BUSTLED

  What could be more beautiful than a bustle on a wedding dress?  Bustling is the gathering and tacking up of the train so that the bride can move around freely post-ceremony. Once a gown is bustled, it goes through a metamorphosis, as does the bride in it. There are two standard kinds of bustling techniques: overbustles and underbustles (French). Usually, bustling is secured with hooks and/or ribbons (narrow strips of grosgrain). Over-busting is the easiest and consists of picking up and tacking the skirt to the waist for chapel and cathedral lengths, or to the back of the knee for sweeps. Underbustling goes the other way—down and under, fastening to points on the under slip. Longer trains can take a combination of both over and under bustling all at once, and the results can be stunning.

Since longer trains have become popular in the past few years, so has the ballroom bustle. This technique involves eliminating the entire train underneath the skirt and making it disappear by reception time. Any additional or custom bustling is completed after the bodice fitting.  How many (more) bustle points you chose is up to you and the estimation of your alterations person.

Above Left: Over bustle on a classic duchesse satin wedding dress. Right: A bustled silk satin skirt using both over and under bustling techniques. Below Right: Underbustle accented with hand-rolled florals. 

Keep in mind not every dress bustles well. Examples include ball gowns with skirts in lightweight layers, such as tulle or organza. The number of layered skirts presents a problem. The bustling is done layer by layer, which is time-consuming and expensive, and you’d have to absolutely love the result to go through all that hassle. Also, some gowns with sweep trains, godets, or fishtails don’t bustle well.

Overall, most dresses do bustle beautifully and are a joy to wear. A bustled train remains one of the most elegant and romantic elements of the wedding dress.

CREDITS

Header Photo: Nathan Larimer of Winter Tree Studios//Photo 2: Lirette Photography//Photos 3 & 4: Bride Chic Photography 

Read and see more images of trains and bustles.