Wedding Dress Belts

Wedding dress belts

Wedding dress belts is something I love to talk about. Should I have a belt or not a belt? In this article, I will give you some information, to help you make a decision.  However, the decision is yours and best of all, we have so many options to chose from.

What you may not know is that in bridal wear belts often have a function. In other words, we need belts: either to obtain a certain style or to cover-up and to give a finishing touch. I will tell you all about it.

Belts can either be made so they are integrated on the dress.  In other words, the belt will still look like a belt, but it will be fixed and attached to the dress. Usually, it will go into the dress fastening at the back. This fastening can be a zip fastening or it can be buttons and loops.  Similarly, it works with a laced up finish.  Alternatively, the belt can be tied in a knot. It can fasten with buttons or fixed in another way, separately to the dress.

Belts on tops and jackets

A belt can often be used to cover the join on the dress between the bodice and the skirt. The join can sometimes look quite hard. You can also experience a tiny colour difference between bodice and skirt. Because, even if we have made it in the same fabric,  the bodice may be interlined and have structure along with boning. This can make a tiny difference in the shade, so the belt is a great feature for covering this up.

A belt can also cover up seams where the bodice is lace and the skirt is plain fabric, it often will look more finished having a belt covering up the unsightly seam allowances.

We also use a belt detail if the bride would like a softer blouse style top.  The belt will “fix” the top on the bride. Most brides like loose flowy things but it’s a challenge to get that look to stay put on the body. Specifically, as the last thing you want is a bridal cover-up that moves and you feel you need to adjust and fiddle with. The belt can help that, and make it fixed on top of what else the bride is wearing.

Belts on skirts

A belt can have the function of holding a detachable overskirt. So to illustrate, we make lovely wedding dresses with slim pencil style skirts. We then add a soft overlay skirt on top, attached to a belt. With this idea, the skirt can come off later and you have the slimmer skirt for the reception.

But we use the same technique for a big overskirt in a solid fabric. This gives a really dramatic look but retains the lightness.

Belts to hold a train

This idea works also for a full train or long train.

We have made many dresses where we attach buttons on the inside of the belt. The buttons are hidden and sit on the side that sits towards the bride’s body. Then we make a train with little loops or buttonholes.

How can wedding dress belts be made?

We make belts in all kinds of materials. It all depends on how you would like them to look: Sharp, fixed, or light and fluffy. Best of all, so many options.

We would often make them the actual skirt material. We would usually cut that on the bias. (this is when the grain of the fabric runs on a 45-degree angle).  This will allow the belt to be flexible as well as more pliable on the bride’s body.

A belt in a contrast fabric will also be a lovely design detail. With contrast, I mean a different colour, but it could also be a contrasting texture. Like a shiny belt on a matte dress. or a thin mesh or chiffon on a heavily textured fabric. This contrast will look great, and be a great design feature.

How wide and what shape?

The belt can be all different widths. Often we would decide that at the fittings. Some brides like and suit a narrow belt. Some brides suit a wider belt.  A very wide belt can almost look like its an empire line cut dress. For the wider wedding dress belts, we can shape it the belt.  Making a shaped wider belt which comes up in an upside-down V between the boobs, like the Rikke top, so it looks almost like it cups the bust.  This works very well on some body types.

We can also make a belt which is wider at the side and goes more narrow towards the centre. This style for instance can create the illusion of a slimmer waist on a girl with a more “ruler” shaped body.

We love belt buckles

There is so much choice when it comes to belt buckles. We can buy in belt buckles. We can even cover a buckle in the fabric of your dress or other fabric. The buckle can be, either round, oval, rectangle, or square. Buckles can be with or without a prong, if you go for the prong we can make lovely little eyelets for the prong to fit through. I think this works very well with 50es style wedding dresses especially. In other words, so much choice for belts with buckles on your dress.

Wedding dress belts with bows

We can also finish the belt with a bow. First, this could be a soft bow you tie yourself. Second, it can be a fixed hard Dior style bow. Last, a fixed bow looking like a bow tie. We have sometimes made large oversize bows in crisp silk, they look great and much fun. Consequently, it all depends on how you would like the overall dress to look.

A simple ribbon can be used if it’s just a very narrow belt. Most often we make the belt. We cut and stitch it from fabric,  as it is much easier to curve and stay flat. Any belt we make can be embellished and details added.

Embroidered, beaded and embellished wedding dress belts

We have a very large selection of crystal wedding dress belts and crystal motifs. The motifs mounts on a fabric belt. It can be silk satin or tulle or any material really.  There is so much choice with this kind of thing. We have so many options some examples are crystals, pearls, florals, geometrics, and decorations inspired by different eras. All those changes with all the different fashions all the time. We can be sure to find something you like.

If you go for a lace dress, lace belts will often be made with the edgings of the lace. Many lace designs come with lovely scalloped edgings we can use that for belt effects. In some cases, we cut out parts of the lace and add it on to the belt, and sometimes we will buy an actual edging to match the lace we use.

Conclusion

Therefore, as you can see, you can have almost any design of belt you would like on your dress. We much look forward to discussing your requirements.

Photos of so many different wedding dress belts

 

 

 

Thanks to First Light, Blue Sky Photography, Michaela Bodlovic, Photography by Duncan Holmes, Suzanne Black Photography, Nicholas Frost Photography, Elemental Photography, Ryan White Photography, Crofts & Kowalzyck for the photos