English · Online made-to-measure
LAM’S only makes dresses — we do not rent them. So this article ought to tell you to have one made. But you would not believe that, and it would not be true. There are cases where renting is plainly the better choice. Here is how we tell them apart, including when the answer is that you should rent.
When you should rent
- When you already have one or two made. A Vietnamese wedding day often needs more than one dress — the family ceremony, the main ceremony, going table to table, the after party. If you have invested in the one that matters most, the ones worn briefly can perfectly well be rented. Plenty of brides do exactly that, and it is a sensible call.
- When the budget is needed elsewhere. A wedding has many costs. If the dress is taking too large a share of the total, renting something beautiful and putting the money into photography or the party is a reasonable decision. There is nothing to feel awkward about.
- When it will be worn very briefly. A dress for a handful of photographs and then off again.
- When the date is too close. Made-to-measure needs time, and that time cannot be compressed. If there is not enough of it, renting is the only option left.
- When you are not yet sure what you like. Trying on a lot of shapes in a rental showroom is a good way to learn what suits you — even if you end up having one made.
When having one made is worth it
When your measurements sit far from a size chart. This is the most practical reason of all. Rental dresses are made to a standard block and adjusted within a narrow margin. If your measurements vary a lot between bust, waist and hip, or if you are very tall or very petite, a rental can only ever be altered to “near enough”.
One plus-size dress we made was for a bride measuring 106 at the bust and 86 at the waist. The approach was to break the waist into finer panels to draw the line in — and that is only possible when the pattern is drafted from scratch, not adapted from an existing block.
When you live abroad. Flying home for rental fittings costs more than the dress. Measurements taken at home and a pattern drafted to them is usually the cheaper path, not the more expensive one.
