Alter Call: Is It Ok To Modify Your Dresses?

I spent some time in the fall altering a few of my Selkie Puff dresses because I loved the prints but not the fit or the length.  Rather than part with them I began a little experiment to see if I could turn them into something I love and will actually wear.  Turns out, I could and I did.  Since my last post of this Coat of Arms dress didn't really have me standing at all so you could see the alterations, I thought I'd post some other photos I took, simultaneously showing and talking about dress alterations like this since they seem to unexpectedly be a hot button issue.

I've only seen it pop up a couple of times in discussion rooms, but two seems too many to me.  It's a person talking about how people should never buy a dress that's too big and then have it altered.  If you can't find your size, tough luck, save those other dresses for people of that size.  My first thought when I see things like this is:  where do these people get off telling anyone else what they can/can't or should/shouldn't do with their own money?  But, this is the world we live in, we're just in each other's business too much, so if you've ever read such a post and felt a twinge of guilt or indignation, let's talk about dress alterations today.

I definitely understand being a size that has the most limited release.  Clothing sizes are on a bell curve scale and the closer you get to the middle the larger the quantity of those sizes available.  I am at an extreme end of the size spectrum which means companies make fewer of them because they recognize that most people fall in the middle.  So, I totally get wanting those sizes to be saved for those people to have first crack at them.  Then again, faint hearts never won fair dresses.  

It's a dog eat dog world and if you want to give others a chance before buying a bigger size, that's certainly very kind of you.  If on the other hand, you just get the closest thing available as soon as you can, then you're really not actually harming anyone.  So, if you want to give others a chance, then go ahead; after that chance is given, if there are no immediate takers, there is no harm in buying a different size and having it altered to your own.  If you don't want to give strangers (who don't care about you either) a chance they don't even know they have, then don't feel bad about it; just get in there and get what you're after without worrying about which strangers on the internet you might offend.  Believe me when I say that those people are usually just waiting for something to come along so they can be offended anyway.

Bottom line, in my opinion, if you want to make a dress into something that is unique and works perfectly for you, and you have the skills, connections, and funds to do it, then Yes, Yes, Yes, Alter the Dress!  It's not a moral issue, an ethical issue, or anyone else's business for that matter.  Once you buy the dress, it's 100% yours and no one else's so you can do whatever you want.  Wear and love it!  I certainly am.