saleswimwear

The tears streaming down a bride's face the first time she puts on her wedding gown should be tears of joy. Thanks to the quirky sizing system used by many bridal designers, however, she might be crying over the blow to her self-esteem.

" If you think you're a size 6, you're at least an 8 and probably a 10," said Jeff Moore, senior vice president of merchandising and product development at retailer David's Bridal. Gown designers and salons stress that size is just a number, nothing to worry about, but in the next breath they'll often advise buying a few sizes bigger than the bride is used to for jeans, skirts or cocktail Womens Sexy Dresseses.

Bridal sizing goes back to a scale established during World War II that used data intended for making uniforms, Moore explained.The scale also was used for ready-to-wear clothes, but over time, sportswear adapted its sizes to reflect changing body shapes, while bridal, for the most part, didn't. In addition, many bridal salons are small, independent shops that don't keep stock of all sizes.

A woman who is a size 2 may try on the same actual Womens Sexy Dresses as a woman who is a 12. A salesperson will fasten the smaller woman's gown with what are essentially jumbo paper clips, and use stretchy strips of elastic across the back of a larger woman.

Once the bride decides on the style of her gown, the salon orders the Womens Sexy Dresses according to her measurements--and that's another sticking point. The order is based on the woman's largest measurement: bust, hips or waist. If her hips and waist are an 8 but her bust a 10, she gets the 10;if her bust and waist are 12 but her hips 14, she gets the 14. Why? In alterations, it's much harder to make a gown bigger than it is to make it smaller

.

Designers have a couture mind-set on bridal gowns: They will be fitted to the individual bride's shape through alterations, explained Amsale Aberra, creative director for the high-end Amsale, Kenneth Pool and Christos lines.

The size of the original gown is just a starting-off point. But, she acknowledges, the bride probably isn't thinking that far ahead--and the number on the tag can be a roadblock.

It can "affect your confidence level. A wedding is when a bride wants to be her thinnest," Aberra said. Moore agrees: "This has led to a lot of emotional trauma--it's not what most retailers and manufacturers are going for Womens Sexy Dresses  ."

His company, for one, has abandoned both the old size scale and the practice of having one sample Womens Sexy Dresses for all to try on.