A wedding dress should be a matter of pride for a bride. One of the most important elements of a wedding dress is its fabric. Rightly chosen fabric makes the wedding dress stunning and the bride the queen of the day. Here are some tips on the various popular fabrics of bridal gowns so that brides can make correct decisions.
Basically, the bridal gown fabrics can be divided into two types – structured and soft. While the former is stronger, the latter is delicate, and commonly a bridal dress is made of the combination of the two so as to create a perfectly fitting, and at the same time, delicate, romantic and feminine wedding dress.
Structured Fabrics
Satin
Satin is plain, heavy and lustrous. Its sheen and ability to cling to the body make it a popular fabric for dresses. But if you are conducting your big day in summer, it’s not recommended for the hot season.
Taffeta
Similar to satin, taffeta is a fabric having a slight sheen, and is lighter, smoother and crisper, which crackle upon moving. It suits more to full skirts and ball gowns.
Organza
Organza is a versatile material quite similar to chiffon in its looks, but is stiffer. Its specialty is that it goes well with several other materials and is superb for overlay embellishments, like full skirts, trains and veils.
There are other structured fabrics too like Mikado which are glowing and ideal for formal structured dresses.
Soft (Delicate) Fabrics
Lace
Lace is a stunning fabric that gives a wedding dress an authentic vintage look along with the desired femininity and romance. Most of the lace types originate in France. Lace itself is of different types, some of which are:
- Alencon: This is made of linen thread outlined with heavy threads to highlight the pattern on its background which makes it more stunning. It’s rightly called “Queen of Lace” because of its grace and beauty and is one of the most popular lace types.
- Chantilly: This is a bobbin lace and features ribbons and flowers on a background of organza or plain net and the pattern is bordered with cordonnet.
- Guipure: This too is a bobbin lace featuring a long series of motifs linked by a few threads. The motif layout is created on a coarse mesh net.
Chiffon
Chiffon is sheer and without sheen. It is available largely in simple styles, like evening dresses and proms. This is a perfect fabric for a summer wedding or a destination wedding where there would be warm weather.
Charmeuse
Charmeuse is a lightweight and glamorous fabric which is sheer and has a rich shine. Barring its sheerness, it looks much like satin.
Georgette
Georgette is sheer and light, and due to its floaty nature, it adds a quite elegant and feminine aura to the bridal dress. It is usually used for train and overlays embellishments because it softens the silhouette of the bridal gown.
Tulle
Tulle can be mixed with a variety of other materials and looks fabulous. It is also perfect for wedding veils as well as overlay full skirts.
Riki Dalal Haute Couture is founded by Riki Dalal, a haute couture wedding dress designer creating fabulous bridal dresses in every style to suit any bride. She is famous for designing dresses in the latest styles and selling them across the world. Some of her creations are given in this article and you can see many more on her website.