Finding clothes that fit is a difficult prospect but when it comes to wedding dresses it takes it to a whole other level. Long gone are the days where someone would ask your size and you could simply reply “medium”. It may seem like you need a master’s degree in maths to understand your size in the various formats available, but we are here to make it a little simpler to understand. So dive in and find out whether you are a size 16, a latte grande or a supersized big mac (for those of you who are really confused about wedding sizes, those last two are coffee and burger sizes, please don’t get confused). Let’s dive in.
If you google wedding dress conversion chart you will find a lot of different charts that will explain how you can convert dress sizes to inches and centimeters. However, many of these charts differ, so how do you know which one to use? We will not be printing a size chart here as we don’t want to add to the confusion. The best advice we can give on this matter is to ring the place you are planning on buying a dress at, as they have specific charts for their dresses. If they don’t have a chart available for some reason, use any online, but be prepared for small changes to be necessary.
The next big question is how to actually measure yourself for a wedding dress. While many shops will do this for you, it is good to do it yourself in advance. This way you can ring up a shop and give them an overall idea of your size to see if they have that range of dresses in stock. This will save you the hassle of a trip for nothing if they don’t have any. Also, if you do decide to purchase online you need to know your size, but you need to be careful on online websites as this is your wedding dress, not a new outfit for Friday night.
There are three measurements required for your fitting.
Your bust, your waist, and your hips. You will need a flexible measuring tape that can wrap around the body. It is best to measure without clothes on to increase accuracy.
- Measure your bust by wrapping the tape measure around the widest part of your bust. Ensure the tape measure is not too tight and that it is straight across your back.
- Measure your waist by finding the smallest part of your waist, you can find this by tipping over like a teapot. Wherever the crease is formed, that is where your natural waistline is.
- Measure your hips by putting your feet together and wrapping the tape around the widest part of your waist.
Great, you have your sizes. You are ready to start dress shopping. You will notice on size charts that a size 16 dress will correspond to the three measurements mentioned. However, you may be a size 16 in hips, a size 14 in the waist and a size 12 in the bust. This is very normal (we are humans, not dolls), simply go with the largest size and alter the lower ones to fit. Sorted.
