The Most Common Prom Dress Alterations and What They Mean
Snow is melting (or as we find more often than not in Iowa, falling again), buds are appearing, and despite the Midwest’s tendency to hold on to Winter for as long as possible, Spring will soon be here!
And with Spring comes Prom, and with that, the start of a new busy season at our alterations shop in Cedar Rapids. We see prom dresses start to appear as early as late February, but it’s typically mid-March when we see them arriving in throngs. Every color of the rainbow, glitter and sequins, tulle, tulle, and more tulle! The transformation the shop undergoes with the arrival of prom really does mirror the reanimation of Spring outside.
So you’ve got a dress! Or have a friend or daughter with a dress, and you’re wondering what could possibly entail getting prom dress alterations done. This is precisely what we’re aiming to answer in this post.
Of course the prom dress alterations we’ll list and describe here are not all inclusive. If you have an idea of a change you’d like to make to your dress, simply mention it at your fitting, and it’s very likely we can find a way to make it happen.
So without further ado — in alphabetical order, here is the list of all the alterations you can make to a prom dress, and what they mean!
All the prom dress alterations
For a quicker overview and easier navigability, here is a list of all the prom dress alterations with links to each respective definition! Simply click on the name of the alteration you want to learn more about.
Adding/removing applique or beading
Difficulty & cost: 🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
Some lace or beading you don’t love about your prom dress? We can remove it! Want to add more? We can do that, too! This is all work that is done by hand, which means it is time intensive. So if you have a lot to add or remove, this can add up. You will need to provide any beading or applique pieces you wish to add.
Adding a button, snap, or hook & eye
Difficulty & cost: 🪡
Whether a hook or eye has gone missing above the back zipper, or you need an extra button or snap to hold some fabric layers in place, this is a relatively simple addition. We do carry basic buttons, snaps, and hook & eyes in store, so you need not provide them.
Armhole adjustment
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
If you find the armhole of your dress is digging into your armpit, we can reshape this so you’ll be more comfortable. This can often be the case with petite sizes after shortening straps or shoulders, causing the whole bodice to be pulled up.
Basting string
Difficulty & cost: 🪡
If your neckline juts out and doesn’t lay nicely flat against your skin, a basting string is what we call a long hand-sewn basting stitch that when pulled, slightly gathers the lining fabric so it lays more closely to your body. This can also be done around the arms, or anywhere else the fabric doesn’t lay as toughly as it should. In some cases, the better solution is to take the dress in (making it smaller).
Bust cups
Difficulty & cost: 🪡
If you do not want to wear a bra with your prom dress, or just want additional support, we do carry bra cups in store so sew into your dress. We can also certainly sew in cups you’ve purchased elsewhere.
Bustle
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
People often think of bustles for wedding dresses, but they can be handy for some prom dress styles, too! A bustle is a system of discretely placed hooks & eyes, buttons, or ribbons that tie up the train of a gown so it is neatly out of the way for dancing. You can leave your lovely train down behind you for Grand March and photos, then tie up the bustle for dinner and the dance! The style of the bustle and how many points it will have will depend on the style of the dress. For prom, they tend to stay simpler as the trains on prom dresses themselves tend to be smaller than those found on wedding dresses.
Corset
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡🪡
If your dress came with a back zipper closure, we can exchange it for a lace-up back corset. This is great for adding beautiful drama and detail to the back of a dress, and is also a solution for sizing up a dress by 1 or more sizes. We make our corsets from scratch, meaning they can be made from any fabric. Choose a contrasting fabric for an additional fun design choice, or we can use matching fabric from a lining layer. You’ll need to provide the fabric used for the corset, or to replace fabric taken from a lining layer.
Gusset
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
A gusset is a typically triangular piece of fabric added into a seam to make a garment larger. Think of a pizza slice pointing down. Often, adding a gusset also requires altering the lining. As prom dresses come in a wide range of colors, the best way to ensure a perfect color match for the gusset is to take fabric from a lining layer. We will choose a layer that isn’t seen from the outside, and then replace the fabric taken for the gusset with a complimentary, if not matching, fabric. You will need to bring your own additional fabric either for the gusset or the lining.
Hem (simple / applique / horsehair braid)
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
Tripping over your dress? Altering the hem is making the dress shorter so it’s just touching the floor, or barely skimming over it. The difficulty of the hem comes down to how wide its (how much fabric there is to hem), how many layers, and if there is any applique or horsehair braid. If so, it will need to be removed by hand and then reattached by hand. Applique or other details further up the skirt may also need to be repositioned after shortening the skirt for a more even distribution to match the new hem length.
Hem at waist
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡🪡
This alteration’s function is still to make the dress shorter, but instead of cutting off the extra length at the bottom, it’s by separating the bodice (torso) from the skirt, and shortening the top of the skirt, raising the whole skirt up. This isn’t a strategy typically used, but is there if altering the hem itself is not ideal. With prom dresses, this may be due to a fabric pattern or color gradient that would be lost from cutting the bottom of the skirt.
Layer (adding / removing)
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
The number of layers in your prom dress are not set in stone! If you feel the skirt is too poofy, we can remove one or more of the tulle layers underneath which will decrease the skirt volume. Keep in mind this will likely make the skirt longer. We can also add layers. Either for more volume, or a smooth satiny layer as an extra barrier against your skin if the existing innermost layer is scratchy.
Let slit (open / close)
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Many prom dresses, particularly those with a sleek, modern silhouette, can come with a high leg slit. If this slit is a bit too high for your comfort, we’re often able to close it to your desired hight, or completely. Conversely, we can also add a leg slit to many dresses, although it’s not possible for every gown.
Schedule Your Prom Dress Consultation
During the consultation we’ll discuss all the alterations you’d like to make to your dress and give you a full fitting. The cost of the consultation is $25, and becomes a credit on your final bill if you choose to do your alterations with us.
Changing the lining
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
Similarly to adding or removing a lining layer, we can also exchange a lining layer for a different fabric. This can be done to increase the contrast of a lining fabric against lace or other applique on the outside, making them “pop”. Or to simply add a new element like a color or sparkles to the prom dress.
Neckline adjustment
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
Whether your neckline feels too high, too low, or you don’t love the shape of it, we can adjust it! For example, turning a straight neckline into a sweetheart neckline. As always, what can and cannot be accomplished will entirely depend on the current construction of the dress.
Neckline stitch
Difficulty & cost: 🪡
Have a crossing neckline that doesn’t stay laying in the way you want? A neckline stitch is a straight stitch along where the fabrics cross that holds the neckline in place. Particularly useful for wrap-style bodices and dresses.
Pockets
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
Who doesn’t love a dress with pockets?! Good news is we can add pockets to nearly any dress! Keep your phone, cash, keys, or snacks close at hand without worrying about where you put your purse! Pockets are a particularly great addition to ballroom style dresses, as there is a lot of room under the skirt for larger pockets.
Privacy screen
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
If your prom dress has a plunging neckline you find too deep or revealing, a privacy screen can be a great choice to add modesty or security. A privacy screen is the addition of a coordinating piece of fabric to the neckline, often closing the gap in a V-neck. The fabric can be sheer, lace, or completely solid. You are only limited by the fabric you can find. Similar to adding gussets or a corset, lining fabric can be used to create a perfect color match. You will need to provide the fabric used either for the privacy screen itself or to replace what’s taken from a lining.
Princess seams
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
Since we don’t always match the proportions used in a designer’s dress pattern, sometimes the chest of a dress’s bodice doesn’t exactly line up perfectly with our own. Princess seams are the seams on the front of a bodice that shapes the bust. If your bust is much smaller than the bust of the dress, or if you’re petite, these seams may not hit where they are supposed to (along the center of each breast) and can be adjusted.
Resize (take in / let out)
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
Resizing a prom dress is a big category and can combine many other individual alterations. The most common method of resizing is by altering the side or back dress seams. Choosing which seams to alter all depend on the current fit of the dress, and where there exists the excess fabric that needs to be removed. Accessing the necessary seams may require removing and reattaching applique, and altering seams where there is a zipper will always be more difficult.
Taking a dress in (making it smaller) is of course more straight-forward than letting a dress out (making it bigger). How much a dress can be sized up (let out) depends on how much seam allowance, or extra fabric, was left inside the seams by the designer. Some designers leave more than others. If your dress is second-hand, it may have been altered before and the seam allowance used up. If there is not enough seam allowance, then we can look at adding gussets and/or a lace-up corset back.
Shorten straps or shoulders
Difficulty & cost: 🪡 - 🪡🪡
A very common prom dress alteration is shortening the straps, especially if you are more petit. This alteration can also extend to standard straps, not just spaghetti straps, and shoulders in general if your dress has short or long sleeves. This will keep your straps from continuously falling off, and remove any gaping at your shoulders if you have sleeves.
Shorten the bodice
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
Another alteration for our petit prom attendees. If you are more petit, but can only find a regular fit dress, you may find the skirt of the dress hits you too low. This can be remedied by separating the bodice from the skirt, and shortening the bodice piece. When put back together, the skirt will hit you higher, exactly where the designer intended.
Sleeve tapering
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
If your prom dress has sleeves, but they’re too big or billowy, we can tighten them up by tapering the inside seam(s). This will allow the sleeves to fit your arms more snuggly.
Adding sleeves
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 - 🪡🪡🪡
Whether for more support, modesty, or detail, you can add different types of straps or even full sleeves to your prom dress. Some dress designers offer sleeves already made for a specific dress that only need to be attached. But we can also make sleeves from scratch. Fabric to be used for the sleeves should be provided by you.
Tack
Difficulty & cost: 🪡
A tack is a single point with a couple overlapping stitches (typically done by hand) that is meant to be nearly invisible. These tacks are used to hold fabric or layers in place. If your prom dress has ruffles, for example, and you want to make sure they are distributed evenly, this can be accomplished with strategically and discretely placed tacks.
Advanced Prom Dress Alterations
Of the alterations listed above, some are more involved and advanced than others. These are the types of alterations that will take more time, cost more, and venture into “custom” territory, or have the possibility to. You can probably pick them out by their three “sewing needle” rating 🪡🪡🪡 for difficulty and cost. We will also list them together here so you can see them at a glance.
Adding/removing applique or beading
Changing the lining
Bustle
Corset
Gusset
Applique or horsehair hem
Hem at the waist
Adding/removing a layer
Neckline reshaping
Princess seams adjusting
Resizing
Shortening the bodice
Custom sleeves
Other things to know
Shopping for fabric
For some alterations, additional fabric is needed. In these cases, we require the customer to provide this fabric. In the case of opting for lining fabric for an alteration to ensure a perfect color match, we require the customer to provide replacement lining fabric.
When shopping for fabric, we recommend you bring the prom dress with you to the fabric store. This will allow you the best chance to find the closest match as you can directly compare with the dress while browsing.
Inspiration for custom prom alterations
If you have specific inspiration for a change you’d like to make to your prom dress, a custom sleeve or bustle style, for example, bring a printed photo of your inspiration to your consultation to leave with the seamstress. This ensures crystal clear communication for what you exactly want to have done as we won’t have to rely on our words and our imagination 😉.
Ready for your consultation?
Now you’re an expert on all things prom dress alterations! Once you’re ready to make your prom consultation, give us a call at (319) 377-0751, or message us on Facebook. We look forward to seeing you!
