Every fall the trend lists come out, telling brides what's "in" for next year according to someone who has never once pinned a hem. We see something more useful: what's actually walking out of our Santa Monica showroom. Some seasons that lines up with the trend reports, and some seasons it really doesn't. Here's what we're seeing on the fitting room floor right now, no padding.
What we're seeing on the fitting room floor
If we had to name the throughline this season, it's structure brides can feel. Drop waist bodices and standalone corsets are outselling anything with a loose, unstructured bodice, and vintage inspired detailing, lace, brocade, hand draping, keeps showing up on the gowns that sell fastest. At the same time, more brides are buying a second, quieter slip dress for the reception or the morning after, which tells us the appetite for ease hasn't gone anywhere, it's just moved to a second dress instead of the ceremony gown.
4 trends we keep bringing brides back to
Drop waist bodices
The drop waist keeps winning fittings because it elongates the torso before the skirt does the rest of the work. Adeline is an ivory brocade gown with a low waisted corset and asymmetric draping across the front, falling into a deep pleated A-line skirt and train. It's made to order by Rouvell, available at Mae Bridal. Shop the Adeline gown, $2,800.
Vintage inspired details
Brides keep asking for heirloom details without the heirloom price tag or the fit issues that come with an actual vintage gown. Naiara answers that with a lace corset bodice over a luxurious silk wool skirt, built as three convertible pieces so it can shift from ceremony to reception. It's made to order by Théoro, available at Mae Bridal. Shop the Naiara gown, $6,900.
Corset construction, worn alone
Not every corset needs a drop waist or a ball skirt under it. Celine pairs a draped corset bodice with soft integral sleeves and a clean skirt that runs over the hip before opening into a sweeping train, reading minimal from the front and far more dramatic from behind. It's made to order by Rouvell, available at Mae Bridal. Shop the Celine gown, $2,600.
Quiet luxury slips as the second dress
More of our brides are buying a second dress for the dance floor, and this season it's almost always a quiet, bias cut slip rather than anything with embellishment. Simone is a bias cut silk charmeuse slip with liquid drape, an open scoop back, and a sweeping train. It's made to order by Claire La Faye, available at Mae Bridal. Shop the Simone dress, $1,795.
How to pick the trend that's actually you
Don't choose a silhouette because it's selling well in our showroom this month, choose it because it answers something about your actual wedding day. If you're dancing all night, a drop waist or corset bodice that's properly boned will hold its shape far longer than anything loose. If your venue already has the detail, a historic building, a garden with good bones, a vintage inspired gown can feel like overkill rather than enhancement, so save that budget for a cleaner silhouette instead. And if you love the idea of a structured ceremony gown but know you'll want to move freely later, that's exactly what the second dress trend is solving for, not a compromise, a plan.
Shop the full collection
Browse the rest of our drop waist wedding gowns or our vintage inspired wedding dresses to see everything we're currently carrying in these two directions.
Wedding dress trends, answered
How do you know what's actually trending versus what's just being marketed as trending?
We go by what leaves the showroom, not what shows up in a trend report. A silhouette that keeps getting pulled for fittings and keeps getting purchased is trending. A silhouette that only shows up in press releases usually isn't.
Should I choose a trendy silhouette or a classic one?
Choose whichever one you still love in the photos ten years from now. Drop waist, corset, and vintage inspired details have all had long runs in bridal because they flatter a wide range of bodies, so they're a safer bet than a true micro-trend, but the honest answer is always to pick what you can't stop thinking about in the fitting room.
Is it normal to buy a second wedding dress?
Increasingly, yes. We're seeing more brides keep a structured gown for the ceremony and change into something softer, usually a slip dress, for the reception. It's a practical solution for comfort and movement rather than a trend for its own sake.
How often does this list change?
We update it as our own sales and fittings shift, not on a fixed schedule. If a trend fades from our showroom, we'll swap it out rather than leave outdated advice up.
Ready to see them in person? Book an in-person fitting at our Santa Monica showroom, or book a live virtual shopping session from wherever you are.
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