Those Pesky Hanger Straps…What’s the Point?
We’ve all seen them! Those little satin ribbon straps inside the bodice of a gown, sometimes with the designer’s name on them. Some gowns just have the two on either side, and others have up to 8! Why?
Here’s when they are needed, and at what point they are no longer necessary.
Many gowns have quite a bit of weight to them, and the hanger straps are meant to take that weight instead of the gown’s straps. In the showroom, this is important so that the gown’s straps don’t stretch out or get damaged from holding the full weight of the gown. Also, of course, these hanger straps are definitely necessary to hang up the strapless gowns! Once a gown is yours, we recommend that you keep using the hanger straps rather than your gowns actual straps to continue keeping your gown’s straps in pristine condition.
Once it is wedding day, it is time to get rid of the hanger straps because what we definitely do not want to see is them snaking out from the bodice of your gown and ruining your gorgeous bridal photos! And trust us, it doesn’t seem to matter how perfectly tucked into the gown they are, they will find a way out and into the light! So what can be done? At this point, we recommend using scissors to cut the hanger straps out of your gown, and leave them with your gown bag. You may want to sew them back in later, or use a couple safety pins to reattach them to your gown, so that post-wedding, the gown’s straps continue to stay in good condition. But trust us, once it’s wedding time, it is worth it to cut those little guys out of the gown so you are not worried about them making their presence known to your guests and your photographer!
What about the little loop of a hanger strap underneath the train of your gown? We call that a train loop, and it is put over the hook of the hanger to lift the train of a gown off the floor in the showroom. These are also helpful for looping the train up when it is being stored in your gown bag. With the train lifted this way, there will be significantly less wrinkles to steam out than if the train was bundled in a mess at the bottom of your bag.
Some brides assume this loop is a wrist strap to be used in lieu of a bustle. That is not its purpose, and it is important to note, that if you choose to use it this way, some of the under-layers of the gown that are not designed to be visible will become visible. For this reason, we recommend using the train loop only for its intended purpose and considering build-in bustle options with your tailor or seamstress.
We hope this post demystified the hanger strap for you, and please give us a call if you have any questions about this or other bridal specifics.
Click HERE to make an appointment to try on gowns with us! We can’t wait to see you!
xoxo, KJB
