The Dress

A gorgeous, timeless wedding dress for a bride wanting something elegant and unique.

The Solange gown is one from the French Collection by designer Wendy Makin. The style is a 'fusion of vintage glamour and classic styling. Utilising exquisite French laces and beautiful flowing fabrics this collection is perfect for the hip modern bride'.

I bought this gown at Jessica Bridal in Auckland and have worn it once. It has since been professionally dry cleaned to an as-new finish, no discolouration or marks visible at all. Perfectly looked after in its original bridal garment bag. In immaculate condition.

I was absolutely thrilled with this dress! It fitted beautifully and felt comfortable all day and all night. It photographed incredibly well and I received so many compliments about how beautiful it was. Truly very special to wear, vintage glamour describes it perfectly. Elegant, delicate, feminine with flare and fun. This dress has sparkle and a real 'wow' factor!

It is made from French ivory lace with gorgeous ivory pearl, sequin and glass beading. The fabric gives the dress enough weight that it falls effortlessly and holds a flattering shape without feeling heavy or restrictive at all. The beads are hand sewed so they were very secure and do not risk coming detached when bumped or pulled. The lace is fine and delicate but durable; there are no pulls or damages to the train or lace. The train effortlessly trails behind, it is not heavy or cumbersome and was easily managed. The dress has a button to allow pinning up the back for dancing if you prefer. Manoeuvrability was no issue and I never needed assistance on bathroom visits - major plus!

There is an in-built ivory silk charmeuse slip which I chose to have sewn in to the dress so that nothing could move out of place or alignment. Underneath, I wore nude/seamless Nancy Ganz shape wear and no bra. Instead I had size C 'cups' sewn in to the slip. The bra 'cups' are a standard size more to give the breasts a smooth look and a little bit of padding, rather than provide support. This meant no underwear was visible and instead the low-back feature was highlighted, which felt very sexy to wear. Of course you could choose to wear this with a low-back bra if you felt you wanted to. I preferred not to have to worry about risking visible straps or any under-layers twisting, bunching or becoming scratchy. The best thing about this dress was that it made me look and feel womanly without accentuating any lumps and bumps.

I am 172cm tall and wore 9cm heels: https://www.mipiaci.co.nz/page-high-heel-236505 and had the dress hemmed to floor length. I am a size 10 - 12 NZ.

Open to negotiation on price and happy to courier anywhere in New Zealand or worldwide at buyer's expense.

Very sad to say goodbye to this dress but I'd really love to see it celebrated in again!

Alterations

I bought the dress from Jessica Bridal in Auckland where an excellent high-quality alteration service was provided in-house.

I had minimal alterations done to perfect the length and the fit at the waist:

- Hemmed to floor length [I am 172cm tall and wore 9cm heels]

- Taken in ever so slightly at the waist, to be a bit more shapely

- The slip sewn in to the dress so that there was no risk of falling straps or dress/slip being out of alignment

- Bra cups sewn in to the slip* for ease of wearing without a bra [I am a C cup]

*Removing the bra cups is an easy and inexpensive alteration, I have been quoted approx NZD$20 for this service