Custom Search
|
|
Choosing The Fabric Of Your Wedding Dress
Check the weather. Unless you are absolutely sure you’ll be at perfectly insulated indoor locations with flawless heating and cooling systems for your entire ceremony and reception, you’ll want to let your local climate influence your fabric choice. It doesn’t matter how amazing that velvet dress looks on you; it’s not going to mix well with your ceremony in Barbados. For fall or winter weddings, think about brocade, duchesse satin, taffeta, peau de soie, or, yes, velvet. (If you like the traditional look of brocade but need something lighter for a warm-weather ceremony, ask to see something in damask, which has the same raised designs with a little less heft.) For warm-weather ceremonies, cotton, linen, organdy, and marquisette are good options. Lace seems like a good, cool option for warm-weather ceremonies, but beware: lace can get very itchy unless it’s lined. Silk and jersey are good options year-round and for most climates. You might also want to consider fabrics with a blend of natural fibers and synthetics like rayon or polyester. Blends can cut down on your expenses a bit, and they tend to be versatile, yielding movable, breathable dresses. Think about what you’d like the dress to do. Silk is one of the most popular fabrics for wedding dresses because it offers a soft shine and will cling to your figure, especially if you’re wearing a sheath dress. There are also several silk weaves that can give you different effects. Satin will offer a brighter shine, and charmeuse or peau de soie will give you a more subtle shine. Satins will wrinkle quickly if you’re doing a lot of standing and sitting during your ceremony – for example, a Catholic or Greek Orthodox wedding – so if you need to move, you may want to consider chiffon, which is flexible, but still formal. If you’d like a little puff to your dress without adding weight (for example, a shaped sleeve or a flowing skirt), think about organza, which has a beautiful body without adding heaviness. For soft, sheer layers like a dancer’s tutu, ask about tulle. Don’t be shy about talking to your salesperson. If you like the look of a fabric but are having trouble with its weight, flexibility or feel, your salesperson may be able to suggest a good substitute. Don’t forget the weight… or your underwear. Remember that you’re only trying on your dress for about five minutes and you’ll probably be wearing it for about five hours. A stiff, heavy fabric – especially one with lots of beading – can have you feeling like Lurch before you even get to your reception. Even if the dress looks great, think about how much you’ll want to move in it and about whether minor comfort issues will become major ones. And definitely wear your bridal skivvies during your test run – a fabric that requires boning for support or an undergarment you’re not used to (like a corset) can cause both comfort and breathing issues. It’s tough to look radiant when you’re trying not to pass out. Move around during your test run… and make sure you can sneeze without your eyeballs popping out. Can a wedding dress be white and green at the same time? Yes. Or at least it can be off-white and green at the same time. The bright white many people associate with wedding dresses is tough to achieve without throwing some pretty scary chemicals onto your chosen fabric. Fortunately for the eco-friendly, it’s increasingly fashionable for brides to choose ecru, ivory, or eggshell dresses. Small but growing numbers of brides are even going with champagne colored gowns, which are elegant and look stunning. Not to mention being a great excuse to have a little champagne at your reception – just for comparison’s sake, of course. Lots of designers and design houses have become intrigued with eco-friendly materials, so you can help save the planet without sacrificing style, and you still get full moral points. For an informal wedding – daytime, outdoor, or anywhere tropical, say – organic cotton, lyocell, and soy are great fabrics to look for, and you’ll be surprised at how soft and luxurious bamboo fabrics can be. Organic silk, hemp silk, and organic lace are good options for more formal ceremonies. You can also just look for designers who have “sustainable fiber” or “fair trade” lines. There’s no reason you and Mother Earth shouldn’t both look fabulous. Congratulations and happy dress hunting! Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Unia Griffin is a contributing writer for OneWed.com. She writes about choosing wedding dresses, keeping the wedding party sane, and other wedding planning issues on OneWed |
|