Weddingbee Blog

Note to Mr. Fondue: Dress pictures ahead! Stay away!

After purchasing my dress, I began thinking of what to wear underneath it. I loved the fullness of Mrs. Shortcake’s gown. I already owned a hoop skirt, but I also purchased a petticoat so I could experiment.

Happily, my dress came in last week. I went and picked it up like a giddy little girl, but didn’t bother to try it on at the store, since I wanted pictures and they don’t allow them. At home, I tried getting into the dress by myself and got stuck. I nearly had to ask for Mr. Fondue’s help to remove it from me. Luckily, I freed myself in time, so I was able to keep the dress a secret. After that fiasco, I hightailed it to my parents’ house to enlist Mama Fondue’s assistance.

I tried the dress three different ways: without anything underneath, with just the petticoat, and with both the hoop and the petticoat. This gave me three different fullness levels that I could present to you, so you all could help me decide what looks best! Mama Fondue was very thorough and took both full-length and close-up shots, so there are a lot of photos to assist you. So, without further ado… (Ignore my lack of make-up and makeshift hairstyle.)

Option #1: Nothing Underneath
The dress has some built-in netting of its own. I tried it on in the store and fell in love with it without having anything underneath, so I wanted to show it to you all without any slips.

Here it is from the front:

And from the back:

Option #2: Petticoat Alone
This gives a little extra fullness, but boy do my legs feel kind of tangled up in everything when I walk. It will probably be better after the dress is hemmed.

Here it is from the front:

And from the back:

Option #3: Hoop and Petticoat
This gives the most fullness, with the added bonus of keeping my legs cool and tangle free. The hoop could theoretically be adjusted smaller (I’ve done this before, and it’s kind of a pain, but it IS possible), so I could get it down to the size of option #2, if you guys like that fullness better.

Here it is from the front:

And from the back:

So, what do you guys think? How full should I go?