Black cowl neck dress - mini dress discontinued by Espiral - review by Eliza

Sorry, folks! I got assigned this BEAUTIFUL Black Cowl Neck Dress, and then school and life just took over. Here's the long-awaited review!

The packaging for this dress is minimal. It came in a clear plastic bag with a cardboard insert that showed the product image for the dress (same photo that's here on EF). The back of the insert had an image of the dress in pink (the other color it comes in) and also advertised a number of other Espiral dresses. The packaging also listed the material and cleaning information, which we'll get to in a minute. Finally, if you're interested, the dress is made in Colombia.

The Black Cowl Neck Dress is made of 93% polyester and 7% Elastan (spandex) material. The black part of the dress, which I will refer to as the torso, is very soft and silky feeling. If you hold it up to the light, it is slightly sheer, and becomes more sheer when stretched, but this shouldn't be a problem when you're wearing it because it falls very loosely. The silver skirt (it's attached, but easier to think of it as a skirt) and the neckline/straps are a smooth, somewhat plastic-y feeling spandex. I would place it somewhere in between the texture of workout spandex and the wet-look shiny material. Needless to say, it's very stretchy.

In looking at sizing, I got a small, which fits me just about perfectly. The size chart says bust 34", waist 25", and hips 34" for a small, so that fits my personal stats perfectly (33", 25", 34"). I wouldn't say the sizing on this dress is very strict, though. The way it's built, it has a lot of give. I would say that a small would easily fit someone with up to 36" bust and hips, and in the waist, you have nothing to worry about at all. Women who are self-conscious about dresses that are fitted around their stomachs will LOVE this style. The fitted skirt automatically gives you curves while the loose torso area will cover up any problem areas around your mid section. The loose torso is also helpful because it allows women of a wide range of heights to look fabulous in this dress. I am just about 5' (maybe 5' 1"), and I have quite a bit of extra fabric that hangs down over the fitted silver skirt part. This doesn't bother me at all, and I don't think it takes away from the dress at all either. It just means that women who are taller than me will also be able to wear a small without any problems. The skirt itself is 7", and the top of the skirt to the underarm (along a seam) is 17" when laid flat.

Since this is a dress you'll be more likely to wear out dancing than to a sit down dinner, I'm going to assume you'll sweat in it, and you'll want to know how to clean it. The packaging calls for you to wash the dress separately, drip dry, and do not bleach. The tag (on the inside of the dress near the underarm), though, says you should hand wash it. I would go with this instruction, just because I am paranoid about ruining clothes. The tag also adds that you shouldn't iron this dress or wring it dry.

I personally love how this dress looks on me. I was a little worried at first. I am pretty thin, so I tend to go for dresses that hug my body. When I got assigned this dress, I thought it might look frumpy or make me look heavy because it's so loose. I don't think this is the case at all, though. Here are some images, so you can decide on your own.

Front:


Side:


Back:


Just the skirt:


Showing the extra fabric:


I also noticed that one of the people who commented on the product page here on Eden said she wished it was a shirt. I have good news! This dress is totally convertible. I will actually probably end up wearing it as a shirt more often than a dress, just because I don't have events where I need sexy dresses too often.

Front as a shirt:


Back as a shirt:



Finally, I just want to add that I suggest wearing this with a strapless bra. I don't have any bras from Eden, but the one I have seems to be very similar to this four-way convertible bra. I suggest black or nude, since the dress is just the tiniest bit sheer in the right lighting, but that's totally up to you.

Unfortunately, I don't get quite as much wear out of this as I'd like to. I'm very glad, though, that I tried wearing it as a shirt. That's how I get the most use out of it, by far. It's great to wear out to a bar or to dinner with a pair of cute jeans.