A search for a wedding gown can be quite frustrating if you don't find the right shop that knows service. Personalized Service is the key to a good Bridal Gown Shop. Want to make their life easier? Try learning some of the lingo that will assist both yourself and your gown consultant to make your hunt for that perfect wedding dress!
Gown silhouette.

• Ball gown: fitted waist and bodice, full skirt.

• Empire: small, scooped bodice, gathers at high waist and has a slender, graceful skirt.

• Princess / A-line: slim fitting, vertical seams flow from shoulders to hem. There is no seam on the waist.

• Sheath:narrow, body-conscious style indented at the waist or sculpted, following the bust, waist and hips.

Lengths and trains

• Short: above the knee length.

• Knee-length: hem just covers the knees

• High-low: hem falls from slightly below the knee to ankle in the front, ankle to train-length in back

• Midcalf/ballet-length: hem reaches to center of the calf to ankle length.

• Floor-length: hem fully skims the floor.

• Sweep train: shortest train, extends back 8 to 12 inches after touching floor.

• Chapel train: trails 3½ to 4½ feet from waist.

• Cathedral: flowing train, usually 6½ to 7½ feet from waist.

• Extended cathedral or Monarch train: cascading 12 feet from waist.

Fabrics

• Brocade: Jacquard-woven fabric with raised designs

• Charmeuse: lightweight, smooth, semi-lustrous satiny fabric.

• Chiffon: delicately sheer, a thin, transparent fabric of silk or rayon with a oft finish.

• Crepe: silk or rayon fabric made with crepe yarn, with a slight pebble like texture.

• Eyelet: open-weave embroidery.

• Linen: cloth made of flax. Great for its strength, liked for it's coolness and luster.

• Moire:silk tafetta, wave-patterned to glisten like water when illuminated.

• Organdy: sheer, transparent crisp silk or rayon fabric. Sometimes printed or embroidered.

• Organza: sheer, crisp fabric like chiffon, but with a stiff finish.

• Silk Gazar: a four-ply silk or man-made fiber. Rough in texture.

• Silk-faced satin: smooth, lustrous silk weave with a glossy face and dull back.

• Taffeta: crisp, smooth fabric with a small, crosswise rib.

• Tulle: fine, sheer, open-weave net in silk, nylon, or rayon, for skirts, veils.

• Voile: fine, soft sheer fabric, more like linen than cotton.

Necklines

• High: high band collar, fits close to the neck.

• Sabrina: gently follows the curve of the collarbone, almost to the tip of the shoulders

• Portrait: off the shoulders, extra fabric framing the neckline

• Jewel: round neckline at base of throat.

We feel that  it is much easier to ask to try on the Taffeta Sheath with the Monarch Train than "that shiny one right there in that window with the long train".