Wedding dress alterations cost $500-$1,500 on top of the gown because sizing is fictional

Bridal gown manufacturers use proprietary sizing that runs 2-4 sizes smaller than standard retail clothing, so a woman who wears a street size 8 orders a bridal size 12-14. Shops then push the next size up "to be safe," guaranteeing the dress won't fit off the rack and requiring $500-$1,500 in alterations that are often more expensive than the dress itself. This is painful because brides budget for the dress sticker price but get blindsided by mandatory alteration costs they discover only after the non-refundable dress arrives 6 months later. The system persists because bridal shops earn 40-60% margins on alteration services performed by in-house seamstresses, creating a perverse incentive to maintain incompatible sizing standards.