The Dress

This dress is easy and classic. It was super comfortable and can be dressed up or down depending on what you do with the waist. The first picture with the ornate belt is what I intended to wear. I have the belt (unworn, brand new, a J-Picone #225 Bolton Sash) and am willing to sell it too. However, I decided for my beach wedding to go less fancy and you can see that I added a bit of navy thin blue velvet ribbon instead. I loved how comfortable this dress was. The fit isn't super tight or revealing at the waist. This dress would be perfect for a size 4 or 6 with minimal alterations. It could also be altered to size down to a 2 or 0. I didn't wear a bra as there are sewn-in cups. I ultimately did choose to wear spanx shorts that came to just above my knee for some tummy support. There is some mild brown staining at the bottom of the dress despite being cleaned twice. However, it is along the sides and not the front or back. It could be easily trimmed (which would work great if you are a couple inches shorter than me , at 5'6) or even ignored. I have extra fabric from alterations (see notes).

Alterations

See the first picture (with belt) to the second picture (with navy ribbon) for comparison. We brought the dress in but I didn't want it tight. The fit ended up being perfect to allow movement without me being self-conscious at ALL! We lessened the plunge-line in the front (which could be opened back up), and took out a fair amount of train as I was getting married at the beach and wanted less drag and fabric.