The Dress

From Lis Simon: “Satin-Organza ruched sweetheart neckline with a band, scooped back and off-the-shoulder straps. Full A-line skirt with sweep train and decorative buttons down invisible zipper.”

This is a wonderful dress for fuller busted ladies like me (36DD). It has a very structured bodice and a nice thick elastic strap that is done up first underneath the bodice in back, which holds it on perfectly, basically a built-in bra. Then there is just one hook and eye and an easy zipper.

It also has pockets!! They disappear perfectly into the folds of the fabric and can be used to hold tissue, lipgloss, probably even an iPhone (though I didn’t try that!)

I had this dressed hemmed for me at 5’7 plus 2.5 inch heels, so that it sits perfectly at floor level. It has a lovely sweep train that was left as long as possible during hemming.

We also added a very subtle French bustle, which is relatively easy to do up (three bustle points on the under skirt and three on the organza overlay). You cannot see the buttons or bustle loops at all when it is unbustled.

Beyond the hem and bustle, this has not been altered at all from its original size. I fit the size 12 perfectly, so the only thing we needed to change was the length. This will be perfect for anyone who has my approximate measurements (or slightly smaller… I definitely could not have sized down) or who is smaller and would like to have a dress custom tailored.

The dress has been meticulously hand cleaned by Prestige Cleaners on Madison Avenue in New York City. I wore it only my wedding day, and we did NOT go traipsing through the fields or similar. It has been very well cared for.

The veil is not for sale, but this dress would go beautifully with any simple veil of short or even cathedral length. It has beautiful button details on the back and a gorgeous shape in back that are shown off well without a veil or with a simple and translucent one.