I really wanted to love this dress, it looks amazing on the model and lots of people posted pictures looking beautiful in it, but the fit ended up being unflattering for me. I'm an athletic build with a long torso. 5'9" and 165 lbs. I ordered the 12, and I probably should have gone with the 14 because the zipper was tight at my ribcage. The unflattering part for me was that the waistband of the dress sat right below my girls - so it had more of a baby doll dress look than it does on the model. Not a great look for me because it added bulk in all the wrong places. The neckline also sat higher on me than it does on the model, so my girls looked lower than they are (I mean, help me out a little bit here). It is a well made (and heavy) dress. If you're going to be outside in the heat, the skirt will make you sweat because it's not breathable and it is layered. At 5'9 I could have worn it comfortably with heels, the length was great. It looks exactly as it does in the pictures, it just didn't fit me the way it does in the pictures.