Let's face it, no one is the perfect model size. That means prom dress alterations which may be time consuming are a necessary part of purchasing any prom dress if you want it to look perfect on you. The attached are some tips you may want to consider when altering a prom dress.
Finding a good seamstress: Look in your local yellow pages under "Tailors". Make sure to ask to see a sample of the work they have performed before they touch your dress. Our prom dresses are of the highest quality, don't ruin them by having someone who does not have talent experiment on your prom gown. Also, a local bridal store may alter prom dresses check for these stores under "bridal stores". Normally if a seamstress has worked on difficult wedding dresses, a prom dress will be a piece of cake for them. Hemming: Our dresses fit 5'9" people. So if you are under 5'9 inches, plan on having a hem done.Adding Length: Although our dresses fit 5'9" people, taller people may want to consider doing the following:Make the dress a high/low hem line. High low hems are in almost as much as floor length dresses. A high/low hem is short in the front (9" or more off the floor), low in the back (as the dress normally fits). Wear flats. All of the models shown in our photo's are between 5'8 and 5'10" tall. They also are wearing heels. So perhaps the dress will fit properly if you wore flats.
Order a shawl and add it to the bottom of the dress.Taking the dress in or out: We highly suggest ordering bigger and taking in the dress. Whether you take the dress in 1" or 5" it is normally still the same price and it will look the same. However, if you have to let out a dress a few things may occur: 1) the fabric let out may contain pin holes 2) the extra seam allowance our company normally leaves in each dress may have been cut, and there may not be enough material to let it out.Trains: If your dress has a small train, we suggest to have your seamstress to sew a hand made hook and eye to the back of the prom dress so that the dress can be brought up to floor length for dancing. To do this, lift the train to where it should be fastened to become floor length. Sew a small fancy pearl or crystallized button onto the back of the dress to this area (around the calves). Next sew a few loops of thread to where the train needs to be brought up. Loop the threads around the button and viola! A dress made for dancing.
Pricing: We always suggest to get a bid before you leave your prom dress with a seamstress, this way no one is surprised. Although pricing varies from town to town and from seamstress to seamstress, in the town where we are located you can find the following prices. Please note: most prom dress seamstresses add the items together and calculate from there. Normally in our area we don't see alterations going over $25 for a hem plus taking the dress in and fixing any lost pearls.
