Fit-and-Flare or Mermaid wedding dress? What is the difference? -

We get asked this question all the time fit-and-flare or mermaid wedding dress? Which do I want? What’s this style? The terminology around wedding dresses can be very confusing! In fact, Fit-and-flare is a general term of which mermaid dresses are a type of fit-and-flare wedding dresses! At The Boutique & Co, for simplicity and before we get lost in confusing bridal terminology we use fit-and-flare to describe all fitted dresses with a flared skirt and mermaid to describe the particular mermaid style dresses.

What is a Fit-and-Flare wedding dress?

A fit-and-flare dress does exactly as the name suggests it has a fitted bodice and the skirt is flared. It comes in many shapes and sizes – a mermaid gown is a type of fit-and-flare dress as is a trumpet. Fit-and-flare is what a lot of people think of as mermaid apart from it’s a lot softer than a mermaid dress and generally a lot easier to walk in! We often get brides asking for a mermaid style dress but actually wanting something a bit softer. Fit-and-flare generally has a fitted bodice and fitted over the hip area, usually starting the flare around mid-thigh. Typically the dresses have less of a flare it tends to be a much softer, gentle widening to the floor.

What is a Mermaid wedding dress?

Mermaid wedding dresses are fitted to below the knee where they then fan out like a mermaids tail. They tend to have a lot of tulle and structure in the bottom to give a dramatic flare. Because they’re fitted all the way to below the knee you’ll need to make small steps in a mermaid dress so they’re not always the most practical choice for throwing shapes on the dance floor. If you want a mermaid dress and the ability to dance you may need to consider an outfit change to dance the night away in!