontally over the fullest part of your bottom. Then, holding the tape still, rotate in front of the mirror to see if the you have encircled the widest part (don’t nit-pick your figure while observing though!) It might be helpful to you later on if you take a note of how far down from your waist (remember measure directly from the ribbon you put there earlier) you are measuring your hips from.

Hollow to hem;

This is a very important bridal measurement and often used in full length ball gowns’ measurements too. The ‘hollow’ refers to the dip in your collar bone which provides and unmoving reference point. The reason that the dress length is measured from this point is that the bust-line/neckline of any one dress will be different to the hundreds of others available so one simply can’t measure from the top of the dress, it has to be on the body. If you are unsure of where your ‘hollow’ is then have a (gentle) poke around the area beneath your throat and above your chest, where you might wear a short necklace. Now you have found the starting point for the long measurement, employ a friend or much better still, an experienced dressmaker to place the tape measure at your hollow, all the way down to the floor, meanwhile leaning the tape slightly away from the body as it nears the floor to replicate the line of a dress (as a dress doesn’t stick rigid to your legs in most circumstances).

Made to measure items and alterations

If you have chosen to have your garment specially made to measure then, here is the form which we require that you fill out thoroughly and correctly, to proceed with your order. If you have any trouble understanding any of it, please don’t hesitate to get in contact for some help. Below is also a link for our alteration form which should to be supplied to us when you place your final order. Each alteration is assessed individually and accordingly priced, so unfortunately we can’t provide a price list. We will let you know prices of alteration and which measurements you need to supply upon request.