The Novak mini dress by Forplay is a sexy dress that could be worn to the club, but is also classy enough for some more formal events. I own the dress in classic, sexy black, but it is also available is white, red, or indigo, so there should be a colour option that looks great on every skin tone.

Design/Construction

The dress's most obvious feature is the large rhinestone details on the straps. They are gorgeous in person, and are well-made. The rhinestones are set in metal, and there are strands of tiny metal balls running between them. It is soldered together on the back to form one piece, and there are metal loops attached, which the fabric is sewn around. There really shouldn't be any issues with the rhinestones coming off with normal washing and wear.



I noticed a few loose threads on the straps, and snipped them off. Other than that, this dress is very well sewn.

The straps are wide enough to cover a bra strap, although it will show slightly through the open area in the center of the rhinestone piece. I wore my dress with a black bra, and I don't think it looked tacky at all.

The cups are lined with a triangular piece of thin foam, similar to those found in bikini tops. There is stitching on the inside of the cups to hold the foam in place, so you shouldn't have issues with it moving around or getting bunched up inside the cups. It is enough to prevent nipples from showing through if you choose to go braless, and can add some slight shaping, but isn't enough to give lift or support, so most people will still want to wear a bra with this.

The material from the cups cross-crosses, and continues to the opposite side where it's connected to the side seam, creating a twist detail between the breasts and a band below them. Combined with the v-neck and the rhinestones on the straps, this really makes the bust area the focal point of the dress.



There is ruching down the center of the front and back, and down the side seams. This can help conceal any minor imperfections, so the dress won't show off every little lump and bump. It also means that there are no visible panty lines. It still hugs the figure, so it will show off all your curves, and any larger figure flaws you may want to conceal.

Material

The dress is made from 92% polyester and 8% spandex. It's thin, soft and stretchy, and has a bit of a sheen to it. The fabric almost reminds me of bathing suit material. It's slightly transparent if you hold the dress up, but you can't see undergarments (or anything else) through it while wearing it. I usually see this material used in less expensive clubwear. It doesn't look tacky, but for the price I was expecting something that felt a little more luxurious. If I saw this at the mall, I probably wouldn't pay more than $45 for it due to the fabric.

Fit



The measurements in the size chart are accurate, but the sizes are a bit smaller than other brands, so be sure to measure yourself, and not go by your usual size.

I ordered a large. I have a 37 inch bust, and a 30 inch underbust, and I wear a 34C. My waist is 29 inches. I measure 39 inches around the largest part of my hips and butt, and 36 inches on my hip bones. I wear a size 6 or a medium in most brands.



The dress fits me well, and I think the measurements in the size chart are very accurate. The dress is stretchy, so you would be fine with an inch or two off in either direction, if your proportions are a bitt different than those on the chart. I also think it would work well for a B, C, or D cup.

If you are in between sizes, it is better to go up a size. Because of all the ruching and stretch, this dress will not look baggy unless it's much too large for you. This is the kind of dress that looks small when it's on the hanger. The waist is 13 inches unstretched, and it stretches to 19 inches. The cups are 6 inches high and 7 inches wide. The bottom of the dress is 16 unstretched, and streatches to 21 inches.

The large is 32 inches from the top of the straps to the bottom, unstretched. I'm 5'4" and it naturally rests 3 or 4 inches below my butt. It's short, but not so short that I feel uncomfortable wearing it, or that someone is going to get a peek of my underwear. I can pull it down all the way to the tops of my knees, but that starts to smooth out the ruching, and doesn't look as cute.

I'm not a big fan of the way this dress shows off the dip in my hips. I normally stick to dresses with fuller skirts that won't cling to my hips and show this off, but I liked this dress enough that I decided to get it even though it had a hip hugging design. This really isn't the dresses fault, so I didn't take any stars off for that, but it keeps me from feeling 100% confident in this dress. I'm glad that the design puts emphasis on the upper part of my body, showing off my breasts, waist, and shoulders, because I think that draws attention away from my problem area.

Care

The tag sewn into the dress says to handwash in cold water, or dry clean. I washed my dress on the delicate cycle, with cold water and a gentle detergent, then hung it to dry. This didn't cause any damage, but if you don't want to take any chances, stick to handwashing.

Packaging

The dress came on a plastic hanger, inside a clear plastic bag, like you'd get from a dry cleaner. It has the Forplay name and logo. There is a large hang tag attached to the dress, with a picture of a model wearing jeans and a top.