Good question!  The shoulders and bustline are the most important area for fitting a vintage gown.  The suspension of the gown falls from this area and the fit of this area is critical for any movement.  There's a solution for this that all pattern makers use, and its called "wearing ease."

Basic wearing ease for a close fitting garment can often run up to an inch allowance at the waist and two inches at the hip and the bust!  You'll be the best judge for your body, but please don't cheat yourself.

We suggest to all of our brides that it is better to go a size larger and add the "wearing ease" to your measurements, at least by an inch.  Alterations can then be utilized to custom fit the gown to your form.  It is best to budget an additional $100 should you need custom alterations for your gown to fit perfectly.

Start with the fit for the biggest part of your body and have your dress tailored (taken in by a seamstress)

HEY! Every single actress that you see on the Fashion Files has had at least two fittings for the dress they wear to the Emmys or Oscars.

They don't wear "off the rack" without a fitting. Why should you?

Take it in a little!

Start with the fit for the biggest part of your body .  Is it your hips? Bust? Waist?

 Just remember you'll be wearing clothing that's been on the planet longer than you have.  Give your gown a gentle respect, just as you would towards any senior citizen.

Most vint "aged" gowns are perfectly suited for quiet, candlelit, historical settings involving intimate sit down dinners, but some authentic historical gowns may be fragile in condition and may restrict you from rock and roll dancing.

The best way to choose your gown is to determine how important "activities" are at your reception and then choose a style that will accommodate your movements.

Chances are, that if you love a vintage dress, someone else did too.  There may be signs that another person wore the garment 30 to 60 years ago.
 
If this fact bothers you and it's important that you are the first person to ever wear your clothes - don't buy vintage.

At Gulden & Brown, we will disclose every flaw we encounter in a garment so that you can make your decision to purchase in an educated manner.  We have been collecting vintage clothing for more than 25 years, studying fabrics, styles and their connection to history.  

History repeats.  History is who we were.
Wearing a piece of history pays homage to the past by giving it a distinctly modern twist.

Our advice is to buy what you like, but understand that it has been worn and needs tender loving care.  Educating yourself on what your textile is made of is the first step to understanding its limitations and how delicate it may be.

All fabric boils down to two classifications. NATURAL (plant/insect/animal matter/protein based) or SYNTHETIC (man made material.)  Each category has a distinct shelf-life before it begins to decompose and break down.

Examples are:
 
INSECT MATTER:

• Silk, spun from the silkworm can begin to shatter and fall apart after 50 years.

The problem is especially severe at the shoulders, if the garment was hung for an extended period of time.  

Antique silk textiles that were produced in the early 19th and 20th century are often chemically unstable due to a process called "weighting".  Weighting involved the addition of metallic salts to the silk to add weight and body to the fabric.  Silk that has been treated with metallic salts containing iron and tin are particularly susceptible and the result is silk that is brittle and frayed.  Silk gowns from the turn of the century and early 1900's can become fragile and tear like crepe paper.

Silk tulle, commonly used in antique veiling is extremely delicate and will seem to melt like cotton candy if bathed in water.

It is very rare to have silk tulle after 35 years from the date of creation.  Vintage headpieces will remain, but the tulle veiling must be replaced.

SYNTHETICS:
                     Polyesters and Nylons can turn grey and begin to become "gummy," especially when treated with chlorine bleach.  Nylon, especially, can decompose within 35 years.

 PLANT MATTER:
                     Cotton laces and nettings can become dry and brittle, losing their structural soundness and suffering from dry rot.  Elastic from the rubber plant will break down structurally and lose its return stretch.  Foam inserts will pulverize to dust.

Scared? 

Don't be...as these are only worse case scenarios.  Many garments are found in wonderful condition.  Most disaster stories occur after a visit to the dry cleaners, which can be a hard lesson to learn.  Proper care of your vintage garment will preserve your investment.

The best method of preservation is to wear an item "as is."  If the garment is badly soiled, a simple hand wash and dry flat may work better than a tumble cycle at the dry cleaners.  Many a beautiful garment has been destroyed after a well intended dip in perchloroethylene.  Resist the temptation to do this!  And never, ever have a dry cleaner steam press your wedding gown with the steam press machine.  Always insist they do it by hand and be willing to pay extra for it.  This will reduce the chances of caramelized starch deposits being pressed into your gown.  Your vintage dress will thank you in the long run!

We do get asked this allot, but please don't confuse us with a modern day department store!  We search high and low for quality gowns. We'd like to emphasize that the vintage dresses we sell, with the exception of the gowns on the contemporary page, are singular "time capsules" of fashion history.  They are not currently mass-produced nor are they sold through a chain of retailers.  Each gown that we have found is a treasure trove of past fashion history.  It has been worn at a moment in time and then cleaned and restored by us in the hopes that someone new will cherish and wear the gown again.

Our vintage gowns are found in all parts of the United States, England and Canada, and most come from private estates.  We have but the one gown!  Some of our gowns have a well documented history or "provenance."  This means that we have proof of their sketched design, the pattern and seamstress notes and the original date of creation as well as the wedding portrait and family name of the original bride.  Some of these gowns have been kept in their respective families for 50 to 85 years before they were acquired by Gulden & Brown.

Yeegads!

Unfortunately, a plus size vintage gown is very rare and when found, sells quickly, often before we can place it on the website.  The majority of gowns we find are limited to a present day size 8 and smaller.

Why?

In the past, restraint garments such as girdles and corsets were worn to emphasize the hourglass look.

The use of these foundation undergarments has all but disappeared from our society, therefore some of the sizes on vintage gowns do not seem humanly possible.

Brides in the past married quite young and generally speaking, took pride in being the weaker sex. Inactivity was the very practice of a lady.  In the 20th Century, women are still pulling and prodding themselves into form fitting girdles, but a fact remains that our bodies are changing with each generation. 

We are more active physically, we wear less constricting corsets, we are waiting longer to marry, we are no longer considered frail.