Women's A-Line (Wedding Dresses)

Draw two straight lines out from the natural waist to the floor and you have the shape. An A-line wedding dress fits the bodice close, breaks at or near the waist, then releases the skirt in a steady widening line with no gathering at the hip and no burst of volume anywhere along the way.

Cut does the work here, not netting. Skirt panels are shaped with angled seams so the width is built into the cloth itself, which means the fabric leaves your body just below the waist seam and never touches your hip or thigh again. A single soft layer underneath is sometimes added for body, but the outline survives without it. That is the whole difference from a ball gown. Horsehair braid, a stiff tape sewn inside the hem, keeps the bottom edge in an even circle rather than letting it collapse inward. Because nothing below the waist compresses you, most versions carry boning only in the bodice.

Set it beside a ball gown and the break at the waist is gentler and the volume is a fraction, since a ball gown skirt stands away from you while this one hangs. A sheath goes the other direction and follows the leg to the floor with no release at all. Trumpet gowns hold close to mid-thigh before flaring, so they draw a curve where this draws a straight edge. Empire waist gowns move the release point up under the bust instead of down at the waist.

Most bodies and most venues take it, and that breadth is both the reason to choose it and the complaint against it. Hips, thighs and a stomach all disappear under the release, so it forgives more than any other silhouette. Sitting is easy, stairs are easy, and a lawn ceremony is survivable in crepe or chiffon. The price is character, because a plain A-line in matte fabric can read like the bridesmaid dresses standing next to it. The interest has to come from the neckline, the back or the lace.

Check where the waist seam lands on you rather than on the mannequin, since a seam an inch above or below your own waist tilts the whole triangle and shortens your leg. Feel the hem for horsehair, as an edge that collapses in your hand collapses in photographs too. Steam the skirt from the inside so the seam lines do not shine.