If you are a bride-to-be looking to grow your wedding dress vocabulary and figure out just where you want to start when it comes to finding your dress, you’ve come to the right place! Although, a bride’s friends, family and anyone curious about dresses are welcome here too😉 The amount of wedding dress options may be overwhelming, the vocabulary may be confusing, and the choices may seem endless. We are here to help! The amazing thing about bridal gowns is you may not know what you feel confident in until you are in it, so while we made this list to help you find what you like- we always recommend trying several out!
A-line
Fitted at the waist then flares out to the train like a capital A, hence the name. A-lines are one of the most popular shapes as it is known to be flattering on everyone. They are not quite as poofy as a ballgown.
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Ballgown
Known to many as the princess dress! Fitted at your natural waist with a voluminous skirt. This is the poofiest and most dramatic option there is.
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Mermaid
Fitted from the chest to knee, then flares out at the bottom, this shape emphasizes your waist and hips. This is for the girl that wants to flaunt her curves but also have some dramatic flare.
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Trumpet
Slightly more toned down mermaid, the flare starts at the mid-thigh. Think of a trumpet held upside down.
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Fit and Flare
Fitted from chest to hips. A good balance of a fitted dress with minimal ‘dramatic’ flaring. This is for the girl who wants to show off her curves and loves fitted but also loves the subtle flare of an A-line dress.
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Tea Length
This silhouette is going to stop at the ankles and not include a train! For a bride who wants to embrace traditional wedding dress, with a little something different.
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Sheath
Hugs the body and flares out at the legs, but much less than a trumpet or mermaid. Another great if you want to show off your curves, with a little less drama!
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You may notice some of these silhouettes have a lot of similarities! To make it a little simpler we think of dresses on scales here. There is a scale of a-line to ballgown and where a gown falls on that scale depends on the fullness of the bottom.
Mermaid to sheath is a similar scale, what falls in-between depends on how fitted the gown is and how much it flares out at the bottom. No stylist will judge you for calling a fuller a-line a ballgown (trust me, I've been here a while and I still mix them up on occasion!)