Everyone over a size 14 has tales to tell of trying to squeeze into something too small in full, embarrassing view of a communal changing room full of size eight skinnies, or of shops simply not stocking clothes in their size at all. So the thought of buying a wedding dress fills many bigger women with dread. The good news is that, when it comes to wedding dresses, a wider variety of larger sizes is available than you'd get in ordinary trendy gear. The bad news is that, because of space, bridal shops don't have a full range of stock in every size. This means that, even though you can order a dress in a larger size, if you can't fit into the sample in stock, it's impossible to tell exactly what different styles will look like.
Bigger people find it harder.
Some bigger girls get quite depressed about not finding anything to fit. It's hard for the client to tell if the dress will suit them. Larger girls don't want a special range - they want what everyone else has,' says Vivien Felstein, general manager at Pronuptia in London's Hatton Garden. Berketex Brides offers the full range of dresses up to a size 18, and in some cases, to a size 22. They keep a variety of sample sizes and will get ones from other branches if necessary.