General Bustle Questions
Bustles are an artistic creation. There are no set Rules. I can not say, "Since your gown's train is 'X' long and 'X' wide, you have to bustle it 'this' way." When I discuss Bustles with my bridal customers, I give them choices of styles that will work and the factors for each style. I never dictate to her what is "best", the final decision is always hers.
Our Visitors' Questions
Such a High Cost
April 2010
Leanna,
I just went for my first dress fitting and afterwards I looked at your website which was very helpful. I was surprised by how much my bustle cost was and I was just wondering if you could let me know if it was a reasonable charge or not.
http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49978992¤tIdx=39&subCategory=-49999486|-49998999|-49978992&catentryId=6097269&sort=
That is a link to the dress it's david's bridal style #t9466
They ended up doing a 15 point bustle underneath for $75 and then they did something with the top layer for $50. They didn't really say anything about what they were doing or give me any options and I didn't know what the charge would be until I had taken the dress off and was ready to leave.
That just seemed to me like an excessive amount of points for that train compared to what I saw on your website. Was just wondering if you had any input on if this was necessary or not or what a bustle for that type dress should cost.
Thanks so much! Meghan
Hi Meghan,
Yes, 15 points sounds like more than necessary. I looked at the link you sent and do think I could do that bustle in 6 or maybe 8 points. I do see that there might need to be something on the top layer that needs to be done once the lower layer is up. I would need to see the gown on the bride to determine what is necessary. I would guess my charge for your bustle would be not less than $100 and could be more, so they aren't far off the mark. Bridal stores are generally a little higher priced than independent alteration people like me.
~Lea
Leanna,
I just went for my first dress fitting and afterwards I looked at your website which was very helpful. I was surprised by how much my bustle cost was and I was just wondering if you could let me know if it was a reasonable charge or not.
http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49978992¤tIdx=39&subCategory=-49999486|-49998999|-49978992&catentryId=6097269&sort=
That is a link to the dress it's david's bridal style #t9466
They ended up doing a 15 point bustle underneath for $75 and then they did something with the top layer for $50. They didn't really say anything about what they were doing or give me any options and I didn't know what the charge would be until I had taken the dress off and was ready to leave.
That just seemed to me like an excessive amount of points for that train compared to what I saw on your website. Was just wondering if you had any input on if this was necessary or not or what a bustle for that type dress should cost.
Thanks so much! Meghan
Hi Meghan,
Yes, 15 points sounds like more than necessary. I looked at the link you sent and do think I could do that bustle in 6 or maybe 8 points. I do see that there might need to be something on the top layer that needs to be done once the lower layer is up. I would need to see the gown on the bride to determine what is necessary. I would guess my charge for your bustle would be not less than $100 and could be more, so they aren't far off the mark. Bridal stores are generally a little higher priced than independent alteration people like me.
~Lea
Can you Bustle a Veil?
September 2008
Hello-
I came across your website which was very helpful regarding bustles for a wedding dress. I am wearing a cathedral length mantilla and would like to bustle it and wear it all night. Do you have any pics of a cathedral length veil bustled?
Thanks,K
I do not have any pictures of veils because I do not recommend that any one bustle a veil. The veil fabric is much too frail and would not support the bustle riggings and it is much too shear and the riggings would be right out in the open and look very bad on what is suppose to be a shear veil.
If a bride wants a veil for the reception I recommend that she buy a second one that is shorter than her ceremony veil.
~Lea
Hello-
I came across your website which was very helpful regarding bustles for a wedding dress. I am wearing a cathedral length mantilla and would like to bustle it and wear it all night. Do you have any pics of a cathedral length veil bustled?
Thanks,K
I do not have any pictures of veils because I do not recommend that any one bustle a veil. The veil fabric is much too frail and would not support the bustle riggings and it is much too shear and the riggings would be right out in the open and look very bad on what is suppose to be a shear veil.
If a bride wants a veil for the reception I recommend that she buy a second one that is shorter than her ceremony veil.
~Lea
What Bustle is best - French or American?
October 2008
Does it matter French or American bustle? How do you know what's best or is it mainly a preference? I have done a French bustle, having never known anything about it before. Now I have another opportunity to bustle a gown and I suggested the French bustle, since I did not see anything suggesting there should be an American bustle. I thought there was something in the design to help place this up on the butt when it was meant to be an American. The first gown I did was a very thin girl with much less fabric than the one I am working on now. This one bells out very nicely and has the train. I showed her pictures of French bustling online. After reading some of these posts I hope I am still ok with my idea the French bustle would be better. It is a halter type dress and has a lot of beading. I have limited time but I want to do the best for the dress. The bride is happy with the French, the mom would probably like to see the American- but the mom would like to see it sewn so tight to her skin she can't move, so I am trying to be polite and help the bride. I thought I would go ahead and get the loops and ties started. It is a previously owned dress and I will need to adjust the straps in the front at the bodice. Just wanted to post this as I am second guessing myself. This is for someone in our congregation that I have known for some time. She is the same age as my daughters. I just wanted to get your input since I will have to get it done very soon and want to make the best decision. Thanks ladies
In my opinion - this matter should be totally the bride's choice.
At the end of a first fitting with a bride I give her a bustle lesson. I will pin her gown in both Under and Over bustle styles (I call these
Ballroom and French) and tell her the benefits of each. I will also tell her many objections to each from other brides, like - "that French bustle makes my butt look big". I will take into consideration the decoration on her train and give her my opinion of how it can be best displayed with a bustle but I will not choose the bustle style for any bride. I say things like, this French bustle looks nice because your main decoration is high on the train and an over bustle would cover that up."
If the bride does not like either Over or Under styles, I will go on to show her the various other styles I have done for other brides either pinning them on her gown or showing her pictures on my site. I tell her she does not have to choose today but I am just giving her plenty of options to think about. After her hem is correct she will need to give me her decision and I take it from there.
This past year I have had several brides that have not liked any options I have shown them at the first fitting. In these cases, I ask her lots of questions and get creative and think up other ways to display her train using her values of how she wants her butt to look. It gets frustrating at times, but I would sometimes rather just tell her what is "best". I just can't. I am so very serious about this being her decision. I do a lot of explaining of the mechanics of bustling and what methods are more secure than others, but in the end it just has to be her decision.
~Lea
Which Style for my Gown & Pricing?
January 2010
Hi Leanna,
I just found your website and saw many valuable sources on how to bustle the gown. I purchased Maggie Sottero 'Harlow' wedding gown few months ago and thinking to bustle it. I'm just wondering if you can give some input on how to do it. My wedding is end of this month. I know this is quite last minutes :(
Here's the link on the gown:
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?keywordText=harlow&keywordType=any&page=0&pageSize=15&style=A3286
Jeni
Hi Jeni,
When the train has a design that is uniformly distributed over the train area I tell brides that most any style is good. Your gown has an evenly distributed lace pattern, but the waist seam is dropped very low on the hip. Though you can do a French bustle I do think you will like the look of the Ballroom style better because the riggings should be placed at that dropped waist seam for best support. A French bustle at that location might look odd if the resulting puff is set right below your butt, but the fabric does also look very soft so it might drape nicely so if you like the French style, it might look good too.
~Lea
Hi Leanna,
Thank you so much for the quick respond.
My mom wants to help me to do the bustle, but she has never done wedding gown before. She used to own garment business and just sew regular Women, Men, Boys, Girls clothing. Do you think if I purchase the DVD from your website can guide my mom to work on the bustle? Also, how long do you think it take to do this kind of bustle?
Jeni
Hi Jeni,
I made the DVD to be aimed at the person with the most beginning sewing knowledge but I have had professional bridal people tell me it helped them. I tried to explain everything in great detail. With your Mom having all the experience with sewing she has, it should be very easily understandable to her.
The DVD does not explain the exact bustle for any specific gown but the three gowns I use as examples. But using these three basic gown types, it does give the process for the 3 styles of bustle I most use. A creative sewing mind can figure out many variations on the 3 basic processes. For your gown all she'd have to do it set the points for the lower waist seam instead of one that is nearer the waist. The rest of the process is the same.
I was once asked about my pricing for doing a bustle and I responded with an outline of the time I spend designing a bustle. It's here
~Lea
Hi Leanna,
I went to the alteration store and was quoted $100 for doing just the bustle. Do you think it's fair price or too high? I'm not an expert, so just want to know the average price out there.
Jeni
Hi Jeni,
My bustling price starts at $40.00. If the bustle needs more than 2 points it is an additional $10.00 per point. In my system a $100.00 bustle would have to have 8 points. That would be a very long and full train. I think your gown would need at least 4, maybe 6 points at the most. I really don't know what an average price would be. Bridal alteration prices very greatly in different economic areas. I can only answer for my own experience and pricing system.
~Lea
My DVD that has step-by-step instruction is now on YouTube:
Beautiful Bustles #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkhWvI0y_4&t=2s
Beautiful Bustles #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VXQdXxVQow&t=644s
Beautiful Bustles #3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVq4a2lzVc&t=1s
Hi Leanna,
I just found your website and saw many valuable sources on how to bustle the gown. I purchased Maggie Sottero 'Harlow' wedding gown few months ago and thinking to bustle it. I'm just wondering if you can give some input on how to do it. My wedding is end of this month. I know this is quite last minutes :(
Here's the link on the gown:
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?keywordText=harlow&keywordType=any&page=0&pageSize=15&style=A3286
Jeni
Hi Jeni,
When the train has a design that is uniformly distributed over the train area I tell brides that most any style is good. Your gown has an evenly distributed lace pattern, but the waist seam is dropped very low on the hip. Though you can do a French bustle I do think you will like the look of the Ballroom style better because the riggings should be placed at that dropped waist seam for best support. A French bustle at that location might look odd if the resulting puff is set right below your butt, but the fabric does also look very soft so it might drape nicely so if you like the French style, it might look good too.
~Lea
Hi Leanna,
Thank you so much for the quick respond.
My mom wants to help me to do the bustle, but she has never done wedding gown before. She used to own garment business and just sew regular Women, Men, Boys, Girls clothing. Do you think if I purchase the DVD from your website can guide my mom to work on the bustle? Also, how long do you think it take to do this kind of bustle?
Jeni
Hi Jeni,
I made the DVD to be aimed at the person with the most beginning sewing knowledge but I have had professional bridal people tell me it helped them. I tried to explain everything in great detail. With your Mom having all the experience with sewing she has, it should be very easily understandable to her.
The DVD does not explain the exact bustle for any specific gown but the three gowns I use as examples. But using these three basic gown types, it does give the process for the 3 styles of bustle I most use. A creative sewing mind can figure out many variations on the 3 basic processes. For your gown all she'd have to do it set the points for the lower waist seam instead of one that is nearer the waist. The rest of the process is the same.
I was once asked about my pricing for doing a bustle and I responded with an outline of the time I spend designing a bustle. It's here
~Lea
Hi Leanna,
I went to the alteration store and was quoted $100 for doing just the bustle. Do you think it's fair price or too high? I'm not an expert, so just want to know the average price out there.
Jeni
Hi Jeni,
My bustling price starts at $40.00. If the bustle needs more than 2 points it is an additional $10.00 per point. In my system a $100.00 bustle would have to have 8 points. That would be a very long and full train. I think your gown would need at least 4, maybe 6 points at the most. I really don't know what an average price would be. Bridal alteration prices very greatly in different economic areas. I can only answer for my own experience and pricing system.
~Lea
My DVD that has step-by-step instruction is now on YouTube:
Beautiful Bustles #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkhWvI0y_4&t=2s
Beautiful Bustles #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VXQdXxVQow&t=644s
Beautiful Bustles #3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVq4a2lzVc&t=1s
Separating Layers
January 2010
Hi,
Is is appropriate to bustle the lining of a gown train separately from the overskirt of a wedding gown. (If so is there a best way to do that?) The lining on the gown's train is long but narrower and smaller than the center-gathered overskirt and is not attached to the overskirt except at the at the low hip. I will be doing a number of gathered (French?) pickups from underneath to bustle the outer skirt.
Thank you for your wonderful web site and any help you can give me.
-Nancy
Hi Nancy,
I have often found that it is necessary to bustle the lining of a train separately from the overskirt. There are several pictures on my site of gowns that had to be done this way. How to do it depends on many fractures. Since your lining is narrow it might need a low Pick-up bustle. I tell brides to pin the bustle several ways and decide which way you like the best. The site has many pictures to give you ideas. Start here: https://www.leannastudios.com/the-pick-up-bustle#gsc.tab=0
~Lea
Colorful Hem Decoration
September 2009
Hello,
I was just looking at all the beautiful bustles on your website.
My gown has a red border of about 3 inches around the entire hem.
Can you offer any great suggestions as to how it should be bustled the best?
Thanks so much, Beth
Hi Beth,
I have of pictures of options for color here: https://www.leannastudios.com/same-difference#gsc.tab=0
When the decoration is mostly at the hem, I usually advise a Ballroom Bustle. But, since yours is a 3" border either French or Ballroom will look great.
~Lea
Hello,
I was just looking at all the beautiful bustles on your website.
My gown has a red border of about 3 inches around the entire hem.
Can you offer any great suggestions as to how it should be bustled the best?
Thanks so much, Beth
Hi Beth,
I have of pictures of options for color here: https://www.leannastudios.com/same-difference#gsc.tab=0
When the decoration is mostly at the hem, I usually advise a Ballroom Bustle. But, since yours is a 3" border either French or Ballroom will look great.
~Lea
Multi Layer Organza Bustle
August 2009
Dear Leanna,
You have a wonderful and really informative web-site!
I wish you lived in the Northeast.
I have a bustle question for you. I have a feeling that a bustle is not possible, but thought I would ask.
I bought a size 10 sample dress that has a skirt made of 5 layers of silk organza and an inner layer of something just slightly thicker.
It is a really flowy dress and I am short (5'0").
The dress is being altered with the front being shortened, so the back has ~1foot train.
How would you bustle this?
Is it even possible?
Thank you,
Laura
p.s. the back looks like the front with a zipper in the middle.
Hi Laura,
That's a tricky one. On a dress like this I put it on a dress form and play with the train until I get something I think the bride will like. I am assuming that a simple one point Pick-Up bustle won't work as in most short trains, because of the skirt's fullness. Several points will be needed to get the whole back off the floor. The added complication of the pleating makes point placement difficult.
You could try forming tuffs in several scattered places over the train and see how it looks. Or maybe an Austrian Bustle would look nice.
~Lea
Can I Bustle for the Ceremony?
April 2009
Hi Leanna -
I was looking for information on bustles on the Internet and I found your Web site. I love the pictures. Very helpful.
I have been sewing professionally for almost thirty years so I have had my share of dealing with all sorts of bustles.
The problem that I run into is a bride requests a French bustle and she is only 5'2". I design an individual bustle by considering the height of the bride and the design of the gown. Nowhere have I seen it written that some bustles work better on tall brides and some work better for the shorter girls.
You comment about the tormenting by the designers is a fact. I had a bridesmaid gown last week made in Vietnam. It was a five-gore below the knee with a front drape. The problem is that the gores were sewn in individual hems and then the gores were attached to each other. A $40 hem became and $85 hem because of the design. Ugh!
Thank you so much for the information that you have on your Web site. Now I will have pictures to make suggestions to my brides.
Wishing you a prosperous Spring-Summer season.Jeanie
Yes, some styles of bustle will look better due to the height of the bride, but that's not the main factor in deciding which bustle design to use. Even if I think the design a bride wants looks horrible, I do what she wants. I will explain the choices she has and the pro's and con's for each, but it is totally her decision. I had a bride just this week who wanted a French bustle for her gown to be rigged for the whole day, ceremony and reception. Her Mom was very upset that she wants to do this but I still support her right to do as she wishes. I did tell her she was giving up some really cool photo shots that are traditional and really neat to have but she was insistent about her decision. I told the Mom that the bustle is not a permanent thing and she just might change her mind at the last minute and it can be easily dropped for the ceremony.
Designers do seem to be doing their best to make the Alterationist life harder, but it's often fun to raise to the challenge. It kind-of depends what mood I'm in as to whether it frustrates me of gets my creative juices running.
~Lea
Hi Leanna -
I was looking for information on bustles on the Internet and I found your Web site. I love the pictures. Very helpful.
I have been sewing professionally for almost thirty years so I have had my share of dealing with all sorts of bustles.
The problem that I run into is a bride requests a French bustle and she is only 5'2". I design an individual bustle by considering the height of the bride and the design of the gown. Nowhere have I seen it written that some bustles work better on tall brides and some work better for the shorter girls.
You comment about the tormenting by the designers is a fact. I had a bridesmaid gown last week made in Vietnam. It was a five-gore below the knee with a front drape. The problem is that the gores were sewn in individual hems and then the gores were attached to each other. A $40 hem became and $85 hem because of the design. Ugh!
Thank you so much for the information that you have on your Web site. Now I will have pictures to make suggestions to my brides.
Wishing you a prosperous Spring-Summer season.Jeanie
Yes, some styles of bustle will look better due to the height of the bride, but that's not the main factor in deciding which bustle design to use. Even if I think the design a bride wants looks horrible, I do what she wants. I will explain the choices she has and the pro's and con's for each, but it is totally her decision. I had a bride just this week who wanted a French bustle for her gown to be rigged for the whole day, ceremony and reception. Her Mom was very upset that she wants to do this but I still support her right to do as she wishes. I did tell her she was giving up some really cool photo shots that are traditional and really neat to have but she was insistent about her decision. I told the Mom that the bustle is not a permanent thing and she just might change her mind at the last minute and it can be easily dropped for the ceremony.
Designers do seem to be doing their best to make the Alterationist life harder, but it's often fun to raise to the challenge. It kind-of depends what mood I'm in as to whether it frustrates me of gets my creative juices running.
~Lea
All Over Lace Bustle
October 2008
Hi
Wow, thank you for posting all of this info on bustles - there's no other website which provides this much info!
My wedding dress has 2 layers, satin with beaded lace all over it, and has a corset back. The underlay is white and the lace and beading is pewter colour so it shows a lot, and has a different repeated lace detail around the entire bottom of the dress. I'd like to bustle the dress but keep the lace detail showing. Would a low pickup (close to the knee) or Austrian bustle work on a gown like this? I'm open to anything which will keep the beautiful lace showing - but the French bustle might make me look a bit big. Here is a picture of the dress.
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?attrib28=257&attrib32=285&keywordType=any&page=0&pageSize=8&style=V7066&moreOptions=1
Thanks
dl
Every bride wants to show as much of the train as possible, but something has to get covered to have a bustle. Your lace design is pretty consistent all over the train so there is not one place where it is more concentrated so any style of bustle will show just as much as any other. Usually, a French bustle is used when the train design is concentrated on the upper part of the train and a Ballroom bustle is used when the design is mostly near the end of the train.
Since it looks like the hip area of your gown is not full, you have to use a low bustle or risk unpretty bunching in the hip area. A Pick-up French or Ballroom will look very nice. I doubt you will like an Austrian for it bunches up the whole back.
~Lea
