It's taken me far too long to begin my review of this garment, and I couldn't figure out why for the longest time. I tried snapping some pictures of the belt - as sometimes taking a picture or two can motivate me to start talking about an assignment - but still felt unenthusiastic about my task. None of the pictures looked right, and I ditched them. I began to think through the extended format in my head, filling in the boxes in fragment as I went. For the pros, I easily rattled off half a dozen attributes that I liked about this piece. Staring through my mind's eye at the "cons" box, I froze up a bit. There is something here that I don't like. So, what is it?

Really, what it comes down to, is I just don't feel pretty in this. I can't really articulate why, and it makes me hesitant to say too much about my personal experience with this one.

The fact is, this is a great garter belt. At under $20, it's probably one of the most durable and affordable garter belt options on this website. It's ideal for those that want to give this style of lingerie a try, but aren't really sure where to start. It's simple, but hardly dull or monastic. There also aren't any fiddly straps or controversial bows or questionably textured materials. It's a wonderful place to start if you're just beginning to figure out what colors and styles flatter your figure, as well as what you find aesthetically appealing. Beyond that, this is a great piece for lingerie collectors that just want a sturdy but attractive garter in their wardrobe for utilitarian reasons. No, this isn't going to be the stand-out belt in your collection. However, this will hold up your stockings on an evening out, provided that you check the sizing chart before ordering.

If you think you fall into one of those categories, I do not want to deter you from ordering. Leg Avenue can be a little hit or miss with their quality, but this is piece that they can be all kinds of proud of. There was a little bit of fraying for me at the end of one seam as well as on the edges of the bow. A quick snip or two and some nail lacquer fixed it right up though, so no big deal there. Otherwise, it's impressively durable. The lace is a thick kind of a weave, so even though it's made mostly from nylon, it doesn't snag as easily as, for example, a pair of stockings. You'll still want to be careful with long nails and zippers and the like, of course. The garter clips themselves are plastic, so they are a bit more fragile than their metal counterparts. However, I actually prefer plastic clips on some of my more delicate nylons. Metal clips can occasionally leave impressions on these, and the plastic can be a little more forgiving.

Leg Avenue is pretty accurate with their sizing chart, here. I ordered mine in the SM size, and it was a great fit. My waist is about 28" and my hips around about 39" depending on the tides and whether or not Hot Pockets are on sale that given week. The SM measurements are actually 23 - 27" for the waist and 34 - 38" for the hips. However, I'm right on the upper end of that, and I decided it would be better to have a garter belt be a little snug and actually hold my stockings up, as opposed to falling down off my hips. My assessment was correct; it was definitely a little tight, but not uncomfortably so. If you're right on the upper end of the SM size I would suggest staying with the SM.

I do like that this is a rather versatile belt in terms of sizing and wear. If can sort of slide it up and down between your waist and the top of your hips until you find a placement that is comfortable. It looks a bit more vintage up around the waist (which is where I like to wear it) and works for me because it's a little tight around the hips. The only thing about wearing this around the waist is that you'll likely have to loosen the garter straps all the way, and since I'm 5'8", I still have to hike the thigh highs up quite high to connect them. At their maximum length, the straps are about half a foot long. Not too bad, but something to consider if you're a taller gal and you want to wear this higher up on your torso.

Okay, so down here in the (subjective) experience section, I will tell you why this doesn't do better than three stars for me. Typically, I rate an item based on the best objective evaluation that I can perform. If I think it will work well for a lot of other folks, is well made, etc, I might rate it higher than I would rate my personal experience. But, I just can't do that here. I honestly just really don't like this. Sure, it's well made and does it's job, but I just feel awful in it!

I think my biggest gripe is that I find this lace pattern to be absolutely hideous. I don't claim that my personal taste will be or ought to be representative of everyone's experience, but wow I did not expect to feel so strongly about this pattern. The whole "bouquet" thing is just...not working for me. The image that repeats throughout the pattern kind of reminds me of a turkey's plumage, or maybe the NBC logo. Neither or those things make me feel especially sexy. I just...it didn't do it for me. At all.

Secondly, no matter how I wear this, I feel like there's something missing. I'm a fan of minimalism as a rule, but there's something here that makes this short of fabulous. I kept thinking that maybe if the strap were thinner, or thicker, just something to make this a bit less ordinary. Some kind of flourish, some kind of point of interest. I think this is great to wear under clothes - as I said above, for a utilitarian purpose - and I'll probably keep it around for that. However, I don't think I'll be wearing this as a lingerie item in the bedroom.

So, long story short, this wasn't the right belt for me in most senses of the word. But, it is a quality piece and my experience certainly doesn't have to be yours!