Wrap dresses and skirts offer a modern look for your bridesmaids, and a sophisticated feel to your wedding. They do have one problem though; luckily, we have the wrap dress hacks to fix it.
( 4 minutes to read)
This style of dress or skirt is almost Grecian, with beautiful lush folds of fabric at the front. It creates a flattering shape, giving smooth curves and an elegant feel. It’s an incredibly versatile design, looking great on many different body shapes. But for some, there’s a small but important problem.
What’s the problem with wrap dresses and skirts?
Due to the design, with the fabric crossing over at the front, it can result in gaping. This can happen either at the bustline, where the neckline sits low and gapes open, or with the skirt and a higher gap on the thigh than many people are comfortable with.
Luckily, there’s wrap-resolutions and a bunch of hacks you can use to make sure everyone retains their dignity and looks picture- perfect and comfortable on the day. We want your day to be perfect and so we have some solutions for you.
We suggest involving a dressmaker in this process, as they will know exactly what’s required, where placement is best, and how to do it without interfering with the flow and line of the garment.
Wrap dress neckline fixes
If the gaping is a problem at the bustline, there are a range of possible solutions.
- You can add a snap or hook where the dress crosses at the waist, by the tie. This pulls the neckline tighter and minimises loose fabric.
- If that doesn’t resolve the situation, the snaps or hooks can be inserted at the cross-over point at the mid-line of the body.
- If you want, a lace or ribbon can be attached at the neckline to make it more modest, Using a wide ribbon makes this option more sturdy and can look stylish.
- The shoulders or straps may be able to be taken up. This tightens and shortens the length of the neckline.
- If the problem is stretchy, loose fabric, ironing in stay tape may be enough to stop the gaping and encourage a more orderly neckline.
- If the problem is excess fabric, adding darts will encourage the bodice to be tighter.
Fixing the hem on the skirt
If the hem blowing up is a worry, you can chain-weight a hem. Stores like Spotlight stock a range of different weights of chain, these can be sewn into a hem, providing weight that looks natural and unobtrusive.
Is it’s gaping that’s the problem the solutions are similar to that of the bustline.
- Adding snaps, buttons or a hook fastener at the front stops the dress from gaping while walking or in any unexpected gusts of wind. These can be inserted at the join, although this can pop open, pull, or tear if there’s a lot of pressure from physical activity.
- Adding a wide ribbon along the seam can add visual interest as well as making the dress just a little bit longer and stabilising any stretchy fabric.
Panic! Temporary solutions to gaping dresses
If you don’t have time or the ability to get to a dressmaker, invest in some safety pins. Every woman has pinned an outfit on, up, or together at some point; this is a temporary and quick solution. Those safety pins come in handy in general and should be in your ‘on-the-day’ rescue kit anyway.
Alternatively, you could use double sided tape for the bustline. This sticks to your skin and holds the fabric in place, so you can have exactly the neckline you’re comfortable with.
Should you choose another style?
While this is one of those dress styles that is universally flattering, there are some scenarios where it’s simply not going to work.
If your bridesmaid is in her last trimester of pregnancy, that beautiful bump pushes out the skirt. If the skirt is short, it’s going to make the tulip skirt too short and the gap ride too high. If you have a pregnant bridesmaid, chat to her about what she will feel comfortable in and maybe consider another style.
What Baby’s Breath Bridesmaids are doing about this
While we are continually refining our bridesmaid dress styles and we want everything to have a perfect fit, this is simply a hazard of wrap dress and tulip skirt styles. We are experimenting with adding some functions, but we know that everyone is a different height, that dresses fit every curve differently, and people are comfortable with different levels of skin showing, and we’ve found no one-size-fits-all solution yet.
This is why we send our dresses out without fasteners and clips; some people won’t want to use them, or they could be in the wrong place and be unsightly. We don’t want you, our customer, to be unhappy in any way—and we also want your bridesmaids to look stunning and be comfortable on the day.
If you come across any ideas how we can resolve this, contact us, we’d love to hear from you. We are always happy to hear your feedback.
