Update with a Tidbit of History!
This weekend I returned to B&J Formals for a fitting after the alterations of my wedding dress. I was very pleased with the results! The ladies there did an excellent job in making it look fabulous! My favorite addition to the dress is actually the bustle, which compliments the dress nicely in a refined and elegant way! I think I like the train bustled more than simply hanging loose. It also gives the wedding dress a style reminiscent of the turn of the century, which will fit nicely with the English Tudor style at Grandview. For curiosity sake, I actually looked up the term bustle and found a few fascinating facts I thought I would share.
Originally, a bustle was an undergarment, worn under a dress as a type of framework used to expand the fullness or support the drapery on the back of a woman's dress. This type of fashion occurred predominantly in the mid-to-late 19th century and is often associated with Victorian fashion. The bustle also served the purpose of keeping the skirt from dragging on the ground. Together with the corset, these two undergarments were meant to accentuate the female figure; primarily, the rump, waist, and bosom, and represented the ideal female appearance during the time period. The following image to the right illustrates the concept of the bustle in the late 19th century. Bustling my dress was a much simpler process. The seamstress at B&J Formals merely attached a hook and eye to the back of my gown and was able to tuck and fold material in order to give it the same appearance. I will not require any fancy undergarments or corsets to make my gown look fuller. I can only imagine how hot it was like to wear all those extra layers a hundred years ago. I could dive into a discussion about the tortures that women put themselves through for the sake of what society deemed as being ideally beautiful, but I don't want to start ranting. I will merely move on...
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I love this picture my mom got as
I packed my wedding dress in the car! |
In addition to the bustle, the ladies also sewed in a couple darts into the bust. This actually made the dress a little bit tight in the chest, but not unmanageable. I am no longer in danger of flashing my audience and giving them an eye full. However, the material does not provide much room to give. I will need to be mindful of any weight I gain between now and the wedding date. A phenomenon that seems to impose itself upon me when I am under stress...which is a state of being I often find myself when planning the little details of our wedding. Hahaha!
In short, I am very pleased with the alterations that have been done to my dress! The ladies made a few other small additions, but I'm afraid too many details will provide to much imagery for my fiancé's vivid imagination. I'll tease you with the picture on the left instead. No spoiler alert necessary! :)
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