The gowns are here, in your size
Most plus-size brides have had the same afternoon: a rack of sample 10s, a clip at the back, and a consultant asking her to imagine it. That is not shopping. That is arithmetic.
Dimitra Designs is an EveryBody/EveryBride store, and the Essense plus gowns are on our floor in your size. You put one on. You turn around. You decide the same afternoon, on your own body, from gowns you can actually close.
This house drew a second arm
Essense grades the upper arm twice. There is a standard sleeve fit, and there is a fuller sleeve fit, and the fuller one is a real grade rather than an alteration — roughly three inches more through the arm, climbing with the size, from sixteen inches at a 16 to twenty-four at a 34. The arm length is graded separately. So is the bust cup.
Most houses draw one arm and let the seamstress argue with it. This house drew a second. It did not ask yours to fit the first.
Designer options versus in-house alterations
Designer-ordered options are chosen when you purchase your gown, and we request them from Essense when we place your order on your behalf. Sleeves and straps attach at internal buttons built into the bodice. A back can be ordered lace-up or zip-up. The illusion tulle can be matched to your skin instead of approximating it. The hem can be ordered to your height rather than cut down to it. And where a style is built for it, the fuller sleeve fit is the thing to ask for by name. Not every style offers the same list; your consultant confirms yours with the house at the time you purchase.
In-house alterations come after the gown arrives: the fit, the hem, the work of bringing a gown to the body standing in it. Our master seamstresses bring 40+ years of alterations expertise, in-house, in the same building where you chose it. Alterations are booked separately, once the gown is in and on you. Plan to begin your alterations 8 to 10 weeks before your portrait or wedding date, and your consultant will confirm the timing for your gown at the first fitting. Either way, the gown is ordered in a standard size from Essense of Australia’s own size chart and fitted to you in-house, never made to your exact measurements.
Portrait, and where the two part
Portrait by Enzoani is drafted for bridal sizes 16 to 32. Essense carries through to 34. They overlap in the middle and part at both ends. Portrait is drawn for this figure and nothing else. Essense draws every size and grades the whole way up to yours. At a 34 the choice makes itself. In the middle it comes down to which house you like — and both hang here, so that is an hour, not a Saturday.
Stella York, and the rest of the house
Essense of Australia has a sister label, Stella York, and both are here. They share this house’s construction and its grading, so a gown from either can be tried in the same hour, side by side, rather than remembered across a week. The main Essense collection runs 2 through 24 and is on the floor too.
What plus-size brides ask about Essense
Will the sleeves fit my arms?
Ask for the fuller sleeve fit by name. It is a grade Essense drew, not something a seamstress lets out afterward, and it exists from a 16 upward on the styles built for it. Bring the sleeved gowns you have saved and go through them with your consultant before anything is ordered. That is the conversation that settles it.
Are Essense plus gowns made to my measurements?
No. We measure your bust, waist, and hip, order the size that best fits your largest measurement from Essense of Australia’s own size chart, and our master seamstresses complete the fit in-house. A gown drawn and built from scratch is a separate service, and one we also offer.
What sizes does Essense go up to?
A 34. The main collection runs 2 through 24 and the plus collection carries on from 26 to 34, so between them this house covers 2 to 34 without a gap. Which collection a particular gown lives in is a question for your consultant, who confirms it with Essense when you purchase.
I am a size 22. Am I shopping the plus collection?
Probably not, and that is the good news. The main Essense collection runs to 24, so at a 22 you are shopping that one. It opens up more of the floor, not less. Bring what you have saved and a consultant will tell you which collection each gown lives in before you start trying anything on.
What are your payment options?
We offer payment terms with no finance fees. A gown taken from our floor can go on our Layaway Plan. One that has to be ordered has a Special Order Payment Plan of its own. Tell your consultant if you need more time and she will take you through whichever one applies.
Try one on in Greenville, SC
The gowns are here in your size, and there are 1,000+ bridal gowns in stock to hold one against. Dimitra Designs has dressed three generations of families across the Carolinas for 30+ years. Come and decide in an afternoon, on your own body. Book a plus-size bridal appointment, or see every plus-size collection we carry.