Good luck charm - costume discontinued by DreamGirl - review by Shellz31

BRAND & COLOUR:

DreamGirl is the company behind this creation which is actually made in China. Perhaps they would be better off finding new sewers, as the ones putting these together leave some to be desired!

The Good Luck Charm costume is majority green with a white peasant style top and black bodice. It features two different shades of green and also comes with accessories in black, white and rainbow.


MATERIAL:

This set is created using 100% polyester in a range of textures. The white peasant top of the dress is done in a slightly coarse, while the black bodice section is made using short haired velour. Both fabrics are semi-stretchable. The two checked green and white strips that run either side of the lace up section on the bodice are non-stretch cotton. An overlay skirt is formed using large cut out green clovers in a stretchy material. It has a soft tiny ribbed texture. The under skirt is in the same fabric with a 2” deep lace around the hem.

The product page states that there's no boning – there is two in the front. But it's rather thin plastic bones that will kink to the shape of your curves and stay that way – even with only 10 minutes wear. Personally, it's far more trouble than it's worth and I'm planning to take it out of mine.

I went with the L, but should have chosen the 1X to wear it long term at my size.


DRESS:

The top of the dress features a white semi stretchy peasant style top with elastic gathering between breasts (creating cups), across the front chest section, around the arm holes and along the back at the top edge. Six round (fake) gold coins (just under 1 ¼” diameter) hang from a triangle of coarse white mesh with yellow thread between the breasts. At the top of the puff sleeves, over the shoulders, is a strip of black velour and green/white check. Two check strips (3/4”) are featured either side of the lace up panel in the front of the bodice. The lacing panel measures 2” at the widest and can be tightened to 1” wide with still having a visible lacing effect. When at its widest, there is a good 16” of ribbon on each side for tying. There is a zip in the back which runs from the top of the velour to 2” into the clover skirt. I found it rather useless not going all the way to the top of the dress. On top of the plain green skirt, with a 2” lace hem, is six cut out green clovers which actually hides any lower stomach issues, if you have them. The clovers are approximately 16” by 10”, but aren't really noticeable unless you spread them with your hands, as the fabric is so soft they close and hang to look just like clumps of material. The skirt underneath has elastic sewn in the hem so it hugs your thighs.

Measured across a flat garment.

Chest:
Unstretched: 16 ½”
Stretched: 25”


Waist Band:
Unstretched: 16”
Stretched: 23”


Hips:
Unstretched: 21”
Stretched: 25”

Just note: if you're short waisted, the seam that joins the green skirt and the black bodice will only stretch up to 20 ½”, so you'll want to make sure your hips aren't any larger than 41” to make it comfortable – depending how far down it will sit on your figure. From the top of the shoulders to this join is 20 ¾”.


Thighs:
Unstretched: 15 ½”
Stretched: 34”


Total Length: 34”


HEADBAND:
Unstretched: 9” x 1 ½”
Stretched: 13”


The headband features a rainbow of colours; purple, mid blue, light blue, green, yellow, orange and red in a striped format. Joining the two ends of the stripy fabric is a short piece of elastic.


NECKBAND: 16 ½” x 1”

Strip of black velvet with velcro closure in the back. The front has a piece of pale green ribbon in the shape of the Breast Cancer ribbons and one gold coin.


GARTER:
Unstretched: 8” x 1 ¾”
Stretched: 13 ½”

Velour that is lined with white lace. On the front is a large green felt clover with the words “Kiss me” on it.


BROOCH: 3 ½” x 4 ½”

Features “Kiss me” on the front and a brooch pin on the back.

CLEANING ~ PACKAGING:

As I did, the tag says to hand wash in cold water and to line dry. I'd be very careful washing this one in the machine, even in a lingerie bag, as the thread holding the coins in place isn't real sturdy. The small piece of mesh may have a tendency to tear or the thin coins to bend.

The Good Luck Charm costume comes sealed in a large clear plastic bag with a small coat hanger across the top. It features a cardboard slip in the front with a model wearing all the pieces in the set. The dress is accessed by a small plastic clip at the top of the package. The costume is fold up with a cardboard insert to keep it in place in the bag. Inside is also a small clear plastic bag that houses all the accessories. It is sturdy enough to be used to store your set.


EXPERIENCE:

I wish I had of bought this one in the 1X, as my hips always fail me and I'm short waisted, so the waist of most dresses continues onto my hip area. But I plan to keep this one more for when I'm slimmer, even though I am able to squeeze into the L now. The arm elastic is very tight and leaves red rings on my skin.

I'd prefer that the straight lacy skirt be a little longer. It only JUST covers my butt; although, I have a more than ample booty going on. If you have a long torso, chances are it's not going to cover unless you have a small ass.

I couldn't wait to get this out of the packaging to check it out as soon as I opened my Eden box. Didn't take long for my excitement to turn to bitter disappointment. I'm rather disgusted in DreamGirl for the lack of pride they take in their pieces. Mid way down the lace up bodice was a piece of frayed lace sticking out the side. First thought was, it had unthreaded from the loops and the company just didn't use Stop Fray on the ends. But no. Part way through threading the ribbon in the lacing loops, they discovered the ribbon wasn't long enough. So they grabbed some double sided fabric tape and stuck two ends together. One piece of ribbon didn't stick fully and the other side of tape, naturally being sticky, has all sorts of lint stuck to it. Cheap skates! Ribbon is cheap enough to just started again with a piece that was long enough; which is what I now have to do. There's no way you can pull on it even slightly to tie the ribbon at the bottom of the lacing.

I'm not impressed at all with the shoddy tape holding the ribbon together. This could have been an awesome piece, but short cuts earn it 3 stars!