I tend to use my birthday as an excuse to get dressed up a bit more over the top than usual so when February rolled around, it was time to try out the Tender Floral Midi dress from Milla. This year my birthday was a little different; I’m currently living alone so I didn’t have anyone near me on the actual day and just opted for a small lunch with the inlaws. I did see a good friend who is almost a birthday twin but for the actual day itself, I wanted to wear my new dress from Milla. The Milla brand has been seen all over social media and is in the same ballpark as Teuta Matoshi and Selkie in their soft feminine style and their romanticism of fashion. Milla dresses give off a unique femininity that can be added to any wardrobe or personal style. I am very excited to be reviewing them for you today.

The Tender Floral Midi dress is an absolutely stunning a-line princess dress which features a cupped bustier bodice with boning for extra structure and a lace up corset style back. The bodice has tie up straps and a hidden inner modesty panel for those that want to cover up a little more. The skirt of the dress is made up of multiple layers of polyester fabric but unfortunately no pockets. The skirt has a slight gather along the bodice line and has a small invisible zipper at the back to help you put it on and take it off. The dress is constructed in a stunning soft pink rose floral fabric pattern and many layers of tulle for extra volume in the skirt.

First up, this dress is stunning and I will wear it any chance I get. Living alone, I did find that I was able to lace myself up into the corset with help of the skirts invisible back zipper. I first unzipped the skirt and then removed the corset cording all te way up to the top except the first row. Taking my time, I used my fingers to help feel for the grommets and I slowly laced the dress up. I found that the dress was able to be laced quite tight. I chose the size Medium as I have a 28 inch waist and it was a perfect fit. In saying that, I had been quite sick at the time of taking these photos so I was a little underweight compared to my usual.

As the cups of the bodice were attached and sewn in, plus the general sweetheart neckline, this was a very flattering dress to wear after losing so much weight as I didn’t feel like I couldn’t fill out the top. I did find whilst wearing this dress that the straps would often slide down and they hung around my arms instead of my shoulders most of the day. I think this is partially because I found them difficult to tie neatly whilst wearing the dress so ask someone to help you if you can.

Although this is an unfair observation, the dress can get a little warm whilst worn. It was quite warm the weekend of my birthday with temperatures around 38 and 39 degrees. This meant that wearing tulle and polyester was not the greatest for keeping cool and at times I did feel a little uncomfortable. With the heat and the tightly laced up back corset, by the time I finished with my birthday lunch and drove home, I was ready to start undoing the bodice at the traffic lights on the way home. I was just starting to get frustrated, felt like I couldn’t breathe and the boning was starting to push into my body. Had the day been cooler, I think I would have felt differently but I wanted to mention this incase you were planning to wear it on a warm day/night out.

This dress retails for $410 USD which can be quite out of reach for some individuals. I purchased this dress with a discount code and during a sale so I got it for less than half price but this is also not something I purchase a lot of. Last year, I put myself on a dress buying ban and this was one dress I broke than ban for. The dress buying ban made me really see just how much I wanted a dress and some dresses, like this one, just kept calling out to me. I was also drawn to this brand because everything is made in the Ukraine so I think it’s a small business I want to support. I have purchased from Milla before but this is the first review I’ve done for them. I am tempted to review another dress of theirs so please let me know if you’d like to see this, maybe I can photograph it better.

Regardless, this dress was a dream to wear and I wish I could have found a flower field somewhere to take photos but it’s just not the season for that. A special note about my birthday outfit is my gorgeous flower crown which was delivered from Lime Flowers as a gift from the hubby. The colours matched the dress perfectly and I also received a small potted flower display which I loved and photographed altogether. To compliment my dress, I finished off my outfit with some small floral earrings I purchased in Europe many years ago and I have since forgotten the store’s name.

I’m not a huge celebration of birthdays and this year being so lonesome and quiet was kind of perfect in that way. I saw my inlaws and a good friend which was all I needed to fill my heart cup. Getting a chance to dress up a little fancy and swan around the house and the in-laws house was still fun. This dress made me feel very special and I’m so glad I was able to review it for you.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.