5 Ways to Bustle Your Wedding Dress
What is ‘Bustle’?
When you bustle your wedding dress, it means a seamstress is creating provisions for you to transform your wedding dress to something you can move around more easily.
Bustle means gathering the train or any extra fabric of your wedding dress with buttons or ties so you can dance comfortably on your reception. And to avoid having anyone step on your dress – including yourself.
To Bustle or Not to Bustle
Not all brides are keen on bustling their wedding dress. The good news is, not all wedding dresses need to bustled.
If you don’t want to bustle your wedding dress, tell your stylist.
They’ll advise you to stay away from long wedding dresses with a train. Long dresses with a lot of extra fabric get in your way so they will be excluded from your options.
Two Types of Bustle
There are two main types of bustle: under bustle and over bustle.
An under bustle has hooks or ties under the train of the wedding dress. The extra fabric is tied under the train.
An over bustle has them over the train of the dress. The extra fabric is lifted and tied at the top of the dress.
The type of fabric, how the dress is made, and your comfort determines if it’s going to be an under bustle or over bustle.
Different Bustle Styles
1 – American Bustle
This is an example of an over bustle.
Sew hooks around your waist. Lift the train and hook them throughout your waist.
This is ideal for you if you’re going to use a ball gown wedding dress.
2 – French Bustle or Under Bustle
If you’ll do a French bustle, instead of lifting the train, tuck it under. Use ribbons to secure the extra fabric.
If you opted for an A-line or mermaid style dress, this bustle style is perfect for your dress.
3 – Austrian Bustle
If you’ll do this type of bustle, the extra fabric will be gathered in the middle, at the back of your dress.
You can bring the fabric together through ribbons. Tie them together to keep them in place.
If the fabric of your wedding dress has an intricate design like lace, this is the bustle style for it.
4 – Ballroom Bustle
As the name suggests, this bustle style is perfect for ball gowns.
If you bustle your wedding dress ballroom style, it will look like Belles’s dress in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
This bustle style is arguably the most natural looking.
It requires many bustle points around the bodice. And because it’s quite tedious, it can also cost more.
Tips When You Bustle Your Wedding Dress
- Add This to Your Budget
Adding a bustle to your wedding dress incurs an extra charge. Make sure you know how much it costs at the onset so you can include it in your budget.
- Pick Someone to Bustle Your Dress
Before your wedding day, choose one or two people to bustle your wedding dress after the wedding ceremony.
Usually, it’s your maid of honor plus another friend, or your mom.
They should know how to do it right. So bring them with you on your fitting day so the seamstress can show them how.
- Prepare for Bustle Emergency
You can not rule out the possibility that one or a few bustles might break. So have your bustle assistants prepare a sewing kit – and safety pins.
You may never need to use them, but in case you do, they will save your day.