All About Bustles: Intro

Bustles are that alteration that almost everyone knows they need, but many brides don’t actually know what they are.

Have you ever been to a wedding where the gown had a beautiful train that trailed behind the bride, but at the reception the train had disappeared?

That was a bustle!

A bustle is the mechanism your seamstress will put into your dress to pull the train off of the ground.

If you are wearing a dress with a train to your reception, you NEED a bustle! Otherwise not only do you risk tripping, you risk your new spouse AND guests falling anytime they approach you. This also increases the risk of tears and damage to the rest of the dress - and if you’re wearing a strapless gown, sometimes a wardrobe malfunction.

Bustles aren’t just pulled up in one spot (usually) - in the past, this is how garments were bustled but often they would break at the reception because of so much weight on one point.

Each spot where the train is pulled off the ground is called a “bustle point.” Bustle pointscan look different based on the type of bustle (American/Over, French/Under, etc.). The amount of posts you need depends on the type of bustle, your dress, and your height.

You can see more on this topic at our instagram: @the_hem_alterations