When a bride chooses a wedding dress, it’s always a special event. The fittings require a good amount of time, and care should be taken with each alteration as well as the consideration of the bustle. Following are explanations of bustle terms, as well as descriptions of styles that may help you choose what bustle goes best with your gown. Ask your seamstress for her expert advice in choosing a style, and be sure to consider more than one during your fitting to decide which accents both your figure and the style of the gown!
PICK-UP/OVERPOINT: This simple style of over-bustle requires the least amount of buttons or hook/eyes (sometimes just one) and match eyelets to create a little lift to your gowns train. Usually the most inexpensive bustle, be careful if your dress is made of a heavier fabric or has many layers, because the bustle may not hold up. Ask your seamstress for her professional opinion. For beach weddings and other such occasions that require lighter weight fabrics, this bustle will be just the thing.
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AMERICAN: This style of over-bustle is made by raising and securing pieces of the outside of the train to the waistline of the dress. A very easy way to bustle a gown, bringing the fabric tension up and to your waistline. The hooks/buttons are placed on the bodice, and are very small.
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FRENCH: This unique under bustle is created by tying a series of ribbons underneath the gowns train. On the outside, it looks like an understated fold. French Bustles can be singular, doubled or even tripled for the longest of gowns. Make sure your seamstress codes your ties with a series of numbers (tie #1 to #1, #2 to #2, etc) underneath for a quick and easy bustling before the reception. Some dresses could have 8 to 10 connecting points depending on the amount of train. Try not to use colored ribbons because the colors can bleed through to your white dress!
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TUFTED: This bustle is ideal for a gown that already has a series of pick-ups or tufts on the train. A seamstress can easily create more tufts to blend and shorten the train to floor-length.
FLIP-TRAIN/BALLROOM: The Ballroom gown bustle is perfect for a gown that is long and has detail in the train of the gown. The train essentially flips under the dress and the hem is left even with the floor. (image: here) It’s easy to dance in, has an even weight, and looks like a waterfall of fabric.
AUSTRIAN: Much like the Austrian theatre curtains, the trains on an Austrian bustle are softly gathered onto an internal cord and ruched together. The result is a soft gathering of fabric that shows your entire dress, leaving your original hem near the ground. A perfect solution for bodiced dresses with a simple skirt.
ACCENTS: If you have a lovely sash or a large detail on the back of the wedding gown, it can sometimes lay along the train, and have hefty length. If this is the case, bustling the bow into large, romantic loops is an efficient way of neatening the dress for the reception. Consider asking your seamstress to bustle your ribbons for an added touch of detail.
I really like the pickup/overpoint look! Its cute and stylish! I am clumsy so this would work for me as far as little to no train!
I believe my dress had the pick up over point on my wedding dress. Love that style.
I got married in Vegas, so there was no wedding dress for me. Just a rhinestone t-shirt that said “bride” 🙂
My dress actually didn’t have a bustle. The train was removable? I think it had a series of hook and eyes or something on it. Whew…that was a long time ago!
All of the dresses are very pretty – I personally did not want a huge wedding – we bought a home instead.
So many options! I really like the French style.
I think I did the first one. I know it was something simple.
I like the Austrian … perfect. Right now I am planning a 2015 wedding for ME … so this post was great to read. Never knew there were different styles like this. (I was married before but I didn’t have a wedding dress for that one).
I had to look at these a few times to figure out what kind of bustle I had. I think I had the Pick Up/Overpoint, but it could have been the American. I’ll have to go back and look at my pictures!
Love seeing all of these different bustles! Mine was the pick up one.
I had a destination wedding- on a cruise ship. So my dress was very beachy and didn’t need a bustle.
And I just saw all the new barbies at the Toy Fair Mattel booth! They all look gorgeous though.
Mitch
Whoa, bridal stuff gives me major anxiety usually, but this was insanely simple to understand! I think I like Austrian bustling best and had no clue there were even names for these lol.
Austrian with accents is my top choice. I’m loving the bridal stuff- my niece is getting married 11/1 and i’m so excited for her!
What great tips. I never really thought about this with my dress. I just picked one I liked and went with it. I think it had a removable train.
Wow, they’re all so pretty! I really like that ballroom style. It’s so old fashioned…my kind of style. 🙂 My train was forever long, but it was removable. Heck, that was 17 years ago. I can barely remember everything about it.
I think I had a french bustle. The Austrian is beautiful though!
So many choices. I’m getting married in a few months and chose a dress that did not need to be bustled.
I had a pick-up bustle and it was super easy for my maid of honor to do. They’re all pretty though.
The French is gorgeous! Thanks for the tips. I help plan weddings and I didn’t even know the differences between some of these 😀
I love the pick-up/overpoint look, but I think my dress had the American style in back. I had no idea there were so many different styles!
I like the American style best. My best friend had that as hers, and her dress was gorgeous!
My dress did not have a bustle, but I do think they are very pretty. We had a rustic wedding outside, so my dress was relatively simple. I will keep this post in mind though as my niece is hopefully getting engaged someone in the next year or so.
I think they all look gorgeous. I love a traditional look so the first is my fave!
What a stunning series of gowns. I love them all 🙂
I didn’t realize there were so many different styles of bustling! I know I had mine reinforced so as not to have to worry about it on my wedding day.
I had no idea what bustling even was! I really like the French style 🙂
I definitely like the French or the Austrian styles. 🙂
I had the pick-up style. It was so incredibly easy that I preferred it.
I have a primavera wedding dress by Morilee, what type of bustle would be recommended. It has a long train
I would recommend a two-part bustle. Meaning that I would french bustle the underneath part of the dress and take the outer layers up in an American bustle. I hope that helps you.