The Dress

70s famous italian atelier called Marisa Beccali, located in Corso Venezia in Milan. Dress created on original Valentino paper pattern tissue.

Every dress has its own story. Or as a well-known designer would say, "Behind every dress is an incredible story." But every wedding dress probably has a story that cannot be forgotten. Mine begins with a young Apulian woman from a good family who left the countryside of Foggia for love and moved to the industrial metropolis, Milan. It was the 1940s and that young woman was my grandmother. The city's charm was irresistible to her, and helped by fate (with my grandfather she made her fortune in the boom of the 1960s), she experienced the glitz and lights of the social life of the time. When to be admired on via Montenapoleone you had to have a bit of the glamour of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. And my grandmother was endowed with a fundamental gift: an intuition for fashion and unique outfits. With her trusted seamstress she would create and recreate, add sashes and pins, alter shapes and lengths. Each outfit lived and revived anticipating fashions and styles. Of course, the appointment she could not miss was with the selection of the veils (paper pattern tissue) of Milanese and Parisian haute couture. Thus, in fact, my wedding dress was born: chosen by my grandmother in the 1970s on a veil by a great and timeless Italian designer. Chosen for my mother, for a Milanese ceremony in the chapel of Sant'Ambrogio. And then it came to me, who got married 38 years later, in the same church. And in the same dress. Designed 40 years ago, it could not have better interpreted the magic of a modern bride. Because classics always make people dream.

For whom this dress is:
For those who want a timeless dress, tailored with the finest fabrics and finishes.
For those looking for a unique model (you won't find it in stores anymore) designed by a great designer.
For those who like to flaunt the magic of vintage but still look more current.
For those who believe that elegance is in the quality of fabrics and the magic of a story.
For those who want all this but do not have the budget of thousands that would be needed today.
For those who with the same amount of money will not find the same fabrics that were produced in the Italian tailoring tradition 40 years ago.

Why I sell it:
Because times have changed: I married 12 years later than my mother and it is not certain that I will be able to bequeath it to a daughter as well.
Because I think my grandmother would be happy to know it has been turned into a piece of a new life, a piece of the economic puzzle to set up a home and create a family.
Request: 4,950 euros
Possibility of matching shoes: classic bridal model by Garlando number 39 (request 150 euros)

Condition: very good

Notes: the dress lends itself to different fits due to the particularity of the model composed of two layers. My mom is 1.65 with a lot of breasts and wore it with a 10 cm heel. I am 1.75 with a second bra and wore it with a 2-inch heel (but I could have also dared more). I did not have to make any alterations.

it is possible to view and try on the dress by appointment (in Milan).