The Dress

The 4-ply silk crepe really makes the dress - the weight and luxurious texture of the skirt is extremely flattering. It took me ages to find a real silk dress when I was looking to buy my gown. I ultimately found this dress from Amy Kuschel from a bridal atelier in New Jersey that had one remaining - the designer no longer produces these handmade-in-the-USA dresses. The lace is not at all scratchy like some and the lining in the dress (pictured in the video) is satin smooth. This dress is beautiful and it is comfortable, too! Just enough train to create a beautiful silhouette without tripping you up. Comfortable to sit in as well as for standing, walking, and dancing.

The designer's page on this dress: https://bride.amykuschel.com/gowns/calistoga
(You'll see it was made in silk and polyester versions; this is the silk version!)

I marked the dress as having "minor flaws" because of a few very small discolored spots around the hem. They are clearly pictured in the video I have included in this listing. This dress is currently the original length (I'm 5' 8.5" and wore two inch heels), so if you are shorter than that, this bottom portion will be removed when you have the dress hemmed.

Alterations

The dress retains its full original length; it was not hemmed. I had an American style bustle put in, which worked wonderfully and is featured in one of the photos on this listing. I had the bodice taken in because it was originally cut for someone much larger than my 36C measurements. The sides of the dress at the hips were taken in as well, by perhaps an inch to get it to fit just so. This could be done again if your hip measurements are smaller than 40 inches. All alterations were done by a very reputable bridal alterations studio in my local area.