Belle De Jour bustier - bustier and panty set discontinued by DreamGirl - review by buzzvibe

The Belle De Jour Bustier is actually a 3 piece set that includes the bustier, a matching g-string, and stockings. Everything is hand wash only and air dry.

Made from soft and stretchy microfiber with lace and mesh panels, the bustier features hook-and-eye closures, removable garter straps, full-coverage underwire bra cups, very flexible boning down the front and back, and adjustable shoulder straps.

The transparent mesh front panel is a very flattering V-shape, with lace on either side and down along the bottom. The mesh has a polka dot pattern, and the lace has more of a floral design to it. The front boning is located where the lace meets the stretchy black material, and the back boning is on either side of the hook-and-eye closures, about 3 inches away. There is a double-row of hooks, allowing 5/8 of an inch in adjustability all the way down the back. The ability to fasten these things unassisted will depend on the wearer's flexibility and dexterity. I couldn't do it, but I was able to step into the bustier and pull it up while all the hooks were still fastened. The 4 adjustable garter straps attached to the bottom of the bustier are easily removed, and the shoulder straps are adjustable and stretchy enough to fit just about anyone.

Most importantly, though: This bustier is so awesomely comfortable to wear. I don't think it's trying to be a bustier in the true sense of constricting the waist and pushing up the boobs. While it certainly offers adequate support for everyday wear, it's not dramatically restrictive. It's really too soft and stretchy to be anything other than very comfortable.

The panties are made from the same mesh lace and have (what I believe to be) a microfiber gusset and thin elastic hip straps. The stockings appear to be of adequate quality. They are very stretchy and seem easy to snag. I say this because when I first tried them on I saw a couple of little dots of pre-snag just from straightening them out.

I was instantly attracted to this bustier the first time I saw its picture online. I'm not one for lacy frills when it comes to undergarments. Leave the tutus for the ballerinas, please. No, when it comes to lingerie, I want sexy, and that's really more about how I feel in a particular piece and not necessarily anything to do with the design. The Belle De Jour reminds me of a tuxedo, with its little bow tie between the bra cups, transparent mesh panel, and the way the lace angles down the front. Yet it's distinctively feminine and very flattering. Oh, and have I mentioned how unbelievably comfortable it is? I LOVE it.

As far as my personal experience fit-wise goes, the stockings are way too long. This wasn't a huge shock to me as I'm 5'4" and have short legs, so I buy "petite" sizes whenever possible. My inseam is only 28" and these stockings came all the way up to my hips. Trying to only wear them on my thighs to use the bustier garter straps didn't really work because the stocking just sagged. The matching g-string is also too big. The elastic isn't tight enough and the crotch is too long for me. But, in looking at the DreamGirl size chart, I see that I'm either at or below the minimum range for hip, rise, and inseam measurements.

Luckily, the bustier itself fits me very well. It's a tad big in the bust, so for me it doesn't offer much in the way of support, but it's otherwise a great piece for me. Even with the thin, flexible boning, it's comfortable enough for me to wear all day as an undergarment or at bedtime. The only thing that keeps it from being as comfy as a soft cotton camisole is the bra underwires. They come up a little too far into my armpits, and while they don't dig into me, I can still feel them there.

So far I've only washed the bustier once (I'm lazy and hate laundry), and it still looks brand new apart from a loose thread that popped up, which I just cut off. I will note in my follow-up review how the material holds up over time, because I anticipate wearing this one quite often.

Oh, yeah!

I am still totally in love with my Belle De Jour Bustier. It's the most comfortable sexy piece of lingerie I own, and it's holding up nicely. There are a few stray threads that have popped up along two of the inside seams, and the boning or whatever might be getting a little stretched out because the past few times I've worn it I thought it felt looser (and I certainly have NOT lost any weight), but other than that it's as good as new.

I will say that having to hand wash it is a pain because I'm exceedingly lazy when it comes to housework of any kind, especially laundry, but I like it too much to risk even attempting to wash it on the "hand wash" cycle in my machine.

I always wear it without the garters, sans stockings, and I have no clue what I did with the ill-fitting g-string as I can't find it anywhere, but I never wore it either. So I guess I'm really only still totally in love with the bustier itself, as I have no use for the other pieces that came in this set.