There are four primary body shapes: The Pear, Triangle, Hourglass and Willow.

A Perfect Fit
By Karen Benning

Finding a wedding dress for your body shape
You say you don't look like those perfect models in all the bridal magazine ads? Your bust is too small and your hips are too big? Or vice-versa? Take heart; you can still find a wedding dress that accentuates the positive. Whatever your body shape, you can look stunning on your wedding day.
First, determine what body shape you have. Knowing your body shape will help when you're looking for a dress that emphasizes - or de-emphasizes - particular features.

There are four primary body shapes. The Pear, as the name implies, is larger in the lower body than at the top. If you have wide hips but narrow shoulders or a small chest, you might be a Pear. The Triangle is the opposite, with a broader upper body and smaller lower body features. The Hourglass is evenly proportioned at the chest and hips, set off by a narrow waist. The Willow is generally slim all over, without any major defining curves.

While most brides think carefully about many aspects of their wedding including the location, food and photography, they sometimes select a dress based on a picture from a bridal magazine, without considering their body shape.

Donna Love, owner of Donna's Corner in Big Lake, says that most customers who come in "have fallen in love with a dress that looks good on the 6-foot-tall, size 2 model in the picture." Many, however, end up buying a dress quite different than the one they first thought they wanted. The main reason is body shape.

A Triangle or an Hourglass with a large bust, for example, might want to stay away from a sweetheart neckline. It can make them look "like Dolly Parton." Love also says that a Pear with a thick waist can use a princess line to slim her look by up to 20 pounds. And a Willow often looks fabulous in a sheath skirt.

Love emphasizes that it is important to try a dress on, rather than relying on a picture or what a dress looks like on the rack. And Love is honest with her customers. "I won't sell anything that doesn't look good," she says.

Michael Bartels also sees pictures of dream dresses that don't necessarily offer the best look for a particular body shape. Bartels, owner of Silhouettes Bridal in Fairbanks, tries to recommend dresses that compliment, rather than detract, from the bride's appearance.

"Nine times out of ten, once they try on something [that fits their body shape], they fall in love with it," he says.

Bartels looks at it this way: "What do you do when you go shopping for clothes? You try them on. Well, this is the most important day of your life. You need to try on lots of dresses."

Even once you enter a dress shop, you probably don't want to start trying on dresses right away, says Diane Tresham, owner of Arctic Rose Bridal Boutique in Wasilla. She suggests starting with the foundation. Finding the right undergarments can take care of some body shape issues right away, adding new possibilities for dress styles that will look great.

Once the customer starts putting on dresses, Tresham asks the question, "Is this a beautiful bride, or is that a beautiful dress? I like for people to see the whole person."

She adds that in order to maintain as many options as possible, brides need to begin dress shopping early, starting around nine months before the wedding date. This allows for proper measuring, special orders, alterations and finding all of the right accessories such as shoes, undergarments and veils or tiaras.

With advance planning and knowledge of your body shape, Tresham says, "There's always the right dress."