The dress was not altered at all. If you go to the store (Anthropologie is where I tried it) and try it on you can get an exact idea of how it will fit you. I'm taller and don't like wearing super high heels so I was worried about stepping on the dress with it's longer length and tearing it's mesh eyelit detail but I wore it on the dance floor and it came out completely fine! No tears, rips or anything. The only visable issue, even though it was drycleaned, is that the edge of the hem got a tad bit dingy. I thought about hemming it off but I think that if you are a bit shorter than me, you will want to do so anyways and can do it to your liking. It's really not noticable but if you are concerned then that should solve the issue! The rest of the dress is in perfect condition. And I absolutely loved wearing it. It was so flattering and comfortable. I'm thin but I'm not a flat tummied girl, and because of my hips and waist I'm usually a size 6 or 8 but the cut of this dress kept any curves below the chest hidden while accentuating the top and therefore I fit perfectly in a size 4. As for comfort, I was worried I wouldn't be able to lift my arms and dance with the sleeves attached and considered detaching them, but we left everything intact and I had no problem at all.