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Choosing Your Wedding Dress

Every girl dreams of finding the perfect dress for their wedding day and many have a vision in their mind of what they picture the dress to be like.

Before going shopping be sure to determine your budget so that you stick with the gowns that you know are in a realistic price range for you and also keep in mind the season and time of year that you are getting married in. You dont want a big heavy gown if youre getting married in the hottest part of the summer.

The most important peice of advice that a bride to be can be given before she sets out to shop for her dress is to be open minded about trying on many different styles of dresses! As it is common that the dresses that many brides to be have pictured in their minds is very different then the actual wedding dress they end up wearing on the day!

When you start looking at wedding gowns, have a chat to the attendants in the bridal dress shops and query them as to which style and colour of wedding dress they would reccommend. These people generally have an idea of what dress styles suit particular body shapes and which shades of white suit particular skin tones.

Many brdes to be go looking for their perfect white wedding dress, when in fact, an ivory or latte dress is more suited to their hair and skin colour. Below is a quick guide to the different shades of white and what skin and hair colours they are best suited to;

Champagne or oyster

This wedding dress white is an off-white with pink undertones and will flatter olive or darker skinned brides with dark hair.

Diamond white or natural white

This is a soft wedding dress white, common in the more expensive fabrics such as silk. This tone of white is well suited to fairer brides.

Latte

This shade of wedding dress white is yellow evening dress slightly darker than the champagne and oyster shades. Latte is a popular choice today with brides and the tone is perfect for tanned or darker skinned brides.

Ivory

Wedding dresses in this shade of white have golden or yellow undertones. This shade of white suits fairer brides with honey coloured hair.

Stark white

Not suited to blonde or fair skinned girls. This shade of white is most unflattering if you are fair however looks amazing on dark skinned brides particularly hispanic brides.

Before you go shopping, get ideas from websites, magazines, and any other source that allows you to preview the various types of styles, lengths, and designs out there. Be sure to consider your body type as you make your selection for a wedding gown. You certainly want to go with a style that flatters your body type and doesnt make you feel self conscious.

Below is a guide to which styles of wedding dresses will suit different body shapes;

Hourglass

Choose a wedding dress that accentuates your waist. Gowns with a full skirt and corseted bodices that flatter the bust line are great for this shape.

Pear shaped

A-line princess dresses which balance out the bottom half to the top half and disguise fuller hips and thighs suit the pear shape best.

Petite

Simpler desses without too much fabric will make the more petite bride appear taller. Big Ball gowns, gowns that are broken up, mermaid wedding dress shapes can overwhelm someone with a smaller figure.

Tall

Ball gowns, princess line and A- line wedding dresses suit this bride. Most can carry off straight bridal dresses and mermaid dresses also. Avoid empire line dresses.

Fuller Waisted

Princess-line and drop waist wedding dresses are most flattering.

Broader Shoulder

Broader shouldered brides should avoid halter and off-the-shoulder necklines which bring attention to the shoulders, and instead try strapless and scoop necklines.

Fuller Busted

Bridal corsets will provide shape and support for this body type. Scoop neck dresses and dresses with square necklines enhance bust lines.

Fuller Arms

Off the shoulder straps or sheer fabric is flattering to the arms. Three-quarter or long sleeve are also flattering on this shape and work to elongate the arm.

Shop around and try on a variety of different gowns so you will be satisfied that when you find "the one" you have considered many different alternatives and you can be happy you have not just settled on the first dress you tried on.

Finally, enjoy the process because trying on wedding gowns can be just as much fun as wearing it for your special day. Savor the journey and be sure to remember it by taking pictures of you in the various gowns you try on along the way.

Where do you want to buy your Prom Dress, online or offline

When the prom season approaches, many girls start looking for the most beautiful dresses that fit them the best from many different places. It can be retail stores or online dress shopping malls. Which place has the best price and quality for a buyer convenience and budget?

Online shopping is a new trend since 2000. The annual growth rate is 11% every year. Traditionally, all girls have shopped for dresses at wedding shops, dress specialty stores, or department stores. They tried on the dresses and compared prices and styles. However, this traditional trend has rapidly changed. Here, I would like to analyze the merits and weak points of online and offline dress buying with a price comparison.

Before you decide to buy a dress, you will need to know the basic price structure of the dress. The true cost of a dress does not mean anything until all the expenses added before it can be sold to the customer as a retail price. Most physical stores have high extras such as the rent, employees?wages, utilities, insurance, etc. Those sums add up to at a least 30% increase from the original dress cost, which is from either the manufacturer or a wholesale store. For example, if the original dress cost is $100, the expenses would be around $30, so you are paying $130 for a $100 dress. Prom dresses are seasonal products from mid-March to before July, so business activity is confined to about half of the year. We need to add this seasonal factor into the retail prices. So, if the owner wants to pursue a 30% profit, the retail price will be $338 (Original cost $100 ?expenses 30% ?seasonal factor 200% ?profit 30%.) This calculation is totally hypothetical but also realistic. It can be vary per stores by stores. You may feel that retail prices are a bit higher and cannot be justified. However, if we carefully observe the nature of the prom dress business the profit margin is not that much because it is not spread out for the entire year. The pure profit of $338 dress is only about $39.

Compared to the offline dress stores, online dress stores have much less overheads. First of all, they are not physical retail stores, so they do not need to have pay rent. Less space needed, less employees, less burden on liability insurance, less maintenance cost compared to the physical stores add up to less overall expenses. Also, the strong point of an online store is its versatility of inventory. They can carry any product they want to sell, so can be less seasonal and have fewer inventories need to carry. If the dress cost is $100, the final retail price on the Internet mall will be around $220 (Original cost $100 ?expenses 15% ?seasonal factor 50% ?profit 30%.) The pure profit of $220 dress will be $52. Here we do not add extra expenses such as technical outsourcing cost, Internet advertising cost, etc, so the actual profit per dress will be decreased after those expenses are applied.

Everyone agrees that price is cheaper on the Internet. However, there are other factors you need to consider such as the availability of a dress, quality, design, etc. You can verify stock availability at the physical stores and online by simply calling them and asking. The main weakness of dress buying on the Internet is it lacks your immediate inspection on the dress by not allowing you to touch and see in front of you before you buy it. You are the person who must see the dress, and then you drive to the store and buy it. This is a great idea. Conversely, if you want to save time and gas, and would like to pay less money for your dress, you may want to try to buy it online. Many online stores provide you high quality customer services and a reasonable return policy. All transactions can be done by their merchant account. This can protect you from being hacked for your financial information.

You can buy great dresses from any place, but the trend is shifting from traditional dress shopping to the virtual stores that we all agree will continue as long as shoppers are looking for lower prices for their dresses.

Thank you for reading this article.