Buying dress online - taking measurements

loveisdivine

So I've chosen my dress online and the company have asked for my measurements. It's not one of these Chinese manufacturers, it's an actual dress shop in the US.
The dresses come in standard US sizes but they said to provide measurements and they will order the dress in the size that best matches my measurements.

The other half and I took them last night, following video instructions from an alterations company on YouTube.
The strange thing is that when I measured (laid flat) a dress I currently own that fits well, it was smaller than my actual body measurements.

So I thought I'll go to an alterations place just to double check. But when I rang the local place she said they wouldn't measure me incase it was wrong and I blamed them or something. I didn't even say it was for a wedding dress.

Can anyone explain why measurements of a flat dress that fits, are smaller than my actual body? Or is there somewhere north Dublin that will measure me?

I'm not too worried, cos of anything it means the dress will be a bit big, and I've no problem getting it altered.

Thanks

Edit - just to be clear, I'm not one of these people that wears clothes that are too small for me! The dress I measured fits perfectly with a little wiggle room.

Cathmandooo

I guess it can depend on the material and the shape of the dress?

I went into the Zip Yard on South Anne Street to be measured before, they did it no problem, no charge either. There's a few alterations places on South Anne Street I think.

Sleepy

Did you have clothes on when you were measured? Any kind of thick fabric or layering could add a few centimeres

loveisdivine

Sleepy wrote: »

Did you have clothes on when you were measured? Any kind of thick fabric or layering could add a few centimeres

Nope just a bra and pants. I know we've taken the measurements correctly cos we copied the video exactly, then I checked a few other videos and written instructions on the net. It's just the laid flat dress that's throwing it off.

The measurements I'm gonna give them are bigger than the dress by about 2 and a half inches so it definitely shouldn't be too small.

artyeva

i sewed sleeves into a sleeveless top the other day and like you laid the top out flat to measure the armhole, but draping the fabric round my arm when the top was on me gave a different size altogether. i put it down to some sort of mathematical/geometrical/3D/fabric stretchiness voodoo magic that i neither understand nor have control over.

tl/dr: give them the measurements your OH took. after all, the dress will be on you, not laid out flat. and it's easier to take things in than let them out if it's sitting a bit loose on you when it arrives

loveisdivine

artyeva wrote: »

i sewed sleeves into a sleeveless top the other day and like you laid the top out flat to measure the armhole, but draping the fabric round my arm when the top was on me gave a different size altogether. i put it down to some sort of mathematical/geometrical/3D/fabric stretchiness voodoo magic that i neither understand nor have control over.

tl/dr: give them the measurements your OH took. after all, the dress will be on you, not laid out flat. and it's easier to take things in than let them out if it's sitting a bit loose on you when it arrives

Yes I get the feeling its something to do with the fact humans arent flat! I cant understand either and to be honest I've given up trying.

I agree with your logic, safest bet is to give actual body measurements.