The 411 on Wedding Dress Bustles
what’s the deal with bustles?!
So you got your dream dress. It’s gorgeous, luscious, and has a *flowing* beautiful train. She’s the one!
But then you get home later and start to think about how the heck you are going to be dancing until 2am when your dress’s train essential creates a 4-foot perimeter around you…
Enter the bustle.
So what the heck is a bustle? Don’t jump to google images first; you’ll see lots of photos of women in Victorian-era dresses that look like they have what we fondly refer to as “Cinderella Step-Sister Bums”.
what is a bustle?
A bustle is something that gets attached to your wedding dress’s train that essentially swoops up the fabric the back so that your dress feels more like an even-lengthened dress. That way you can party, sit, go to the bathroom, and have an awesome time without worrying about anyone stepping on your dress - or worse, you falling or tripping on your gown.
We pulled together a little slideshow to explain this for you below:
Traditional bustles are more common than their under-bustle counterparts. They should take about 5-10 mins to complete! French bustles are great for ballroom settings. They take about 10 mins to complete. If you can tie your shoes, you can tie a French bustle!
how do I know what will work for me?
The best way to figure out what bustle works best for you is to work with your individual tailor. It takes a leap of faith, but it is worth leaning on the experts to recommend a style that will work for you and your dress.
When you get your dress fitted with BeFitted, we’ll sketch you a little diagram about how to bustle your dress. Not every tailoring studio does this, so we are pretty proud of our lil hacks that are designed to make your wedding day less stressful (especially for your bridesmaids and helpers!) ❤️
As you are actively thinking about the bustle, consider the following:
what if I hate bustles?
We hear ya. A funky-looking bustle will haunt you forever when you receive your wedding prints. If you are absolutely against bustles, it may be possible to remove or trim the train from your gown. This is an irreversible decision, so mull over this carefully.
Plus, when are you ever going to get to wear a dress with such an epic train again?!
need to have your dress bustled?
For you lucky Washington, DC-area brides, we gotchu! Book a consultation with us below.
PS - all the pics featured in this post include REAL bustles we have done for REAL brides. Shout-out to our fellow artists and creators who have used their extraordinary photography skills to capture these authentic moments!