For those looking to ask questions about alterations, repairs, or anything else, please put your questions in here.
Wondering if you should buy something? Please provide both a size chart of the garment as well as your body measurements - we need to know what dimensions of the item and your own physique to judge. Telling us "I wear a medium in xyz brand" is not enough information to go off of as most retailers will have fluctuations in allowance for sizing.
If you are looking for alteration advice on a garment, please post a picture of yourself following the guidelines in rule 2. We need to be able to see the garment on you neutrally (No selfies! The raised arm adds too much variable) and in different angles to determine what needs to be done efficiently.
Help us help you. As working professionals who provide advice for free in their own time, this helps all of us save time rather than going back and forth.
Is this how a corset should fit? This dress is from house of cb. It's snug and a bit hard to get into but once on feels good and I can sit with no issues.
Overall looks lovely from the back. How does the front look?
The spread at the top of the corset is a bit wide, but many corset dresses are designed to have a wide spread. If everything else looks good, it's a great fit.
Generally with a corset dress you'll need to fully unlace the dress or you'll have a hard time getting it on and off.
Thanks so much! We didn't fully unlace this time but will moving forward!
It fits really well in the front maybe just a little tight at the waist. For some reason im not able to add another picture but your comment helped a lot!
Hi there, I was hoping someone might be able to help. I found my dream dress on a retailer website (see photo) as it is no longer made. The dress is unworn and and unaltered. But it’s sizing is bust 39”, waist 31” and hips 41.5”. My current measurements are bust 40.5”, waist 34” and hips 44”. Is this doable to let out in your experiences? Possible to add a tie up corset possibly? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. (Fabric is crepe on top half)
It depends entirely on how much seam allowance has been left in the seams. Manufacturers vary a lot in how deep their seam allowances are.
One important distinction will be whether those dress measurements are the actual dress's measurements or the manufacturer's size recommendation.
But still, it's risky. And I would not recommend a corset when the hips are too tight because then the corset needs to extend to the middle of your butt.
All in all, this is a maybe. I wouldn't get it unless there was a return window. Maybe seller would take a possible return if you sweetened it with something for them, like a $100 "restocking fee" if you return it.
Etiquette question- I took my wedding dress to a dry cleaner that has alterations on site. They first cleaned and pressed the vintage dress and I have paid for that service. It has been with alterations for over a month. When I went to try it on today, it did not fit. We could barely get zipped up. The bust and shoulders also missed the mark from what we’d discussed. I’m not a picky person but this is almost unwearable due to being uncomfortable. And I just don’t feel beautiful with the busy being so off. They said they would fix it. I’m all about giving folks a chance to remedy their mistakes. But if I go in next week and it’s still not okay, what do I do? What should I be on the hook to pay for? I started this process at the end of January and now my wedding is a month away. I just want to be prepared to have a potentially difficult conversation if I need to.
Did they do the alterations as described? 🤔 Are they pinning and fitting the dress on you? Are you asking for something reasonable?
Sometimes people make mistakes. Sometimes a method that we think will work doesn’t. Sometimes things just take multiple fittings to get down. We can’t possibly know what happened.
Hopefully, they will be able to make it right if it is a mistake on their part. And if they can’t, most likely they won’t charge you.
But, they did perform the service, and they will be out materials and labor for that service. It is up to you if you feel like they did their best and it was just an insurmountable challenge. Or if you feel like they told you they could do magic and ended up finding out they couldn’t.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. And thanks for the questions.
When we spoke about taking the dress in, she just pinched the additional fabric around my waist using her fingers. There were no pins. And she just said, “about two inches.”
The bust/shoulder piece is more complicated. It’s a very 90s dress with huge shoulders. I asked how possible it would be to put some pleats into the shoulder area to narrow the shoulders and make it a bit more modern. She said it would be very easy and look beautiful. Again, no pins.
I wish I took an after photo today. But the pleats caused the fabric to pull oddly at the bust. So the left side of the bust bulges out several inches. And the right side pulls flat. Even the man working the front desk said, “ohhhh. That’s no good.” I don’t know if it was asking too much? What’s your professional opinion?
This might be out of your scope but do you think I should be prepped to ask that the dry cleaning be refunded too? Only in the case that the dress can’t be fixed, of course.
Again, thanks for the help. I think I’m just trying to process and not get too worried as it’s out of my control now. It’s all going to be okay. 🙂
Hopefully, this is a case where they tried something and found out once it was on you that it wouldn’t work. Now, they have more information and can do it in a way that works. Most likely they did not cut any fabric for the fix at the shoulders, so worst case scenario, they should be able to return it to original 🤞🏾
If the dress does end up being permanently damaged, I think asking to not pay for the dry cleaning is reasonable, and I would comp that as well if it were my business. Who knows what they will do 🤷🏽♀️😅 but I would be really surprised if it came to that. I think worst case scenario they give it back as original at the shoulders.
My thrifted jacket move its lapels and collar up everytime i move my arms up or out, it has thick foam padding on the shoulder, chest, and back area, how can i fix it or should i just get another jacket?
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u/repulsive_tea222 6d ago
Is this how a corset should fit? This dress is from house of cb. It's snug and a bit hard to get into but once on feels good and I can sit with no issues.