Getting Fitted - Pt. 1

Bridesmaid dresses. Yup, that's probably one of the most feared word combos ever. It brings to peoples minds unflattering cuts of silk and taffeta in shades of puce. Now I have to admit that it seems the dresses are becoming more fashionable and there's more of a chance of getting something that doesn't look too bad. But it will still cost you an arm and a leg for something you may never wear again outside of perhaps a play or Halloween costume. And with that, I would like to talk a bit about my bridesmaid dress experience thus far.

My brother is getting married in the summer and I have been asked by his fiance to be one of her (6) bridesmaids. She has been a fairly easy bride in that she a) picked a deep purple for our dress colours and b) told us that as long as the colour and material was the same we could wear any dress style we wanted. Naturally I heaved a big sigh of relief when she told us this. We went dress shopping back in December as a group and ironically all ended up liking the same dress style (one shouldered with a loose flowy chiffon bottom that hits just around the knees) and decided that we would go with matching dresses.

This is the dress minus the colour

So far so good...so it seems.

Out of all the bridesmaids I am the only plus size. Fact: bridal sizes are NOT plus size friendly. I am normally a 14/16 depending on the clothes; in bridal wear I am a 22W. Let's put aside the fact that the plus size section of dresses to try on was half a rack of clothes suited for a conservitive lady twice my age. Or perhaps that when I was the only girl who couldn't try on the sample dress the sales lady told me that "holding it up against your body would be just like trying it on". Even ignore that my measurements are wierd enough that the dress will have to be ordered two sizes above my bust size to accomidate my waste. I pushed aside any trepedation because the dress was cute and it would be custom fitted to us. One thing I couldn't easily gloss over however, was that once I was measured and sized I was then informed that I would be charged an extra $40 on top of the already expensive dress price because I was plus sized...enter rage.

There was a very specific reason I have waited until now to post about this experience. I didn't want this post to be an angry rant full of caps lock and exclamation points. I had to give myself enough time to process and calm down so I could approach this topic from a more reasonable stand point. That being said, could someone please tell me why being a plus size should equal you having to pay more money?

I don't believe the whole "we have to use extra fabric to make your clothes" line. If that was true shouldn't the fabric amount difference between an extra small and a large change in price as well? Kind of like sheet sets. Their is usually an approx $10 difference as you go up in sheet sizes (twin, double, queen, king) it is an accepted fact. If clothes were treated the same way it would be as well. But to only jump the prices once we are into plus sizes is bascially saying "we are punishing you because you are fat". But what do you do about it?

In my case I was tired, injured and didn't have enough fight in me to get very far past a shocked "excuse me? And why is that" repeated a couple times until I realized I was not going to get a straight answer out of anybody. In lou of being deemed the "drama starter" bridesmaid I sucked up my disgust, bit my tongue and paid the deposit for the dress. Perhaps I sacrified some integrity; afterall companies get away with charging us more because we let them. If I had been shopping completely for myself I would have walked out without buying it, but at the time I had to look at the bigger picture. The issue was sidelined but not forgotten.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I have had months to ponder and worry over what the dress will look like. Will it fit me, will it look nice, will it look like the other dresses or will it be "plus-sized modified". Despite the bitter taste left in my mouth from my last visit I was determined to go into my first fitting with a positive attitude. So in I went to try it on and wouldn't you know it's cute. Yes, its entirely too big on top and will have to be taken in, but I was prepared for that. Once it was pinned I got a better idea of how it would look after alterations. The appointment was fairly painless (minus one pin prick to the finger) and much less mentally emotional that my last visit. Let's hope fitting #2 goes just as well.

In the meantime I fully plan on looking further into the whole price difference issue.


G.