Women come in different shapes and sizes, with no two of them exactly alike. While it is important to find a beautiful wedding dress, it is also necessary that it suits your build if you are to look fabulous on your wedding day. Most dresses, including bridal gowns, are designed for the average woman, who is at least 165cm tall. It is not as easy to find a dress that satisfies your preferences if you are on either end of the size spectrum, than if you are an average-sized woman. However, it is possible.
You may not have too many choices, but you can still find a fantastic dress, if you know what features would look best on you. Here, we will take a look at the dress styles that particularly favor petite brides.
Who is a petite bride?
Petite women have small body frames. They are short, with tiny waists. Petite sized dresses are designed and specially created for women who have a height of 160cm (5ft 3 in) or less.
A petite woman wouldn’t look good in a dress that isn’t designed for petite measurements. This is because, it isn’t easy to alter a regular dress to a petite size without introducing too many tucks and seams. This would spoil the overall finish, and the dress may not look elegant on a small-built woman.
What should petite brides look for in a dress?
A petite bride would benefit from a dress that creates the illusion of few extra inches. This is possible by choosing a gown with a waistline above the natural waist. An empire waist gown, or one that gathers under the bust and flows into the skirt from a cleverly elevated waistline will elongate your torso.
Another pattern suitable for petites is the fit and flare style, where the dress snugly clings to the body all the way from the bust, to your waist and hips and flares out into a layered skirt at the knees. This creates the illusion of height. There is another benefit to choosing such a mermaid-inspired gown. With this pattern, you can flaunt your best feature—a slim, natural waist that many women would die for.
If you are petite, you are born to look gorgeous in a close-fitting sheath pattern. There aren’t many other body types who can carry off this look, like you can.
What to avoid in your wedding dress
While details add splendor and sophistication, you should restrict the amount of embellishments if you are a petite bride. A detailed bodice would be great, but be wary of huge waistbands, bows or too many details in the skirt.
Avoid a dress with a dropped waist, or a heavily layered skirt that will drown you. Instead, look for ruffles that cascade down the side, or add texture to the bodice.
Your wedding day is all about looking glamorous and feeling so. Show off your best features—your well-toned shoulders, slim waist and huge smile, and you will be the perfectly petite bride.
For dresses that are exclusively designed for petite brides, check out our Perfectly Petite collection at BestforBride and make your pick.
