Let’s start by highlighting a big truth about shopping for a wedding dress. There’s no wrong style for your body. As a bride, you’re free to try on as many bridal dresses in as many styles as you please until you find the one. Anyone who tells you that your body type isn’t right for a specific dress style is uninformed. However, those who have been in this business for a while know that certain gown styles can be useful when you want to achieve a specific aesthetic. That’s why there’s a trend of looking for wedding gowns that San Francisco brides can choose using the principles of dressing by body shape. This little guide to how to choose the perfect wedding dress for your body type helps you accentuate everything you want to accentuate and feel beautiful!
Choosing the Perfect Wedding Dress for Your Body Type
1. The Goal: Showcasing Your Curves
The Dress: Mermaid gown. Calling all hourglass figures! The mermaid dress style is perfect if your goal is highlighting a naturally cinched waist that helps to accentuate the fact that your bust and hips are basically equal in size. Mermaid wedding dresses also sweep the floor of the aisle beautifully as you do your bridal march to the altar.
2. The Goal: Accentuating Your Curves With a Looser Fit
The Dress: Fit-to-flare. Like the mermaid dress style, the fit-to-flare look also plays up an hourglass figure. However, it offers a looser, more flowing way to show off your proportions. With a fit-to-flare dress, there’s a fitted, well-defined top portion that flares out at the waist to create visual harmony. Brides love the way a flared skirt flows over the hips to create gorgeous movement.
3. The Goal: Balancing Narrower Shoulders With Wider Hips
The Dress: A-line or ball gown. The A-line silhouette that’s synonymous with ball gowns is a dramatic, glamorous look that can be used with any number of necklines. A-line and ball gown dresses are especially popular with “pear-shaped” women who want to emphasize a smaller waist and bust by slightly obscuring the hips. Going with a beaded or embroidered top is especially smart if you want to use details to draw the eyes to the neckline and midsection. For those looking for more coverage, long sleeves can also be a beautiful addition to these styles.
4. The Goal: Showcasing Your Long, Lean Silhouette
The Dress: Sheath or column. Also known as a straight dress, a sheath wedding dress is a streamlined, form-fitting dress that falls straight down the body. While it is slightly fitted from the waist, the sheath dress stays straight at the hips to create a clean, minimalist look.
A variation of the sheath dress is the column dress. Column dresses aren’t fitted at the waist like sheath dresses. The skirt portion of this style also tends to have a narrower, more constructed look compared to the slightly flowing bottom of the sheath dress. If you’d like to add slightly more definition to a sheath or column dress, a belt makes a perfect accent. This particular wedding dress option is great for showcasing your personal style.
Shop for Wedding Gowns San Francisco Brides of All Body Types Can Love
There’s no shortage of stunning bridal gowns for all body types. If you’re ready to find your dream wedding dress that looks and feels like it was made just for your body, come shop our selection. We have various wedding dresses for all body sizes to ensure every bride finds her perfect fit.
Flares Bridal + Formal | Bridal Shop in Walnut Creek, CA | San Francisco Bay Area
Located in Walnut Creek, Flares Bridal + Formal offers one of the largest and most diverse selections of wedding dresses in the San Francisco Bay Area. From timeless classics to modern glam, bohemian, and plus-size designs, our boutique features gowns by award-winning designers to fit every bride’s style, body type, and budget. Our expert consultants are here to help you find the perfect dress and perfect your look with in-house alterations. We also carry long sleeves and bridesmaid dresses.
Ready to find “the one”? Book your appointment today and experience the Flares Bridal + Formal difference.
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Hear It From Our Brides
Join our community of radiant brides who have found their dream dresses at Flares Bridal, and be inspired by their unforgettable wedding moments.
Flares and the alteration team did a wonderful job in getting my dress ready for the big day. They were communicative and friendly at every step. Thank you to the alterations team for meeting with me so many times to get the dress right!
Tiffany N
I said yes to the dress at Flare’s!!! The selection here is stunning, and the staff is so helpful and genuine! This is the perfect environment when shopping for your wedding dress. I’ve also had my dress altered here, which has been an easy, enjoyable process! Highly recommend
Jamie R
Lissa helped me find the most perfect dress. She gathered all the feedback from previous dresses I tried on and managed to find the one that ticked all my boxes. The dress is comfortable, stretchy, vibrant, and photographs so well. I was made to feel so special and confident in preparation
Kellene R
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