Lita Gown
5
5
6
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Perfect
This dress is amazing! I ordered it online (knowing I could return it) and could not believe how beautiful it was when it came in the mail. The best part is I didn't have to alter it at all! I was shocked that I ended up buying my dress online without even trying it on beforehand, but everything worked out perfectly. I could not have imagined getting married in any other dress. I felt so beautiful and comfortable in it all day.
The only negative aspect about the dress is that I couldn't find anyone who would bustle it... The fabric is too delicate and we were scared that it would rip. The train actually didn't get that dirty at the end of the day but I would be VERY careful with the beading and storage of the dress before your wedding.
I would not have changed anything about the dress and could not imagine wearing anything different on my wedding day.
December 4, 2012
Beautifully Unique - My Downtown Abbey Dress
While looking through bridal salon dresses, I never found something I thought wasn't just a typical, cookie cutter wedding gown. When my now husband and I decided on a 4 month engagement, I knew a salon dress was out of the question anyway because of time constraints. I visited the lovely BHLDN in Houston, and was convinced this was the dress because I ogled over it constantly on the website. We got it in the mail within 2 weeks, and it was very simple to have altered. I felt gorgeous in it all day. It flowed beautifully, and I wasn't constrained or forced to rely on the grace of Spanx to feel lovely. I paired it with the Curving Periphery Veil, which added a lovely sense of drama as it trailed behind.
Gorgeous dress. I can't imagine a better choice.
September 18, 2012
This dress is a labor of love, but well worth the madness...
I bought this dress after my first wedding dress was ruined by the talented seamstresses at David's Bridal. I saw this dress online after I bought my first dress. Needless to say, I fell in love and wanted this dress instead. A couple months later, BHLDN opened a store in Chicago. I went to the store to look for a bridal shower dress and walked into the wedding dress section. Once I saw this dress in person, I knew I had to have it. Luckily, my first wedding dress was ruined not long after. I made an appointment and bought this dress within days of my David's Bridal dress debacle.
What's nice is the speedy delivery in which I received my dress. I bought it in the store and it was shipped to my house within days. Normally, wedding dresses take months. Since my dress was ruined 3 months before my wedding, I was worried about the timing of its arrival. Thank goodness BHLDN doesn't have those silly waiting periods.
Now to the dress...I consider this dress a labor of love for numerous reasons. It is extremely delicate, the cup inserts showed through, finding the right undergarments, figuring out how to properly bustle the dress, the fabric (silk) wrinkles very easily, pinholes, and steaming the dress was very intense. If you damage the english netting...the dress is ruined. I had to be so careful while wearing it. There are cup inserts inside the dress. For whatever reason, they showed through once I put on the dress? My seamstress could've removed them but I didn't notice until the week before I got married. Thankfully, I noticed this problem more than anyone else and it didn't show in any of the pictures. As far as undergarments, I wore a strapless bra with seamless underwear both from Victoria Secrets. I didn't wear lace since the fabric is so thin and you could probably show everyone what's covering your lady parts. Bustling, my seamstress figured it out...she's amazing. All I know, it was a 10-point bustle using ribbons connected to one another. She never had to sew the ribbon through the outside of the silk since there were so many seams in the dress. Every ribbon was attached to a seam in the back. Wrinkles are common in silk. I didn't know this until I already bought the dress. I had to figure out a way to sit in the dress without wrinkling it (for picture purposes). What I did was practice at home...while in my dress I sat down. I flatted the dress where I sat and pulled the fabric up where my legs creased. It worked! Pinholes...yes...there will be holes...if you can avoid it, don't let anyone put pins in your dress. I don't care what "special" pins they have. Pinholes will show through and there's nothing you can do to get rid of them. If you can't avoid this, ask your seamstress to put as little pins as possible or hide them. As far as steaming, I had to learn how to steam silk since I had a destination wedding. I also didn't trust anyone touching my dress. Don't worry if you get water on the silk. It won't leave a watermark. Just try to avoid getting water on it. Steaming worked at getting out the wrinkles except for the ones that were pressed into the dress. I think during shipping, my dress was packaged in such a way as to where one huge wrinkle was made. Unfortunately, it was in the very front of the dress. I didn't have time to have it professionally pressed. If you can, have it professionally steamed BUT with huge caution. You never know what can happen! OH, and I did try ironing this massive wrinkle. Exercise extremely caution if you try to iron this dress. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking trying that.
See...labor of love!! For sizing, I'm 5'6, 117 lbs., and 34D. I bought a size 4 and it fit me perfectly. I didn't have to alter my dress at all besides the bustle. One other thing, the boning inside the chest and torso...my seamstress removed some of it. For whatever reason, the boning poked through the silk and was visible. She kept most of it in there, but some of it had to be removed (particularly in the front of the dress).
For accessories, I bought Something Blue shoes, earrings, and a hairpiece all from BHLDN. I bought the Something Blue shoes that are suggested alongside the picture of the dress. The ivory heel with metallic accent. The earrings were pearl. I don't know their name. I originally bought a halo for my hairpiece, but it didn't match my hairstyle so I returned it and bought a couple hairpins. I didn't wear a vail because there was just too much going on with the dress plus the beauty of the dress was lost once I tried on a vail.
Overall, if you can buy this dress and can handle the labors...buy it. Don't look back. I never felt more beautiful when I wore it. I love that it's something from a different era...Downton Abbey-esque. I wanted to wear something that I believe my grandmothers would've worn. Since we didn't have their dress, this one was the next best option. Numerous people came up to me and told me that my dress was amazing, lovely, beautiful, vintage, timeless, unique, etc. If these are the words you wish to be described as on your wedding day, this is your dress.
August 12, 2012
Stunning Dress
I recently ordered this dress for my wedding in January 2013 I had yet to try a single wedding dress on anywhere so I was taking a gamble. It paid off this dress is beautiful its timeless and elegant and worth every penny of the price. Its the sort of dress you could keep for 100 years and it would still be suitable. I followed the measuring guide exactly to obtain the size and the dress fits perfectly all over so I would say it is true to size. I live in the UK and got the dress shipped internationally it arrived within 1 week beautifully packaged and came with a dress bag. I couldn't be happier with my purchase but anyone who is shipping international please be mindful of the import taxes equating to 33% of the price of the dress. Overall a beautiful dress worth every penny and I can't wait to wear it
June 6, 2012
