I rented this dress for a bohemian, rustic feeling outdoor wedding on a lake in Vermont, on a day that turned out to be 97 degrees in the shade...and I felt cool, elegant and ethereal throughout the entire day! Some things that should be noted: #1 This dress runs small. I am 5'10", 140 lbs, 34D/C bust and I have a small rib cage for my height. I normally wear a 6 or sometimes a 4, so I was fairly sure the 1L (small-long) would fit- wrong! I got lucky because the 2L (medium-king) fit absolutely perfectly. The 1L (small-long) felt like it was suffocating me around my rib cage and the fabric was tight across the bustline. The band below the bust hits directly at the rib cage (it's almost an empire waist) so knowing how this area fits is important #2 The long is REALLY long (which I loved but maybe some people won't). I'm 5'10" and with 3.5" heels that puts me over 6'1" and the hem still lightly touched the ground. #3 If you rent this dress make sure you have a steamer. Both sizes arrived extremely wrinkled and crinkled. The wrinkles steamed out easily, but had I not had a steamer the dress would not have had the gorgeous floaty effect that it did and would have looked much less expensive. An iron won't cut it with this fabric. #4 The attached slip-liner is a bright blue color and it kept peeking out from the front slit. I found it mildly annoying but if I rent it again I'll use double-sided tape to keep it in place. #5 The fabric is almost completely sheer, hence the need for the attached blue slip. I mention the sheerness because you'll need to wear a bra that is as close to your skin color as possible if you don't want it to be seen. The attached blue slip straps are very skinny and they won't cover the width of a bra strap. #6 if you look at the second photo you'll see that the metallic embroidered diamond shapes are both silver and gold which allow for some nice jewelry options. Overall, It was an absolute pleasure to wear this dress. I felt serene and soft and feminine for the whole hot day and I look forward to renting it again!

Blue Mela Maxi

ba&sh

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Size Worn: 2L

Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 10"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 34D

First time rental and unbelievably happy with the results! I don't want to boast, but the reality is that this dress made me look better than almost everyone else at the wedding, besides the bride herself! I'm 5'10" and I usually wear a size 6 or an 8. I'm very fit, and fairly muscular and I wear a size C cup. The 6 and the 8 both fit me, the 6 felt a little more secure around the top (I hate to keep tugging up the top of a strapless dress), but I jumped up and down and the 8 stayed up perfectly well too. And the 8 was a full inch longer than the 6, so I felt it more appropriate for the occasion. The 8 ended up hitting at about 2 inches above the knee, and the heels I wore were about 3.5 inches so that was fine. Don't be shocked and dismayed when you pull this out of the package because it looks like it would fit a midget. The stretch fabric is PERFECT once you actually put it on, and the big bonus is that you can literally ball it up and put it in a suitcase and NOTHING will happen to it. The fabric seems virtually indestructable! It's a very beautiful color of navy blue, a slightly richer blue than you see in the photo because of the texture of the fabric. It's very classic, very elegant, very sexy, very flattering. I wore it with a muted, burnished gold strappy sandal and I loved the way the shoe disappeared on my leg, leaving the dress to be the focus. Because of the allover ruching and slight sheen of the fabric, I felt like everything else needed to be toned down and understated - streamlined muted gold sandal, sleek, low ponytail, yellow topaz briolette - diamond - gold short dangle earrings. My husband's (and several other husbands) jaw dropped when he saw me. Thank you RTR!! I may never buy another dress again!