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The Difference Between Haute Couture and Standard Wedding Dresses

With so many beautiful wedding dresses on the market, you’re flooded with options. While many wedding dresses may look aesthetically pleasing, are they of the highest quality?

If you follow daily fashion or bridal blogs you’ll notice a distinct difference between a standard and couture wedding dress. These high fashioned wedding dresses have something that can’t be bought at a corner store.

After all, if you want to feel and look elegant on your special day shouldn’t you consider a dress that looks like it could be on the cover of a magazine? Of course, you do! But what is couture and what is that distinct superiority you notice?

The History of Luxury Haute Couture Bridal Gowns

It all begins with history in handcrafted artistry found in haute couture wedding dresses. Haute couture originated in the mid 19th century in Paris thanks to an Englishman named Charles Frederick Worth. Charles had a vast knowledge of fabrics and he combined this with garment construction.

He started up a department of dressmakers and labeled himself as the only male dress designer in Paris at the time.

The hub for haute couture remains in Paris to this day where there are highly expert designers who are skilled in the art of:

  • Beading
  • Needlework
  • Creating fabric flowers
  • Featherwork
  • Quality pattern making
  • Hand embroidery
  • Hand stitched sequences

In France, there is a governing body for fashion houses called Chamber Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne (Parisian High Fashion Syndicate). They ensure that these skilled designers always abide by the strict rules that govern haute couture.

How Haute Couture is Defined

Haute couture represents items of clothing that are meticulously handmade with high attention to detail and precision. Each couture garment made is custom cut, sewn and altered to fit a specific person’s shape.

The process involves a team of highly skilled individuals such as fitters, the couturier and other workers to bring a work of art to fruition. Sometimes a team of eight or more people spends hundreds of hours creating a fully embellished dress.

That’s why in the haute couture industry meeting design and production standards takes high priority over expenses.

Elements to Look for in a Haute Couture Wedding Dress

Exceptional Fitting

Women are unique in terms of body shapes and sizes & to find a wedding gown that fits your exact measurements can be difficult. That’s why some women spend the extra cash and buy a haute couture wedding dress as it’s tailor-made to fit their exact measurements.

The wedding dress will match fit correctly on your body at all times. A couture wedding dress adds comfort on your wedding day. After all you don’t want to fuss with pieces of the dress that feel uncomfortable. You won’t have to adjust straps or have a bulging waistline because every inch of the dress will be made to suit you.

Flawless Craftsmanship

As mentioned before the craftsmanship that goes into a haute couture wedding dress is impressive. Every aspect of the dress is crafted with precision to ensure the parts of the dress will never come undone. Everything is hand stitched from the seams to the sequence work.

You will never find stick-on studs on a haute couture wedding dress. In fact, you’ll often find that haute couture sometimes incorporate precious stones for their embellishments.

These wedding gowns can stand the test of time. Because of the impeccable craftsmanship that goes into making haute couture wedding gowns they will never tear, rip at the seams or lose their shape.

High Attention to Detail

Have you ever experienced an item of clothing where the one sleeve was bigger than the other? If the sleeves aren’t meant to be that way you’ll wonder if the person who made your garment was in a rush.

That’s why measurements are made with the utmost care when it comes to couture wedding dresses. This is especially true for sleeves, straps, skirts and patterned bodices. Every piece of the dress was measured to fit together perfectly.

But what of the stitching work? Well, there is not one strand of cotton out of place on a couture dress. Embellishments are always placed precisely where they’re meant to go. If there are embroidery patterns on the dress you can be sure every shape will match in size.

Premium Fabrics from Around the World

Couture wedding dresses are only made from the finest fabrics. The fabrics for couture gowns are sourced from all over the world but no matter where they come from they’re the basis for high-quality fashion.

There are many types of luxury fabrics such as cashmere and silk. You can have anything integrated into these fabrics from bedazzling Swarovski crystals to faux fur. Some couture wedding dresses have beautiful precious stones encrusted in the bodices or the base of the skirts.

Fabrics used for couture wedding gowns need to withstand harsh environments as it will be handled regularly by many working hands. That’s why couture-standard fabrics must be exceptionally durable even though they have delicate textures.

Final Thoughts

So if you want to have all your wedding guests in awe of your elegant flowing wedding dress, consult a couture dress designer. It’s your day—make sure you look and feel amazing.