Blue and black dress - mini dress discontinued by Espiral - review by Femme Mystique

I really wanted to love this dress. It looked so lovely in the product photos, and the size chart was so close to my measurements that it seemed like the fit would be great for my body proportions. Well, the blue satin is every bit as beautiful in person as it is in the photo. Similarly, the fit of the ruched skirt is flattering, highlighting my butt and minimizing my stomach. There is a woven black belt in the center of the dress, connecting the skirt and the top, and it fits tightly and makes my waist look small and cute.

My biggest problem with this dress is the top. The top is designed as a deep cowl neck and is constructed from blue polyester satin. The material is shiny on the outside and slick against the skin. Because it is polyester, it doesn't breathe particularly well, but the dress is very open, so it shouldn't be too hot. The side against the body is matte and isn't particularly soft, but it's comfortable.

The fit of the top is very strange, however. While the skirt and belt hug the curves of my body perfectly, the top looks as though someone has stuffed an oversized bag into a skirt. The top is weirdly triangular, with the widest part of the triangle sticking out from the waistband. There is so much extra fabric in the top above the belt that it's frustrating to try keep the top from shifting every which way. The back also sags under the weight of too much material.

The cowl itself is equally baffling. As with many cowl necks, the top edge is not sewn down. However, because this is satin we are taking about, the top edge keeps flipping up and shows the raw edge of the fabric, which has been sloppily serged. It is possible that you could press the top flat so that it stays in place better, but I was really surprised that this wasn't taken into consideration in the first place.

With the skirt and belt, the fit was great, though I was disappointed in the quality. The belt is a large piece of elastic with a woven checkerboard pattern, and it looks kind of cheap, though the belt is not very noticeable. The skirt is nice looking from a distance, and the ruching has been done well on the side hems of the skirt, but the material feels very inexpensive. It is a stretch polyester, and it feels like a thinner version of some gym shorts I had in middle school. It's also surprisingly sheer. When standing normally, I could see the floor through the fabric if I looked down. Overall, the skirt is well-constructed, but I think a higher quality material, such as black satin or jersey, would have made this dress look a lot nicer.

This dress is made of 93% polyester and 7% elastan and should be hand washed.

Espiral's size chart says that the medium, which is the size I chose, is designed for someone with a 36 inch bust, a 27 inch waist, and a 36 inch hip. My proportions are pretty similar, as I have a 35 inch bust (I'm a 32 DD or a 34 D), a 26 inch waist, and a 35 inch hip. So, I have the same hourglass shape as the size chart measurements, I'm just an inch smaller in each area. The hip and waist fit me very well, but the top definitely somewhat off. This top really minimized my bust, but it may be suitable for someone with bigger breasts that.

I've since decided to get rid of this dress. It's unflattering and poorly made. I really had high hopes for this one, and I should have known that it takes quite a bit of finesse to make a satin cowl look good. That aside, I still believe that the fabric choice for the bottom was a serious error in judgment that makes the dress look really cheap, even more so than the other problems.