Dress: Dorothy Tulle Winter Floral Swing Dress by Collectif Clothing

Shoes: Target

Accessories: Angus & Coote

This week I finally got to wear this beautiful dress by Collectif. I've been sitting on this dress (not literally) for almost a year, as I bought it to wear to my partner's graduation but it didn't arrive in time. Luckily for me one of my best friends had a lovely garden wedding this past weekend and it was the perfect opportunity to break out this number! Congratulations to the happy couple! Oh, and congratulations to my friend and her husband too!

We'll get back to the wedding in a second but first let's talk pretty dresses.

I had been eyeing off Dorothy since she first hit the site as part of their 2014 Spring/Summer collection. She looked a little different then:

Alas, me being me, I ummed and ahhed for too long and missed out on that run of the Dorothy (although I think it's been and gone again since? Don't quote me on that. It's still live on their website [here] so I believe it may be a regular item now). Luckily for me she would return in a dark and mysterious mauve for their winter collection and that's where our story begins.

Simply put, this dress is 50 shades of stunning. The crossover bust is very classic and very flattering, particularly on smaller chested ladies (like yours truly) who don't really have a bust of their own to showcase. It's tasteful and modest, and I think that even though it's marketed as a winter dress that the floral translates to all seasons.

The skirt is incredibly full and, like an onion, it has so many layers. 5 of them to be exact. It has an inbuilt petticoat (or two!) and is fully lined. It would be so close to being a 10 out of 10 dress for me if it weren't for a couple of little nuisances.

It. Is. Heavy. It is the heaviest dress I own (and if you've read my last post you know that I own some heavy dresses). This is fine when you're wearing it as the weight is distributed across your body, but I think it may be one of the main causes behind the one real problem I had with this dress. Dorothy fastens at the lefthand side with an invisible zipper. Now, in my opinion, invisible zippers are beautiful but I am yet to find one that is practical. Those tiny little teeth and pull just cannot hold the weight of those five layers of fabric. It took four people, fifteen minutes and some WD-40 to pull the zipper tab up over the waist seam (which doesn't feel or look bulky but evidently is a problem). I'm still laughing over the fact that we had to use industrial lube to zip my dress up. Unfortunately I don't think petrol is an in fragrance this summer. If someone wants to contact Mythbusters though you can let them know that I've tested what can adequately cover the smell of petrol and have concluded that dousing yourself in Chanel No. 5 will do the trick.

I still love the dress and think the struggle is worth it. I received so many compliments on my outfit! Also, who knows, maybe I got one with a dodgy zipper? If you invest in a Dorothy maybe just have a test run getting in and out beforehand, or make sure you've got some muscle on hand in case you get stuck!

The winter style is no longer on their site but they still have listings for the original (pictured above) and the Spring/Summer 2015 design (which is pictured below and you can find [here]) online so hopefully those will be back online soon.
The wedding itself was beautiful. Never ones to do things as expected, the couple had a lovely garden ceremony followed by a reception in an old church! A little in reverse but very them.

It was a lovely weekend for love.