Can I get a dress size 10 tailored down to a size 2? Please say yes!!!

Moments like this make me proud of the forum!!! Brides helping brides. Love it!!!

View Quoted Comment Would you please mind sharing what silhouette and material your dress was and how much alterations were to go down in size that much? I do realize that alteration costs will vary for a number of reasons, but would like to get a ballpark idea of what to expect. I’m in the same situation on needing to alter a dress from a size 10 to 0-2 petite. Thanks so much for any insight you can provide!

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I know this is a very old thread, but my dress alteration was an absolute nightmare that I am still reeling over 5 years after the fact. The stress and headache of the whole thing was absolutely not worth it. In hindsight I should have just coughed up more money and bought a dress that fit - or at least fit as closely as possible. I was trying to save money. I didn't want to be "that bride" who spent a bunch of money on a dress. In my case at least, being frugal in this department did not pay off. I could have easily shaved $500-$800 off other aspects of my wedding to put into the cost of the dress if I had known what a mess the alterations would have been.

I went to an independent boutique and bought a size 14 dress, but I am a size 2/4. None of the stores I visited had dresses on the rack that small, and I am 5' 8" without shoes so length was an issue as well. I literally went with the first dress that "would work". I just wasn't into the whole dress thing and I wanted to be done with it. The on-site seamstress was an older lady with years and years of experience who said altering a dress down was "easy" and "wouldn't be any problem". The seamstress was physically at the boutique when I chose that dress, and me purchasing the dress was the result of her telling myself, my mother, and the shop owner that she could alter it. Well, the whole thing was a disaster and I was not happy with the result I just had to deal with on my wedding day.

My dress was made of poly-satin with a very long train and intricate beading. The gown was heavy, it was A-Line, and it had caplets that rested around the shoulders, so the bodice had to fit very well to keep the dress up.

I purchased the dress and they had me take it home as-is since I purchased it many months before the wedding (I get it, they didn't want to store it which was fine). They told me to make an appointment a month from the wedding date to bring it back for alterations. I thought this was cutting it close, but they said this was their standard. So I did this, and went back a month before the wedding. The seamstress had me put it on and she used these big clips to make the dress smaller. I was not there very long; some measurements were taken, I turned around on the pedestal a couple of times, and that was it. I do remember the seamstress acted relieved that she would not have to hem the dress because it was just long enough as it was.

I was not called back to the boutique until a week, yes the Saturday before, to go for my second and I assume what they thought would be the final fitting. The dress did not fit, not even close. For some reason the seamstress put boning in the bodice which gave it a boxy shape. She used a seam ripper and cut them out while I was wearing the dress because the dress would no longer conform and the bones were way too long. Then, you could tell she wanted to cut corners so she did not remove the skirt from the bodice for alterations. Rather she just bunched the fabric up on both sides by my hips making them look massive. The dress was still so big I could turn the whole thing around my body while it was zipped. My mother was livid. The seamstress just kept on saying "well she is just sooo small and thin..." Well lady, I am the exact same size I was when I bought the dress and when I was in here a month ago. The seamstress said she would fix it by Wednesday - the Wednesday before the Saturday wedding.

Could things have gotten worse? Oh yes, and they did. I took off work the morning of that Wednesday to get to the boutique when they opened. The seamstress managed to remove the skirt and properly alter it. However, she still could not manage to get the bodice small enough. So, her solution? Pad the crap out of the bust so it looks like I have massive boobs, great. Then on top of all that, since the seamstress waited too long to alter it in the first place and she was now in a time crunch, she apparently took the dress to her home to work on it at night. While it was in her home she managed to make the white dress absolutely filthy. It looked like she had spilled coffee or soda on it and then dragged it through soot/dirt/dust (it honestly looked like it was dragged across a dirty garage floor). It was all over the dress. The seamstress acted like she didn't notice. My mom lost it, we didn't know what to do, we did not think this was fixable.

We did not pay for the alterations, but we left with the dress in hand. The alterations were going to cost a whopping $500, which was not what we were initially quoted. The seamstress dropped this bombshell at the boutique as soon as she realized she would have to do a complete second alteration. When I initially bought the dress alterations were quoted at $250, but this changed when the seamstress realized she was going to have to basically make me a "custom dress". We paid nothing since she stained the dress.

That night, my mom took the dress to her house and put it in the bathtub with Dawn dish soap to make the attempt to salvage it. I had called into work again because I was prepared to have to go on the Thursday before the wedding to buy another dress. We worked on it until 2:00 am, and we were able to wash the stains out of the dress. I would not know until it air-dried if it was salvageable. By Thursday morning it had dried, and it surprisingly looked fine. Hilariously it shrunk a bit and actually fit better even though the over-the-top bust padding remained. I was so over the whole thing I just said "screw it" and I wore it and made it work. Did it fit, no. Was I happy with it, no. Was the dress flattering, no. But, none of the guests would have ever known the saga of the dress and there was nothing noticeably wrong with it aside from the bust padding. In a few pictures I look very "Marie Antoinette"; I mean the padding was that comical.

If I had to do it all over again I would have doubled the dress budget, ordered a dress in my size from the designer like normal people do, and then I would have only had minor alterations to deal with. Most boutiques will only do alterations a month out in case the bride gains/loses weight. However, if the seamstress has to completely take a apart and remake the whole dress then you are at the mercy of their ability to do things properly and on time. In my case, the seamstress I feel was overly confident in her abilities and she did not manage her time well. I am certain she had other dresses to work on that month, but she grossly underestimated the time she would need to alter the dress I purchased.

I also thought I was going to come out ahead by going to a small "mom and pop" boutique and not David's Bridal. While the shop owner was amazing, super accommodating, and had no qualms spending hours with me while I tried on many dresses in her shop, I did not realize until much later that the ONLY seamstress she had and used was this one older woman. At least with a larger, known shop they can send dresses out for alterations if necessary.

View Quoted Comment I am in this situation right now, I found a dress, a wedding dress with lace that is a size 14 ... I think Im about a size 2 ... Is it true that it’ll cost the same as buying a whole new dress just to get it altered??

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If you have a mom or a friend or someone who can do major alterations on the cheap then that is one thing. However, if you need to essentially remake a whole dress then yes it can get pricey. It is one thing to take in a bust or hem, it's a whole other thing to have to take the entire garment apart since every part of the dress would need to be made smaller.

View Quoted Comment Oh wow I had no idea they would have take the entire dress apart and altar every piece but that totally makes sense! It does sound like it could be pricey.... I’m guessing it would cost close to a grand to do ...