Weddingbee boards

I'm a fiend for vintage clothes—my closet is overflowing with cocktail dresses from the '50s and '60s. Naturally, the very first thing I did after my sweetheart proposed was hit eBay. Inside of 24 hours, I had purchased my dress. It's from Cahill Beverly Hills, and is probably from the mid-'50s.

The wonderful thing about buying vintage clothes on eBay is that the clothes are described with precise measurements instead of arbitrary sizes. The dress fits me nearly perfectly (I'm going to take it in slightly at the waist and at the arms), far more closely than a dress from a bridal shop would have.

It's in stunning condition. I'm not even sure it was worn for a wedding, it gives every appearance of never having been used, and it must have been stored well. The tulle had discolored naturally over time, but I soaked the dress in my bathtub with Biz for 36 hours, and it brightened right up with no damage. 

The bust has this lovely crossed tulle detail, wrapped with just enough lace to be interesting.

Best part: I love it completely, it's much more my style than any modern dresses I would have been able to find. Second best part: only $170, including shipping!

Curious -- the pictures aren't appearing. Sorry, still getting used to the site, let me try again:

Thanks, stlginkgo, that was exactly the problem. Fixed!

Wow! It's divine! I love it -- congrats on finding such a beauty! Please post pics...

What a great find at a great price.  Beautiful dress!

Thanks so much for all the sweet words! I will definitely come back with pictures of me in the dress down the road.

@ beagle, the only alterations will be a minor nip in at the back of the waist, and possibly replacing some of the under-layers of tulle with something softer. The current under-layers are a different, crunchy, sort of tulle, and it makes the dress noisy when it drags across the acetate lining. Not making any changes that will impact the look of the dress.

@ mouse, Biz is a powdered soap product, kinda like OxyClean, but a little gentler. I found it at Target in the laundry detergent section. I ran very hot water in the bathtub, dissolved a couple cups of the stuff in it, then filled the tub up to about 8" deep with lukewarm water. Then I gently laid the dress in and soaked it for about 36 hours. I drained the water once in the middle, removed the dress, refilled with fresh Biz, and put the dress back in. To rinse, I twice drained the tub, and refilled it with about 8" of lukewarm fresh water. You just have to be careful to not yank the dress around, as the fabric is fragile when it's wet. No wringing! No squeezing! Just let the soaking do its job. When I removed the dress from the water, I held it up by the waist to remove the pressure from the seams of the dress (it's very heavy when the tulle is soaked with water). I let it drain in my hands for a couple minutes, and then I put it on my dress form in the garage with a towel underneath to dry the rest of the way, with the bust stuffed to make sure it dried in a nice, busty shape.