Wedding Dress Style Guide

Rectangle Body Shape

Commonly referred to as “straight up and down”, this means your hips and shoulders are in line but unlike hourglass figures, you don’t have a clearly defined waist. Ideally you need to add width to both the hips and shoulders to give you a more shapely figure.

Best Dress Style:
An A-line gown will create the impression of having wider hips although if you are enviably slim then a long slender gown can actually work really well.

Worst Dress Style:
Avoid column gowns, particularly if you are quite petite, as they will only emphasise the lack of curves.

Apple Body Shape

This is one of the most common shapes of brides-to-be and simply means that you have a more rounded tummy and hips.

Best Dress Style:
Empire gowns are great for making you look slimmer overall whilst A-line gowns, particularly ones balanced at the top with intricately patterned or embellished sleeves will take the emphasis away from the tummy area.

Worst Dress Styles:
Avoid column and fishtail gowns as both will accentuate the tummy region and could make you look curvaceous in all the wrong areas.

Pear Body Shape

This is one of the most common shapes of brides-to-be and simply means that you have a more rounded tummy and hips.

Pear-shaped brides-to-be have hips that are wider than the shoulders.

Best Dress Style:
A-line skirts can cover wide hips whilst making the most of a slim waist and intricately patterned sleeves are very useful for balancing wider shoulders.

Worst Dress Style:
Halternecks should be avoided at all cost as they will make the lower half stand out even more.

Hour Glass Body Shape

A common misconception is that hourglass figures are very curvaceous and “Betty-Boo” like. In fact having an hourglass figure simply means you have a nipped in waist whilst your shoulders and hips are in line with each other.

If you have an hourglass figure, you should certainly embrace your curves and choose designs that emphasise your slim waist.

Best Dress Style:
Bias cut gowns that lay across and accentuate the curves whilst coming in at the waist can look incredibly flattering as they emphasise the natural contrasts in the shape of the body.

Worst Dress Style:
Large Ball gowns as they make the lower half stand out causing you to look larger than you really are. Also avoid gowns with too much detail around the waist area as they could just end up hiding your best asset.

Triangle Body Shape

If you are triangle shaped then, in contrast to pear shaped brides-to-be, your shoulders are wider than your hips. This can be counter-balanced by simply adding extra width to your hips.

Best Dress Style:
A gown with a patterned skirt or some form of embellishment, and ideally with multiple layers, that will automatically draw people’s eyes down towards your bottom half and away from your shoulders.

Worst Dress Style:
Dresses with heavy patterns around the neckline or which draw attention to the upper arms such as spaghetti straps. Halterneck gowns should also be avoided as these draw too much attention to the neck area.