A dress is a beautiful garment, offering a feminine way to express your uniqueness and aesthetic tastes. Moreover, different types of dresses are integral to fitting into the atmosphere at events, from formal ones such as proms, galas, and weddings to more casual occasions, like parties, clubs, and outings with friends.
Part of making sure your dress looks stylish is ensuring it fits you. While not being able to put it on is a big giveaway, there are other signs that a dress doesn’t fit you properly, and not all of them are immediately obvious. If anything below sounds like your dress, you should get it professionally altered to wear it confidently.
1. It’s a Tight Fit
Just because you can put the dress on doesn’t mean it isn’t too small. You should be able to breathe correctly in a dress, and it shouldn’t restrict your movement. If your dress has an empire waistband, it should rest below your bust. If it rides up, that’s another sign your dress runs tight on you. Additionally, any dress, even a bodycon dress, is too small if you can see overly defined outlines of body parts like your belly button, thighs, or buttocks.
2. It’s Too Big
Conversely, just because a dress might not slip off doesn’t mean it isn’t too big. Dresses that don’t at least loosely follow your body’s contour can look awkward. Things to look out for include shoulder seams that fall beyond the corner of your shoulder, waistbands that sit too low, and too much slack in the bust area if your dress isn’t stylistically meant to be loose (like with a swing dress).
3. It’s Too Long
It’s also important to consider the hemline. Different dress styles have different hemline lengths, so what’s “too long” can vary depending on the kind of dress you have. For example, a maxi dress is too long if it extends past your ankles. For knee length, if it goes past the bottom edge of your knee, that’s too long. Lastly, while wedding or floor dresses are supposed to drape over the floor and cover your feet, if the bottom bunches up on the ground and causes you to trip, it’s time to get it taken up.
4. It’s a Wardrobe Malfunction Risk
No one wants to deal with a wardrobe malfunction. Wardrobe malfunctions can be humiliating and stressful, ruining an otherwise enjoyable day. Signs that a dress needs alterations to be “safe” to wear are an overly short hemline, cut-out elements that don’t stay snug and secure against the body, and ill-fitting dress straps.
5. It Needs a Better Lining
Sometimes, a dress fits just right but doesn’t look right. The culprit behind an off-looking garment can sometimes be poor lining. A lining is an inner layer of fabric within a garment that serves various purposes, such as improving its structure, hiding unfinished seams or other distracting elements, and generally making it look more professional and high-quality. If your dress has those issues, you should get it professionally altered.
6. It Just Needs to be Spruced Up
Maybe your dress doesn’t catch your eye anymore. But at the same time, you can’t imagine parting with it. If you’re wondering what to do with it, consider restyling it with some alterations! Just a little customization can breathe life into an old dress and make it feel newer than the day you got it, so you can fall in love with it all over again.
Adjustments Let You Dress for Success
Whether you need significant adjustments to a dress’s size and fit or just a few touch-ups here and there, tailoring and adjustments allow you to make the most of any dress you have, turning it from a standard garment to a fashion match made in heaven.
Published by: Holy Minoza
