Wedding

Long Sleeve Wedding Dress

May 6, 2013 By Moe Leave a Comment

plus size lace wedding dresses with long sleeves

One of the hardest wedding dresses to find are those with long sleeves. When you go to most bridal sites you can easily find dresses that are sleeveless and with a little searching maybe something with a cap sleeve.

For summer, Kiyonna has this beautiful Analisa Lace Wedding Dress for $348. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful long lace sleeves. I also love the scalloped plunging v-neck and satin cummerbund that finish off this all-over lace look.

This dress is available in ivory or white in sizes 10 to 32 — as of this post some of the sizes options are low but I emailed them to check and they will be replenishing soon. Be sure to check out their other offerings for long and short wedding dresses.

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* Get your plus size lace wedding dress from Kiyonna

Moe

Maureen (Moe) Wood has been writing for the Large and Lovely site at BellaOnline for over nine years. Her plus size shopping blog, My Favorite Things, will celebrate its sixth anniversary this summer. Read more about Moe on her about page or follow her through her social network links below.

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The Igigi Wedding Collection

February 11, 2013 By Moe Leave a Comment

Long dresses have really been made into an art form by Igigi. They know the curves of a woman and how to make her look her best. Looking her best is never more important than her wedding day whether she has fifty people looking at her or a couple hundred. Comfort is also very important. Over the years Igigi has offered a few plus size bridal choices here and there but they now keep a regular wedding dresses category all year round with revolving options to choose from. If you have not been able to find a dress at a traditional boutique I recommend you check them out. Here are a few of my favorites:

From left to right:

My absolute favorite at the moment is the Eugenia Vintage Wedding Gown ($570).
Charming Romance Plus Size Wedding Gown ($365).
Celine Plus Size Wedding Gown ($375).
Priscilla Plus Size Wedding Dress ($195).
Gisela Plus Size Wedding Dress ($235)

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* Get your plus size wedding dress from Igigi
* Other places to find plus size bridal

Moe

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Custom Gothic Wedding

April 18, 2012 By Moe 2 Comments

I know I say it a lot on twitter and so much when I blog but when I saw this Gothic wedding dress I had it share it and say. “OMG!” It is so gorgeous AND it can be custom made to size.

custom black and white gothic wedding dress

KMKDesignsllc will custom make this unique wedding dress to your measurements for $785. Important features worth nothing:

fully boned corset
Edwardian style sleeves
skirt has two full ruffles for extra drama and fullness
two layers on cotton and tulle
snow white silk dupioni
black lacing in the back and an elegant bow and lace trim can be made another color

Check out this dress at KMKDesignsllc’s Etsy shop which also features an awesome plus size steampunk style dress (and model).

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* Get your plus size Gothic wedding dress from KMKDesignsllc

Moe

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Chic Blue Dresses

April 20, 2010 By Moe 3 Comments

I’m absolutely seeing blue at Igigi and loving it! If you have been following me on this blog or twitter you know by now that blue is my absolute favorite color of choice. This season it must be Igigi’s too because they have some gorgeous blue frocks for the curvy ladies.

The most recent addition is this goddess dress, Aphrodite in sea breeze. This dress is available in sizes 12 to 30 and boasts features like bra friendly straps and handmade flowers. It is available from Igigi for $189. Wouldn’t it make a great bride’s maid’s dress? It also comes in white in the wedding section (but I can’t figure out why it’s over $50 more for the white).

Aphrodite Maxi Dress from Igigi

For a little more coverage there is the Modena Gown in royal blue. This dress is also available in sizes 12 to 30 for $192. I love the surplice neckline and the deeper colored waist band.

Modena Gown from Igigi

And finally there’s the Summer Nights Dress in sizes 12 to 32 for $168. This one is part of Igigi’s limited collection. I love the patterned chiffon skirt and ruched bodice. This one is a little more versatile than the other two — I can see this one being worn more often while the others would be more for special events. It actually kind of reminds me of something Kirstie Alley would wear with a shrug.

Summer Nights Plus Size Maxi Dress by Igigi

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* Get your own blue plus size party and maxi dresses from Igigi

Moe

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Filed Under: Dresses, Wedding Tagged With: blue dresses, bride's made dress, cocktail dresses, Kirstie Alley

A Curvy Wedding

April 15, 2010 By Moe Leave a Comment

If you are looking for a vintage inspired wedding dress that is all about lace from head to toe then this is it. This limited edition dress is available from plus size clothing retailer Kiyonna and while they are not a bridal boutique they do know plus size fashion and fit.

Plus Size Lacy Wedding Dress from Kiyonna

This plus size wedding dress is figure flattering without being revealing which is how I have found 90% of the bridal dresses to be. Not all women like to show off their cleavage all the time. And on a day when all eyes are on the bride it is better to make sure it is for the right reasons.

This plus size ivory wedding dress is available in sizes 10 to 32 for $420. A similar style is available in knee length with 3/4 sleeves for just over two hundred.

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* Get your own plus size wedding dress from Kiyonna
* Other options for plus size wedding dresses

Moe

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Made to Order Wedding Gowns

March 16, 2010 By Moe 3 Comments

Tova Marc is a couture designer who designs wedding and evening gowns up to sizes 28. She owns her own bridal salon in New Jersey as well as two online stores. Custom Made Wedding Gown from Tova Marc

One of the sites that really captured my attention was the “modest” bridal gown site. This site is particularly interesting to me because over the last five years I’ve noticed that a majority of the wedding gowns available to plus size women are some form of sleeveless. And I know from personal and conversational experience that many plus size women don’t like to bare their arms, shoulders and chest all at once especially when they know that 50 to 500 sets of eyes are going to be focused on them. A further bonus is that all the sleeves and necklines are customizable to the bride’s specifications.

Via email I learned from Tova that they do a lot of custom orders for plus size women both with bridal and evening gowns. “We can mix and match styles to fit our customer’s needs.” So if you like the train on one dress and the neckline on another they can put it together for you.

I took a look around their site and their designs are lovely and flattering without having the overexposure that I’ve heard many future brides complain about. There are no prices listed but there is a phone number and email and I imagine there would be no problem getting a quote.

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* Visit Tova Marc for plus size wedding dresses and evening gowns

Moe

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Plus Size Wedding Dresses

March 9, 2010 By Moe 4 Comments

Wedding season is upon us and the flood of brides-to-be into dress shops and trade shows is well underway. But what about the plus size bride? If the plus size bride is lucky enough to live in a big metropolitan she’ll probably have no problem going to shops, trying on dresses, and finding the one of her dreams. But if she lives in a smaller town she’ll most like have a harder time. Thank goodness for the internet!

Non-Traditional Wedding Dress from Monif C

Here are a few of my favorite dresses and shops for plus size wedding dresses this year:

Not So Traditional Wedding Dresses

The not so traditional route is great for small weddings under 300 people. These are dresses that you can wear again as they are or dye another a color.

My absolute favorite dress which I mention more than a few times a year is the Marilyn Long Convertible dress from Monif C. First, it is one dress that fits women size 8 to 26. That’s right, one dress, so you can loan it to your skinny friend (or not). Second, every season it comes in white and three or four trendy colors for the moment. Which means you can pick a color for your bridesmaids and they can all have the same dress — styled in your favorite style or each styled the way they want. You can choose long for you and long for them or long for you and short for them. Regardless your maids will love you because it’s a dress they will wear again and again and again. And it looks great on every body. During the ceremony you can wrap yourself in a demure look and during the reception you can wrap yourself in a sexy look. And it is relatively affordable as far as wedding dresses go at $235 ($195 for short). If things are really tight and you have time watch for end of season sales which can bring costs down by 25-50%. Non-Traditional Long Sleeve Wedding Dress from Igigi

Igigi has a few choices in both long and short that are a bit more formal that Monif but not so traditional that you can’t wear them again. Igigi prides themselves on their quality so you will get a reliable and affordable wedding dress for your special day. I especially like the Eternal Love Wedding Gown shown here which come in sizes 12 to 32 for $295. If you already have a sleeveless dress Igigi has two adorable white shrug/bolero designed for wedding shoulders if you think you might get chilly or want more coverage. Igigi’s wedding dresses range in price from $185 to $350. They also have a few options for plus bridesmaids and mother of the bride.

Traditional Wedding Dresses (sequins and lace)

Traditional Wedding Dress by Aurora D'Paradiso One of the top places I recommend brides look online for plus size wedding dresses is Plus Size Bridal, now called PS Bridal. They have a huge selection of traditional dresses priced for a wide range of budgets in sizes 0 to 32. They can create made-to-order dresses for sizes larger than size 32 but bear in mind there will be an additional cost. One of my favorites is this short sleeve dress by Aurora D’Paradiso. It just so happens that it’s on sale for $269 (reg. $672).

Last year I heard about David’s Bridal for the first time and did a mini overview of their website. A few weeks ago I saw some wedding pictures online and inquired about the Bride’s dress and she spoke accolades about this company’s service. They have ready made and do made to order wedding dresses. Read more about what they have to offer through last year’s posting.

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Topic Links
* Get your own Plus Size Wedding Dress from Monif C
* Get your own Plus Size Wedding Dress and Bolero from Igigi
* Get your own Plus Size Traditional Wedding Gown from Plus Size Bridal

Moe

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Plus Size Designers – Yuliya Zeltzer

March 4, 2010 By Moe 2 Comments

Yuliya Zeltzer, a Ukrainian-born, self taught designer is the motivation behind Igigi (pronounced ee zhee zhee) plus size fashions. Her designs have become leading edge for career and party dresses for women size 12 to 32. Her success can be attributed in part to the extraordinary word of mouth for both fit and quality.

This season I’m absolutely maxi dress happy at the moment and Igigi has three of the best plus size maxi dresses so far. Yuliya has also designed a phenomenal wardrobe of working dresses for the career woman. Here are five of my favorites (prices range from $102 to $122):

Plus Size Working Dresses Designed by Yuliya Zeltzer

Don’t forget to check out their party and wedding dresses too!

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* Visit Igigi for plus size designer clothing by Yuliya Zeltzer
* Other plus size clothing designers

Moe

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How to Use the Convertible Dress

December 22, 2009 By Moe Leave a Comment

There’s no doubt that Monif C’s Convertible Marilyn Dress is the most versatile piece on the market. There are a few basic colors but usually new colors are introduced each season. It comes in a long or short version that can be used as a party dress, wedding dress, brides maid dresses, New Year’s dress… it is endless. Because the dress fits sizes 8 to 24 you pretty much always know you’ll have something that fits wheather you are up or down ten pounds. The dress costs $195 which seems like a lot for one dress but not for 22 — that works out to almost $9 per dress.

Here’s the latest instruction video from Monif on how to wear the many faces of this dress whether long or short. I bet you can come up with more.

The first instruction video:

More Convertible Dress:

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* Get your own Convertible Marilyn Dress from Monif C

Moe

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Medieval Costumes

September 28, 2009 By Moe Leave a Comment

It is hard to believe that it is the last days of September. Next up? Halloween — boo! There are so many options for plus size costumes this year. Some are standards and some are new. Every day this week I’m going to share some of my favorite costumes from my favorite shops.

First up is Artemisia Dance Designs. It doesn’t sound like it from the title but they deal in costumes for wedding, Halloween or festivals. Here are two of my absolute favorite items:

This Medieval Renaissance Gown for $114.99 is available in sizes S to 3x
(they have other gowns that go up to 4x)

Plus-Size-Medieval-Gown

There is a matching burgundy cloak to go with the above dress but I absolutely love this Navy Crushed Velvet Hooded Cloak for $69.99. They have a red one if you want to do your own red riding hood or black for your own vampire/witch/wizard.

Navy-Cloak

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* Get your own Medieval costumes from Artemisia Dance Designs on eBay
* Where else to find plus size pirate costumes
* More costume ideas
* 10 Last Minute Costume Ideas

Moe

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Plus Size Bridal

July 23, 2009 By Moe 5 Comments

Wedding dresses for plus size women are incredibly beautiful. No, that is isn’t shock so much as it is relief. I ventured into a new (to me) shop this week that provides wedding attire for regular and plus size brides-to-be and was reminded of the wonderful variety now available.

David’s Bridal provides multiple images (with zoom feature) to see details important to the bridal shopper; some even offer a video feature of the dress in motion. It’s fabulous to see the dress move and really get a feel for what it is like from all angles. This seems to be a growing trend (Igigi for one) in providing better service to online shoppers. Another great feature is having dress descriptives linked to a glossary! They also have a section on body types with graphics actually drawn over the different body types/dresses so you can see what they are referring to. This is incredibly helpful for women wanting to take care of “problem areas” but not really sure of different body types.

Plus-Size-Charmeuse-Wedding-Dress The dresses range in style from classic to modern. Unfortunately the majority of the dresses are shoulder bare or strapless. I only found one short sleeve dress. They definitely need to step up their short (and three-quarter) sleeve selection to accommodate more plus size brides. The prices for bridal dresses range from affordable to boutique prices (a few hundred to a thousand). Their shippings costs are reasonable — $14.95.

Here are four of my favorites plus size wedding dresses covering a large range of pricing:

Charmeuse V-neck Halter Wedding Dress (Style: 9SV9563)

I love the ruched fabric that pulls from the breast down low on the waist followed by the beaded embroidery on the drop waist. This unique looking charmeuse bridal dress is available in sizes 14 to 26 for $850. It is available in white or ivory. Plus-Size-Satin-Wedding-Dress

Satin A-line Tank Wedding Dress (Style: 9V9570)

This dress has such a wonderful shape about it from the pleated breast down to the multiple darts at the waistline. The beading under the breast gives it a delicate look. This satin wedding dress comes in sizes 14 to 26 for $399. With the tank cut there is no need to worry about finding an appropriate bra that will be properly hidden.

Side-Drape Embroidered Dress (Style: 9BR1009)

Don’t let anyone tell you that plus size women can’t wear satin. If it is the right satin dress then you will look fabulous. This A-line dress is made with beautiful satin that has been properly ruched at the waist with an accenting side drape for added appeal. The added beaded along neckline and down side drape are virtually invisible far away but a lovely accent up close. It is available in sizes 14 to 26 for $219. Make sure you check out the video on this one!

Satin Off-the-Shoulder A-Line with Side-Drape (Style: 9BR1035)

This dress also has the side drape with pleats that are extremely flattering but the dress is given a totally different look with the off the shoulder neckline — perfect for showing off a strong collar bone. This dress is available in sizes 14 to 26 for $199. Check out the video on this one too!

Like most bridal shops David’s Bridal also has the accessories like underthings, shoes and purses.

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* Visit David’s Bridal for plus size dresses

Moe

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Affordable Bridal Shoes

July 17, 2009 By Moe Leave a Comment

Payless shoe stores is helping to take the sting out of planning for a wedding by offering very affordable bridal shoes that are cute, sexy and some are dye-able. Lela-Rose-Platform-Sling

One of my favorite styles from the Unforgettable Moments collection by Lela Rose Gloria is the Platform Sling. It is available online in sizes 5 to 11. This particular style cannot be died but Unforgettable Moments does offer dye-able satin in 64 shades.

These Platform slings with 3.5″ heels are selling for $24.99! Payless also has an attractive shipping rate of $5.95.

Moe

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The Pashmina

June 30, 2009 By Moe Leave a Comment

One of the most versatile accessories this year is the pashmina wrap or scarf. It’s been around for years and is popular in Europe. With the sleeveless dress gaining more and more appeal amongst plus size women, the addition of the pashmina has gained momentum 100 fold. I was at a June wedding a few weeks ago and literally half the women who attended had some kind of pashmina to keep the chill off. Some were in sundresses and some were in suits. Either way it’s a nice addition even for summer.

You can spend a lot or a little money on a pashmina. I’ve seen them priced for as little as $10 to a whopping $1000. It is nice to have a few inexpensive pashminas of various colors to match your wardrobe (be sure to include the neutral black and tan). I found an array of pashminas from Amazon all under $60. Their fabric content ranged from the most desired cashmere to viscose; the viscose being the least expensive alternative. The best part is that they come in large (80” x 36”) and there are many colors to choose from.

If you are dumbfounded on what to do with your pashmina once you get it then watch this video by the Travelista showing different ways to harness various looks: