The material is heavy and silky with a subtle floral brocade pattern in it. It has princess seams down the bodice and a sort of sweetheart neckline. The sleeves are long, slightly puffed at the shoulder and endind with a long row of covered buttons at the cuff. The skirt is full but heavy enough that it doesn't have a lot of volume, and in the rear there is a three-foot train. It is unlined and has no tag inside of it; it doesn't look handmade but I would not be surprised if someone commissioned it or at the very least had it altered by a wedding dress retailer. It even has a great old-fashioned metal-toothed side zipper. Here is a closer shot of the front:
Note the interesting waistline. Each panel of the bodice has its own separate hem shape to form a large sort of scallop. And here is a shot of the train in back:
Very simple, very elegant. I find the whole thing to be an old-fashioned beauty. The style is dated enough that I would be shocked if this dress was less than forty years old, and probably even older. It reminds me a lot of my grandmother's wedding dress, particularly the puffed shoulders and long rows of buttons, which dates back to the 1940s. It is also petite in dimensions, made for a woman maybe just a little bit bigger than me, which suggests to me that it was from an era when the average woman was on the smaller side. I couldn't even get into Grandma's dress when I tried; she was shorter and slimmer even than me. Seems a real shame that somebody would want to get rid of something that was probably a piece of their family history, especially a piece as beautiful as this. There is some very minor staining on the lap of the skirt, but it is otherwise in good condition. I really love it, and cannot wait until the right larp or stage role comes along that I can use it for something. Even more so than any pretty but impractical thrift store dress, this has even less opportunity for applicable wear. :-)
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