A Guide to Wedding Dress Necklines

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Posted on January 30th, 2008 by

Bridal wedding gown
Every bride wants to look good in a wedding gown
When it comes to picking the perfect wedding dress, one of your primary concerns should be finding the right neckline for your gown. The objective of finding the best wedding dress neckline is to bring focus to your assets and to mask or downplay possible problem areas.

There are different necklines to choose from. To help you narrow down your choices, we’re presenting you with a list of popular wedding dress necklines complete with descriptions to help you pick out the neckline that suits you best.

Asymmetric: As you can already gather from its name, this dress has an asymmetrical neckline. Most brides love this type of neckline because it shows off beautiful shoulders.

  • Perfect if: you have beautiful shoulders and knockout collarbones
  • Avoid if: you have overly broad or square shoulders.

Bateau: This type of wide neckline is relatively straight but sweeps gently across the curves of the collarbone until the edge of the wearer’s shoulders. The opening of this neckline begins approximately an inch from each shoulder.

  • Perfect if: you have a small bosom. This neckline can help you enhance your chest area.
  • Avoid if: you already have a large and well endowed chest area.

Jewel: The jewel neckline features a high and rounded neckline usually circling the base of the neck.

  • Perfect if: you have small breasts or you’re looking to bring emphasis to your chest.
  • Avoid if: you’re already particularly well endowed

Asymetric satin gown
A white asymmetric neckline satin gown
Bateau wedding gown neckline
A bateau neckline wedding gown
Jewel wedding gown neckline
A jeweled neckline wedding gown

Halter: A halter neckline has straps that can be wrapped or tied around the back of the neck. This neckline leaves your arms and your shoulders bare. A number of halter wedding dresses are backless.

  • Perfect if: you have broad shoulders
  • Avoid if: you’re well endowed or if you have small and narrow shoulders.

Off-Shoulder or Off-the-Shoulder: This type of neckline is popular with modern brides. The open neckline rests below the shoulders bringing focus to the shoulders and collarbones. The off-the-shoulder neckline is considered one of the few necklines that can be flattering for most figures.

  • Perfect if: you’re pear-shaped or if you’re well endowed.
  • Avoid if: you have big arms or broad shoulders.

Portrait: This neckline is a lot like the off-the-shoulder or off-shoulder style, but this style offers a soft and wide scoop that goes from one shoulder tip to another.

  • Perfect if: you’re looking to show off prominent collarbones or trying to hide fuller arms.
  • Avoid if: you have undefined collarbones.

Halter wedding gown neckline
A haltered neckline wedding gown
Off-shoulder wedding gown neckline
An off-shouldered neckline wedding gown
Portrait wedding gown neckline
A portrait neckline wedding gown

Queen Anne: You’ll look and feel like a royal with this type of high-collared neckline. The high collar goes from the sides of the neck to the back. The opening of the collar slowly curves downward into a low heart-shaped neckline

  • Perfect if: if you’re looking to display some cleavage, or if you want to add the illusion of length to your body.
  • Avoid if: nothing! It suits practically any body type.

Scoop: This low-cut, U-shaped neckline is a wedding dress classic. It usually has a rounded appearance at the back of the dress.

  • Perfect if: you’re looking for the soft balance between sexy and modest.
  • Avoid if: nothing! Another universally flattering neckline on the list!

Square: More rectangular than anything, the square neckline takes the shape of a half-square.

  • Perfect if: you’re well endowed or want to display your decolletage or cleavage without revealing too much. Also perfect for women with big busts.
  • Avoid if: nothing! This type of neckline is flattering and suitable regardless of body type.

Queen anne wedding gown neckline
A queen anne neckline wedding gown
Scoop wedding gown neckline
A scooped neckline wedding gown
Square wedding gown neckline
A square neckline wedding gown

Strapless: Another extremely popular choice for most young brides, the strapless neckline is usually straight or slightly shaped without any sleeves or straps. Most of the time, the bodice of a strapless wedding dress is boned to give more support and to retain the dress’ shape.

  • Perfect if: you have beautiful collarbones and shoulders or if you’re looking to show off a well endowed bosom.
  • Avoid if: you’re flat-chested or if you have small breasts.

Sweetheart: As you can already gather from its name, the sweetheart neckline is shaped like the top half of a heart at the bustline. This type of neckline is usually strapless.

  • Perfect if: you’re well endowed and you want your neckline to bring focus to your cleavage.
  • Avoid if: you have small breasts.

V-Neck: This type of neckline is V-shaped, the depth of the neckline depends on the overall design of the wedding dress.

  • Perfect if: you have a bra cup size of either “B” or “C”, or if you have an hourglass figure.
  • Avoid if: you have an overly small chest size or you’re extremely well endowed.

Strapless wedding gown neckline
A beautiful strapless wedding gown
Sweetheart wedding gown neckline
A sweetheart neckline wedding gown
V-neck wedding gown neckline
A white dropped waist v-neck wedding gown

Check out these wedding dresses featuring different necklines.

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What Other People Thought

semalia said on, September 22, 2008
Hey do you have other pictures (bigger ones and clearer view) of the bateau neckline? I am sort of interested with the desc but I can't exactly see how it actually looks like from that pic. Just email me, thanks! Semalia

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