Wedding dress skirts
Whether full or sleek and minimal the skirt of your wedding dress is where the drama’s at! Much of the gown’s personality is all about the skirt and choosing the right skirt for you can make the difference between so-so and stunning.
Here’s a rundown of the most popular wedding skirt styles, details and hemlines.
Bustle
A very traditional skirt detail that has a bunch of fabric gathered at the back of the skirt that comes from the waistline.
Draping
Swaths of fabric pleated or gathered to a side or back seam of a skirt, adding fullness. A beautiful skirt detail but the length of the skirt needs to be long and the pleated fabric needs to balance out your figure otherwise it can add pounds where you don’t want them.
Flounce
A wide ruffle around the bottom of a skirt that falls around ankle length.
Petal
A very romantic style skirt that works with period-style dresses. The skirt features an overskirt that falls in rounded sections (similar to the petals of a flower) and usually reveals an underskirt of a different fabric, but this style can work with the same fabric or with something that contrasts it.
Streamers
Streamers are longer than tails and sometimes thinner in width. They trail down the back of the gown.
Tails
Panels of the same or contrasting fabric, which trail behind the gown like a train.
Bias-cut
Cut diagonally across the fabric along the bias edge. This can be really flattering if you have wide hips. Find wedding dress with a bias-cut skirt.
Ballerina
Pretty and romantic, the ballerina hemline works on a full skirt and reaches to just above the ankles. Great fun and very flirty.
Bubble
A skirt that balloons out around the bottom. It’s fitted around the waist then puffs out and tapers at the ankles.
Fishtail
This is where an additional triangle-shaped panel is stitched on to the back of the skirt – making the dress look a little like a fishtail. This can be a great style to balance out wide hips.
Fan-back
Quite old fashioned and romantic, the skirt has a triangle of fabric that’s pleated like an accordion. This section usually fitted in the back of the skirt and can start around waist height or knee height.
Mermaid
A slim, tapered, curve-hugging skirt that follows the line of the hips and thighs and flares out below the knee. This is a really elegant style but is really suited to very slim girls.
Overskirt
A second skirt that lies over the main skirt but without covering the whole skirt and leaving a gap down the middle – very slimming!
Trumpet
A long, straight skirt that flares slightly around the hem – this is a good style for heavy thighs and hips. Find wedding dress with a trumpet skirt
Accordion pleats
Close together pleats that resemble the bellows of an accordion. The edges all face in the same direction. This can be a tricky skirt style to wear but is great on very slim girls and as part of a 1920s style vintage wedding dress.
Box pleat
Folds of fabric that are pressed to form a flat, box-shaped pleat and an inverted pleat sits between each box pleat. This is a fairly formal, neat pleat.
Tiered
This skirt falls in a series of layers. It’s very pretty works best with sheer fabrics.
Knee
A sophisticated length that just sits at the knee – a good look for older brides and bridesmaids.
Mini
Great for the modern bride a mini skirt length should sit just an inch or two above the knee. The key with this skirt length is remember to keep the bodice fairly simple and the upper body covered, otherwise it can look tarty.
Tea Length
A gown hemmed to a few inches below the knee. Needs amazing heels for this style otherwise ankles and calves could look heavy. Depending on how it’s styled and the rest of the wedding dress, it could work as a conservative option, but with a modern twist.
Ankle
If you’ve got fabulous shoes you’ll want to show them off, so an ankle length dress is just the thing. It’s also a style that’s not too formal but not too informal either.
Intermission
A sexy, retro style, this hem falls anywhere between the knee and the ankle. Perfect for a semiformal or more casual affair and good for fitted designs.
Hi-Lo
A great skirt hem that’s really different. The front of the skirt is higher than the hem on the front. This is also a popular look for bridesmaids as well.
