There are three most common ways to measure and order a wedding dress: Made-to-Measure, Made-to-Order and Split Sizing. Here is what each of these ordering options mean.

Made-to-Measure

This means you are essentially getting a custom-made wedding dress based on your exact measurements. Wedding dress designers or bridal shop owners will take copious amounts of measurements to help the patterning team create a garment custom fit to you. This process typically gets a near-perfect fit, but often comes with a longer timeline and higher price tag. For this order to be cost-effective, it is imperative not to have any shifts in your measurements over the course of the process. 

Made-to-Order

This is the most common ordering practice for bridal shops and retailers. Made-to-order means that a dress is made in a standard size based on a company size chart at the time that you order it from the bridal boutique (yes, that’s why orders usually take an average of 9 months to a year to arrive). Orders are placed based using your measurements to get the closest fit possible, a size is selected, and you can expect alterations to be needed down the road. The typical rule of thumb is that your dress size is chosen based on your largest measurement.

Split Sizing

When a bride’s top and bottom measurements fall into different sizes, split sizing allows for a more tailored fit. This option can save you from extensive alterations and dress reconstruction down the road, but not all designers will offer split sizing options.

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Hi, I’m Melissa, the sassy sewing and wedding pro you didn’t know you needed in your life. 

I’m the owner of deMelis Atelier, a top ranked alterations studio located in Connecticut, and the founder of Stitched Collective, a community for sewing professionals. I’m a master seamstress and wedding dress educator as well as an industry leader and trainer… and a lover of spicy mango margaritas.

I use my fashion and sewing knowledge to help brides and wedding pros alike. 

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