Overall, this dress was a 'meh' for me, though I went ahead and wore it. Sizing was an issue: I typically order a 2 and a 4 from RTR (and wind up wearing the 2); the 4 wasn't available for my dates, so I ordered a 0 and 2. Mistake! I fit into the 2, but jussssssst barely -- I was pretty uncomfortable all night (the fabric has no give in the waist/bodice). Even a 4 might not have been comfortable; with hindsight and if and availability wasn't an issue, I would have ordered a 4 and 6 and could very well have wound up in the 6. The dress also didn't "feel fun." The fabric is satin-y, and overall I felt a little dowdy/matronly. It also doesn't breath, which made for a sweaty southern summer wedding.

Kiss From A Rose Dress

Milly

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Size Worn: 2

Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

I'd chosen a different dress to wear for my wedding, but it became unavailable a few days before, and this was a last-minute substitution. But I was very happy with it! Fit well & very easy to wear (especially for a pretty formal gown), and it photographed well both in sunlight and after dark. I'm pretty pale and worried this would blend into my skin too much, but overall I think it was okay. In person, the color palette feels very pink+gold (as opposed to nude+gold, which is how it looks in some website photos). Sizing felt true or a little large; I usually get both a 2 and 4 from RTR and can often wear either; here, I wore a 2. At 5'4, I needed 3-inch heels with the standard length.

Gilded Blush Gown

Marchesa Notte

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Size Worn: 2R

Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

Easy to wear and in a great color; sleeves and overall feel make this dress work for cool-weather occasions, which is nice. I have athletic shoulders & upper arms and worried the sleeves would be constraining, but the dress had enough give to make it work.

Lace Ella Dress

ML Monique Lhuillier

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Size Worn: 2

Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

I wore this dress to a friend's wedding and loved it -- I'd happily wear this again. There's enough give in the fabric that it was super-comfortable, but it's still interesting enough to draw compliments. The dress is more bright blue in person (it looks darker on the website). Re. bra: for me, a strapless bra was the answer; sticky bra or bra-free could work depending on your level of comfort and overall shape. Sizing-wise, I found that this ran mostly as expected, perhaps a little on the large end. I typically order a 2 and 4 from RTR and usually find I could happily wear either; in this, the 4 was laughably large but the 2 was just right. One last note: this dress has been out and about quite a bit, I think. The dress I wore had a couple of small pulls in the netting on top. Not enough for me to worry about (or for anyone else to notice), but it might bug you if you want something that feels new.

Blue Jordan Dress

Slate & Willow

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Size Worn: 2

Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

Wore this to a summer wedding on the 4th of July -- perfect for the occasion. This dress is relatively demure, while still being fun and pretty. I generally wear a size 2 or 4 in well-made, RTR-quality dresses -- in this dress, I wore the 2. It was a little snug in the bust (my measurements are roughly 34-27-24... waist and hips weren't tight, but the bust was comparatively smaller), but workable. The 4 was loose throughout the body of the dress and, as a shift dress, wasn't terribly flattering in the larger size (overall, quite a different fit than the 2). There's no give in the dress, and the hidden zipper needs a buddy to get it all the way up! If you're larger-busted, I would size up; otherwise, veer to the smaller end of your standard size range (without undercutting). Another potential fit worry: I'm a little bulky in the shoulders/upper arms and am often worried about sleeves (even short ones) with no stretch, but this dress provided plenty of room there. Length-wise, I'm a relatively short-legged 5'4", and this hit me just above the knee. Works great with normal undergarments -- I didn't need anything special (though shapewear might be helpful in the midsection if that's your jam).

Pepin Sheath

Yoana Baraschi

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Size Worn: 2

Usual Size: 4

Height: 5' 4"

Bust: 32C

Loved this -- great color, great weight, great everything.

Green Stone Bib Necklace

Kendra Scott

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Usual Size: 4

Height: 5' 4"

Bust: 34A

Wore this to a wedding rehearsal dinner at Disney World (I know, right?). I wish I could have kept this dress -- I got compliments all night, and it fit like a glove. I was worried the fabric would be too sweaty at an outdoor event in Florida in July, but it was totally fine -- the fabric is reasonably thick and the bodice is fully lined, but it was comfortable in the heat. I rented the necklace shown with the dress and was glad I did -- loved having the pop of color around my face (as I don't generally like crew necks near my round face). Because this event involved a lot of walking, I wore this with flat gold sandals and it worked fine. My one complaint is that I wish the pink waistband was a bit lower -- visually, it was a little too high on me (but I'm a skosh long-waisted). Overall, sizing runs large -- similar to sizing you'd find at Banana Republic or JCrew. Most fitted part of the dress on me was the shoulders. Also, for those who are trying to color-match: other reviewers are totally right that this dress is GREEN in person, not yellow... but it photographs yellow. Make of that what you will.

Balinese Dance Dress

Nanette Lepore

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Size Worn: 2

Usual Size: 4

Height: 5' 4"

Bust: 34A

These are things I probably would have known if I'd read things carefully, but here we go: (1) these are HUGE and pretty heavy; and (2) they are clip-ons. So.... they looked great and I got compliments all night. But they also were painful after a few hours, and I had to take them off to dance because adding centrifugal force to the earlobe situation was a bit too much.

Deco Web Dangle Earring

Alexis Bittar

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Usual Size: 4

Height: 5' 4"

Bust: 34A

These worked well with the dress I rented -- and they gave a bit of a more modern flair to a more buttoned-down dress. Nice and light -- comfy to wear (had them on for about 10 hours and was never bothered). Cons: a little noisy -- the earrings are divided into front and back sections, which clang a little. Also a little lighter/brighter gold than they appear, and susceptible to fingerprints. Polish them up before putting them on, then don't touch them!

Gold Tetra Chain Earring

AV Max

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Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

Lovely dress -- wore this to an early-spring baby shower. That said, the fit wasn't quite right on me in this dress. (Made it work, but not a dress I would have purchased.) I started with the size 4; fit great in the bust and shoulder area, but was unspeakably huge in the waist and hips. Additionally, the 4 seemed to have been worn quite a bit -- seemed a bit stretched out overall, and the fabric showed some wear. Nothing major, but definitely didn't feel like a new dress. I wound up wearing the 2, which fit well in the waist and hips, but had two fit problems on me: (1) too short in the waist (like, oddly short in the waist... though I tend toward the long-torsoed), and (2) too tight in the shoulders (though I tend toward the heavy-armed). That said, the dress made it through the event and I got tons of compliments. Just wouldn't rent again on my body type -- this is best for shorter-waisted ladies who don't carry weight in the upper half (arms or chest).

Diamond Cut Dress

Nanette Lepore

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Size Worn: 2

Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

These came to me as a surprise stylist add-on, and they worked with my dress well. I love that they're classy -- they're reasonably big and bold, but not obnoxiously so. And not too heavy! These would work well with tons of outfits and are easy to wear.

Southern Plantation Earrings

Nicole Miller Accessories

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Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

Polar vortex in Chicago, folks! Needed a long-sleeved, stupid-cold-winter-friendly dress for a nice date (boyfriend's 30th birthday -- he requested a steak dinner, tickets the symphony, and fancy clothes). This dress is GORGEOUS and incredibly easy to wear. I expected wear the size S based on measurements, but wound up in the XS. Both fit, but the drape was a little overwhelming in the larger size. The open back makes the sizing pretty flexible, but it's important for the arms to fit snugly to keep it from slipping off your shoulders. In short, consider sizing down. It's stretchy! I wore this with a Nubra and it worked well. I was comfortable all night and felt classy... and the open back is pretty sexy (withing being too much, because the front and arms are so covered). Wore with big earrings, black tights, and black pumps. Easy.

Sapphire Star Dress

Mark & James by Badgley Mischka

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Size Worn: XS

Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

I wore this dress for a concert (I am a classical singer), and it was very much just the thing. Comfortable, classy, and very forgiving (what with all the ruching and the helpful sleevelets). I took off a star because I think that at least some of the individual dresses are getting worn: the size 4 I received had been re-built on the inside of the bodice and seemed very stretched out along the seams and in the sleeves and bust. It lacked structure and oopmh. The 6 I ordered as a back-up actually fit more snugly and was what I wound up wearing. The "regular" length was fine for me... my shoes showed (3" heels), but that was fine by me. One additional fit note: I'm not a particularly busty gal (34-B), and I needed two bras to fill out the top half of this gown and keep it from being gappy. All in all, a positive first experience with RTR!

Belle of the Ball Gown

Badgley Mischka

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Usual Size: 6

Height: 5' 4"

Weight: 140lbs

Bust: 32C

I wore this dress to a wedding, with basic satisfaction but not stellar success. Likes: The stretchy fabric was pretty forgiving of fit problems (making it a good rental choice), and the dress was very comfortable. The color is gorgeous, and I got compliments all night. Dislikes: I marked that this "runs small," but I think my view of this has more to do with body proportions than anything else. Proportionally speaking, I'm smaller on the top and larger in the hips. Generally, I wear dresses in size 4 or 6, but pants or fitted skirts need to be a 6 or 8. I rented a 4 and 6 of this dress and wore the 6, which was a bit roomy in the shoulders but quite tight across the lower belly and hips. It worked, but I probably could have done with the 8. I think the lesson here is that I should have sized this one based on my lower half, because it's so fitted around the hips (I should have thought about myself in a pencil skirt, not myself in a dress with a free-flowing skirt). I also fell into the group of renters who disliked the exposed zipper... dancing at a wedding = lots of photos with my arms up, and there is a series of photos where the camera flash hitting that zipper is the most prominent part of the photo. And one last dislike... I had trouble getting the ruching to lay right and stay put across the bust. It kept wanting to gather either above or below my chest, meaning that there's a funny effect in some photographs where there's enough gathered fabric to create an extra boob above or below. It looks like I was wearing the world's most ill-fitting bra. There you have it -- thoroughly assessed!