If you're a bride-to-be shopping for a wedding dress in Southern California or Los Angeles and dreaming of a strapless wedding dress, you may have one big concern: Will I spend my entire wedding day pulling my dress up?
We've all seen it happen. A strapless wedding dress fits beautifully when the bride first puts it on, but a few hours later, she's constantly tugging at the neckline and trying to pull the gown back into place. The good news is that there are things you can do during your wedding dress alterations to help prevent this from happening.
At Lovella Bridal, a luxury bridal boutique in Glendale and the Los Angeles area, our expert bridal stylists work closely with brides throughout the wedding dress shopping and alteration process. Today, Nayri, Wedding Fashion Expert, is explaining why strapless wedding dresses can start slipping throughout the day and sharing some of the alteration and styling tricks we recommend to keep your gown comfortable and secure.
Watch the Video: How to Keep a Strapless Wedding Dress From Falling Down
If you're planning to wear a strapless wedding dress, watch the full video below as Nayri shares what she's learned from working with brides during alterations and seeing how their wedding dresses actually fit hours later at their weddings.
A strapless wedding dress can fit perfectly when you leave your final alteration appointment and still start to feel different after you've been wearing it for several hours. Understanding why that happens can help you prepare for it before your wedding day.
Why Do Strapless Wedding Dresses Fall Down?
First, it's important to understand that your strapless wedding dress slipping does not necessarily mean that it was fitted incorrectly.
Wedding dresses are heavy. Compared with a strapless top, bridesmaid dress or evening gown, a bridal gown can contain significantly more fabric and structure. Gravity is naturally pulling all of that weight downward throughout the day.
But the weight of the wedding dress isn't the only factor.
Think about a pair of jeans that feels tight when you first put them on but becomes more comfortable after you've worn them for several hours. Your body heat can cause the fibers of a fabric to relax and expand.
A similar thing can happen with your wedding dress. As you spend hours wearing it, moving around, taking photos and eventually dancing, the fit can begin to feel different than it did when you first got dressed.
Your Body Can Change Throughout Your Wedding Day Too
Your wedding dress isn't the only thing that can fluctuate. Your body does too.
Bloating, your menstrual cycle and water retention can all affect your measurements. You might also lose weight between your alteration appointments and your wedding day.
This is one of the reasons getting a strapless wedding dress to remain in exactly the same position for an entire wedding day can be challenging. A gown can be perfectly fitted to your body at one moment, but your body's measurements aren't necessarily identical every single day.
If you lose a significant amount of weight between your final alterations and your wedding, that can make the issue even more noticeable.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can plan for during alterations.
Ask Your Seamstress About an Interior Waistband
One of our favorite alteration tricks for a strapless wedding dress is adding an adjustable waistband inside the gown.
For a zipper-back wedding dress, a seamstress can sew an interior waistband from side seam to side seam. The band wraps around your waist and can include multiple settings so you can tighten it as needed throughout your wedding day.
This hidden support can make a huge difference because instead of relying solely on the bodice to hold the entire weight of the wedding dress in place, the interior band helps secure the gown around your waist.
If you have a corset-back wedding dress, you already have another advantage. A corset can be tightened or loosened throughout the day as your body and gown change.
For a zipper-back gown, however, an adjustable interior waistband is absolutely worth discussing with your bridal seamstress.
What If Your Strapless Wedding Dress Starts Slipping During the Reception?
Let's say your strapless wedding dress felt perfect during your ceremony, but several hours later you're at the reception and suddenly can't stop pulling it up.
Constantly tugging at the neckline isn't necessarily going to reposition the entire gown.
Instead, Nayri recommends carefully unzipping the dress, moving the entire gown higher on your body and then properly zipping it again. Repositioning the whole wedding dress can help realign it rather than repeatedly pulling only at the top.
There is an important caveat here: wedding dress zippers need to be handled carefully.
Improperly forcing or zipping a bridal gown can damage the zipper, so make sure you and whoever is helping you get dressed know how to properly zip your wedding dress before trying this on the wedding day.
When you put the gown back on, position it slightly higher than where you ultimately want it to sit. As you begin moving again, gravity will naturally help it settle into place.
Add Detachable Straps to Your Strapless Wedding Dress
Here's another alteration we recommend considering for nearly every bride wearing a strapless wedding dress: detachable straps.
Even if you have absolutely no intention of wearing straps during your wedding ceremony, having them available gives you another option later in the day.
Your seamstress may be able to create thin or thicker detachable straps that coordinate with your wedding dress. If your gown starts feeling loose or you're simply tired of carrying its weight, you can add the straps for additional support.
This can be particularly helpful once the reception begins.
By this point, you've likely spent hours standing, walking, posing for photos and carrying the weight of your wedding dress. Adding straps can help redistribute some of that weight rather than having all of it concentrated around your waist and back.
And if you're ready to dance, detachable straps can give you additional security without requiring you to change out of the wedding dress you love.
Should You Add a Halter Strap to a Strapless Wedding Dress?
A detachable halter is another option, but think carefully about comfort.
While a halter can provide additional support, it can also place more tension around your neck. If your primary goal is to make your wedding dress more comfortable later in the evening, traditional detachable shoulder straps may distribute the weight more comfortably.
This is something worth experimenting with during your alterations rather than waiting until your wedding day.
Consider Having a Backup Reception or After-Party Dress
We love when brides want to stay in their wedding dress all night. You spent months searching for your gown, so of course you may want to enjoy every possible minute wearing it.
But having a backup dress doesn't mean you have to use it.
Think of it as an insurance policy.
Wedding dress malfunctions can happen. A zipper can break. A bustle can fail. Or you may simply reach a point after hours of celebrating when your wedding dress feels too heavy or uncomfortable.
Having a reception or after-party dress gives you the option to change if you need to, without forcing you to leave the party early or spend the rest of the evening uncomfortable.
How to Keep a Strapless Wedding Dress Up All Day
The key is preparing before the wedding rather than waiting until your dress starts slipping.
During your alterations, talk to your seamstress about adding an interior adjustable waistband and detachable straps. Learn how your wedding dress should be positioned on your body and make sure someone in your wedding party knows how to properly help you get in and out of the gown.
Then, if the dress starts feeling looser later in the evening, you'll already know what to do.
A strapless wedding dress should allow you to enjoy your wedding, not leave you worrying about pulling it up every five minutes.
Final Thoughts on Wearing a Strapless Wedding Dress
Strapless wedding dresses are popular for a reason. They're timeless, flattering and incredibly versatile, and worrying about your gown slipping shouldn't stop you from choosing a strapless neckline if that's the bridal look you love.
The reality is that gravity, body heat, movement and natural fluctuations in your body can all change the way your wedding dress fits after hours of wear. Planning for those changes during your alterations can give you additional comfort and security when your wedding day arrives.
At Lovella Bridal, our goal isn't simply to help you find a beautiful wedding dress. We want you to understand how your gown should fit, move and feel so you can confidently wear it from your walk down the aisle through your final dance.
Wedding Dress Shopping Tips from Lovella Bridal Los Angeles
We hope this guide to the top wedding dress trends helps you feel inspired as you begin your bridal gown shopping journey. At Lovella Bridal, we share expert bridal styling advice to help brides feel confident and prepared every step of the way.
For more wedding dress inspiration and helpful tips, explore these related posts:
- How To Choose The Perfect Wedding Dress Silhouette
- What Brides Should Know Before Wedding Dress Alterations
- Unexpected Truths About Special Ordering A Wedding Dress
- What To Expect When Wedding Dress Shopping For The First Time
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
Meet Lovella’s Wedding Fashion Expert in Los Angeles
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
