How to find your perfect wedding dress

As a follow-on from last month’s blog let’s begin by chatting about body shape, proportions and bridal styles. As I strongly believe that understanding your best silhouettes, is the foundation to a successful and confident bridal experience. ⁠

We are all unique with different proportions and instead of pretending we are not, let’s rather embrace it and work with it! ⁠⁠By doing this, you will find a style that flatters and enhances you in the best possible way, giving you a confidence boost as you walk down the aisle to commit to the love of your life! ⁠
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As I mentioned last month, the 5 main body shapes that I work with are, Hourglass, Pear, Apple, Rectangle, and Inverted Triangle (opposite of Pear).⁠ By understanding your particular figure and which styles work to flatter you in the best way, you can create balance and the illusion of the desired hour-glass figure.⁠

Here’s my basic guide to the 5 BODY SHAPES and which silhouettes are best for each.
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If you are a PEAR shape, you want to add volume across your upper body with the use of an off the shoulder neckline or cap sleeves. If you do this you can choose either the A-line or Princess through to the more fitted styles, depending on how comfortable you are with showing off your booty! By creating more volume across your upper body and cinching in at the waist you help to create the hourglass shape.

For the INVERTED TRIANGLE (the opposite of the PEAR), you’ll want to give the illusion of narrower shoulders and wider hips to give a better balance between the top and bottom. ⁠The fitted Strapless bodice or a V-neckline has a great illusion of narrowing the shoulders and pairing it with an A-line or Princess skirt is going to create the best silhouette for you. With this body shape you probably have great legs, so if you opt for a more fitted skirt consider adding a slit to the front of the leg as this will help to create a fuller appearance to your lower half, whilst showing off one of your best attributes. Another great style for you is the MINI skirt with the same style bodices.

If your bust and hip are a similar measurement with your waist ranging only 2-20cm smaller, then you fit into the RECTANGULAR body shape category. Go for scoop-neck and sweetheart tops which help create curves.Halter necks and A-symmetrical shoulder details all help to create a curvier shape. Fuller busts can opt for a lower neckline. Smaller busts with this body shape can benefit from a higher or halter neckline, cleverly paired with a stunning low back. Narrow Rectangle as the more athletic body shape you can create more curves by choosing an A-line or Ballgown skirt. If you love a Mermaid or Fit & Flare, add volume to your arms with a cap or off-the-shoulder bodice and a wider hemline. If you’re not short-waisted then a belt around your waist also creates more of an hourglass figure. Layer it up. Layering on the skirt or bodice adds more dimensions to a rectangle body shape.

The APPLE figure will face the most challenges when selecting the perfect wedding dress and my suggestion is to opt for a sheath or empire line silhouette.

The HOURGLASS body shape is the easiest shape to style for bridal and has the choice of any of the available silhouettes.

I hope these bridal tips help you find or create your perfect wedding dress and be sure to comment if you need help with your wedding dress journey.

With love

Jo xx