Strapless Dress Won’t Stay Up?

If you are planning your wedding and the dress that you have selected has no straps, then you are undoubtedly a bit worried about having it slip throughout the evening.  While strapless dresses are gorgeous and beautifully showcase toned shoulders, they can be a nuisance when they don’t fit just right.  Even when they do fit well, they have the tendency to move around a bit and make us nervous enough to tug on them several times throughout an evening.  That is not a picture you want the photographer capturing.  So, how do you avoid it?

#1. Consider Bone-In Dresses If you have your heart set on a strapless dress, but you haven’t selected one just yet, then consider looking for one that has boning.  This framework, of sorts, can really help to emphasize the feminine shape of your body, but the rigidity can also help keep the dress in place.  How do you know if it has boning?  If you touch the top of the dress, you will like feel the structure beneath through the fabric, but you don’t have to touch to know.  Dresses with boning will maintain their shape, even when suspended from a clothes hanger.

#2. Looking for a Bit of Plastic You don’t want it on the outside of the dress, but along the inner edge, plastic can be your friend.  Actually, it’s really more like rubber than plastic, but that strip along the top of the bodice is there to cause increased friction between your skin and the dress.  Friction reduces movement, and that means less slippage. If your dress doesn’t have the helpful strip, you might want to ask your tailor if it is possible to add it.

#3. Tape Duct tape can fix everything, but we wouldn’t recommend that kind of tape in a situation like this.  Instead, ask the bridal salon (or search on Amazon) for fashion tape.  It’s clear and will not disrupt the look of your gown.  It will, however, stick to the dress and your skin, adding that friction previously mentioned.  The best news is that the tape costs less than $10, in most cases, which makes it a truly inexpensive convenience.

#4. Wear a Bra This is our final tip for the strapless bride – don’t go braless! It can be so tempting, particularly when your dress is strapless and dips lower than the average bra in the back.  However, a bra is a great aid in preventing slippage.  Find a strapless, stick-on, or a low-back bra that fits comfortable and that doesn’t slip around.  That may mean that you have to take it for a test run.  The fabric of the dress and that of the bra will have natural friction between them.  And, if the bra fits really snuggly, you can pin the dress to it for added confidence.