The Best Wedding Dress for your Shape

Brides come in all shapes and sizes - petite, curvy, pear-shaped, pregnant - so the right dress shape is vital. What suits a slim waif won't look effective on a sexy hourglass, so do your research and choose carefully to play up your best assets and play down any figure faults. And don't let your imagination stop at the meringue or the bias-cut! There's a dress to suit every shape.

If you have a slim torso, small boobs and a big bottom/hip area, you're a pear. Go for a flattering A-line dress with bust detailing to enhance your bust and a slim skirt to skim your hips without too much fullness. Keep fuss and frills strictly minimal.

Do you have great legs, a full bust and a round tummy, you're an apple. Distract the eye from your middle by making the most of your cleavage - an empire line will look magnificent, or go for a knee-length flapper dress which shows off those pins.

Athletic ladies with a slim build, narrow hips and wide shoulders can wear pretty much anything that's figure-hugging, as there's no need to hide any lumps and bumps, but if long and lean, the waist probably won't be well defined. Avoid corset styles and choose a simple, slinky shape that flatters your slim silhouette. Petite and perfectly formed Kylie-type brides look deliciously feminine but can feel engulfed by clothes that are too fussy or don't fit. Prom frocks or tea dresses will suit petite ladies far better than full-length gowns with lots of material, playing to their delicate build without swamping them.

Tall ladies will look amazingly statuesque in a formal dress, but anything too fitted or column-like will add the inches. Go for a fitted corset bodice and a flamboyant ruffled floor-length skirt which will add width and drama. It'll hide the fact that you're not wearing heels as well! Hourglasses are the classic female shape, going in and out in all the right places a la Kelly Brook. Don't drape or cover those curves! A dress which fits to showcase your neat waist and bottom and also gives your bust it's moment of glory is advised, so forget those full-skirted Cinderella dresses and go for vampish glamour.

If you're pregnant on your big day, and around 20 per cent of today's brides are, you're at your most gloriously feminine. Make the most of your blooming cleavage and don't hide your bump - no need to lose it under yards of fabric. A neater fit will make you look more svelte and beautiful. Wear your bump with pride! 

To read our wedding style advice and wedding fashion tips, take a look at our wedding information pages. They're an indispensable source of advice on planning the perfect wedding and style tips that every bride to be should read before taking the plunge. And we are adding to them all the time, so don't forget to visit us again.

To browse Henry Kaye's complete range of of stunning wedding shoes (for brides, bridesmaids and pageboys alike), stylish pageboy outfits, gorgeous bridesmaid dresses, and exquisite wedding bags and beautiful wedding accessories, click here.

Wedding bag with roses

Magic Slimshorts

Chiffon bridal garter (top)

Fluted lace bridal garter

(middle and bottom)