There is a false belief that when a customer places a rental order, the garments that he/she has chosen to rent and wear should fit them “like a glove”, especially when the customer has provided sizes and measurements. Not true! Providing measurements and/or sizes merely gives the renter an idea of what size the customer should fit in the universal sizing scale, which is commonly used by the rental business industry. This false belief can sometimes be applied to purchase garments only, but never on rental garments. We say sometimes – because for most of us,  we have not developed a naturally proportioned body silhouette. When you have not-so-perfect body parts, you shouldn’t expect it to fit perfectly. In most cases, you will have to pay additional alteration expense(s) for having outfits altered to custom fit them according to your body’s shape/type/form. A very good example of this “almost expected expense”, is for petite sizes. You are most likely to have to shorten the length of either your top or bottom… or worst, both garments if petite sizing is not available. This is more likely to happen on most ready-to-wear stores that does not offer petite sizing scale.  If possible, we recommend to find a store that carries this sizing scale (if you are in this scale) to  avoid having the hassle of waiting to get your outfits altered before you could wear them, as well as having to pay additional alteration fees with your purchased clothing. Though with rentals, this is not a big problem. All sizing scale is available from short to extra long length.

Another popular issue that we have to tackle is having a longer or shorter torso. Need not ask which part of your body but generally speaking, this should be easy to figure out. Obviously if this is your case, all you need to do is lengthen or shorten certain part(s) of the garment(s) where it will match to your body’s height or length. With this said, a little common sense should do.

How about seriously taking a look at the different body silhouettes so everyone will have a clear understanding on fitting expectations when it comes to renting or purchasing an outfit? There are five(5) major shapes to consider.

A.) V-shape – This shape is particularly more significant for males and athletes. They tend to have proportionally smaller buttocks, narrow waist line, bigger chests and wider shoulders, which makes for a V-shape upper torso, hence the new term of “athletic” shape/cut.

This shape will most likely have to take-in the mid-section of the garment or take a larger top for a two-piece outfit.

B.) Hourglass shape – This shape particularly pertains to the female body, which is significantly narrower in both the front view and profile view than their male counterpart. The waist is narrower than the chest region due to the breasts, and narrower than the hip region due to the width of the buttocks. Thus, resulting the hourglass shape.

This shape tends to have a very minimal alteration(s) done (if any), but will most likely not have to do any adjustments at all.

C.) Diamond shape – Generally,  the middle region of the body is wider than the upper and lower section of the body.

This shape will most likely have to let out the mid-section of the garment and/or take a bigger size to accommodate the widest part of the body and take-in the rest of the areas for better fit.

D.) Pear or spoon or bell shape – Mainly with females, the hip section or lower part of the body is wider than the upper body.

This shape will most likely have to take-in the upper body for better fitting garment or take a smaller top for a two-piece outfit.

E.) Rectangle or straight or banana shape – The shoulder, waist, and hip sections are relatively similar.

Except for the mid-section, this shape will most likely have to take-in the upper section and lower section of the garment.

For more in depth information on the above topic, please go to the following link  at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_shape.

Photo illustrations were researched at beafunmum.com and lareineetsaministredesmodes.com.

Besides the rich and simplistic approach to this topic, we would like to add two more things that people tend to forget; age and our genetic make-up. This is particularly important to remember when you have children with mixed race, not to mention – children who are over-fed. Children sizes can be summed up to two different categories. First, being oddly taller for his/her age and secondly, being unusually wider or bigger for his/her age or having both issues. Adding to the fact, is having to figure out which torso is longer or shorter?…and when you include the fact that they are still growing and not fully developed in certain parts, makes difficult high expectations on rental fittings in this equation.

One topic that a lot of people does not want to or avoid to talk about is weight change. Whether your goal is losing or gaining some weight, it should be realistic. The most common goal that we hear from both brides and grooms (or anyone from a wedding party) is losing weight. With this in mind (especially if you are a bride), you should have your alterations done at least a month before the wedding. Your weight will be the closest to where you want to be. Also, giving ample time for the alteration(s) to get done before the wedding date. This will not only save the gown’s fabric from getting reopened so many times and weakened or frayed, but will also save you money on separate charges when you have to return for multiple adjustments work done. For the groom, we hear a lot of losing weight by “working out at the gym.” When you work out or lift weights, muscle tend to harden and get bigger. Muscle do not liquefy or evaporate. So… losing two inches in a month or two  is not very realistic, unless you drastically change your food intake with your exercise regimen.

Here at L’amour Bridal Boutique, not only that we are driven by our passion to help you achieve your best look in your most important event in your lifetime, but to also educate our followers and clientele to help them make better decisions with their purchases and rental orders.