I figured a design like this might not work out for an ample chest...unless it's fake. I was right. The cups are so small, even on the large, that my D size chest shows areola! As is, this dress is unwearable. A strapless bra is required if I don't want a major wardrobe malfunction to occur. Even with fake breasts, you'll need tape or something so that the dress does not get weighed down. The rest of the dress can look great on the correct frame. With some tweaking, this dress isn't as bad as it seems with the first try on.

*Contents/overview: One piece

The Merkel Dress is from ForPlay. It looks like it might have more than one piece, but it doesn't. It has padding, but no underwire. No part of the dress is adjustable. It comes in purple, white, and red - available in sizes XS, S, M, L, and XL!

*Material:|



The dress is made of 95% polyester/5% spandex. The material is silky and smooth. it's sort of like bathing suit material, but thinner. It can be see through if you are wearing light colors underneath, or are stretching the material. For example, if I spread my legs, the definition of my thighs can be seen, but that's it. The material stretches but isn't cheap feeling. It's comfortable to wear and clings, so for those who are self conscious about flaws, this material won't be your friend. It's breathable and stays cool.

The purple color I got is gorgeous and looks great with a tan!

There is a metal adornment with faux rhinestones. The stones are smooth and not as cheap as I thought they would be. They feel secure and don't snag the material.



*Design/craftsmanship: Kind of strange, Poor design for many body types

The Merkle dress reminds me of a toga at first glance. The body of the dress is a above the knee length strapless dress with scalloped bust. On the left side there is a thin spaghetti strap making it a one "sleeve" dress. Usually this will be hidden.



There is a draping and rouched part which connect to the opposite side of the sleeve, drapping across the front and back of the dress. The "sleeve" has a rhinestone adornment that shows in the front. The bust has designated cups with padding but there is no underwire. There also is a seam below them. The padding isn't as large as the designed cup area, though. This is a bit disappointing and is one of the major reasons a larger chest cannot wear this dress without a strapless bra. The "low rise" of the bust is about 3". From the top of the cup to the bottom where the seam lies is about 5" tall.

If you pull away the strange draping part and lie the dress flat is has a mermaid shape to it. From arm pit to arm pit it is 15 1/2". The waist is 13", the hips 16", and the bottom is 14" across. It's designed for an hour glass. The dress itself has great dimensions. It's just the damn short chest that doesn't match as well. The back cuts straight across and has a piece of thin elastic in it.

The rest of the dress is the draping mess.

*Care and packaging:

The dress comes in a plastic bag on a plastic hanger. It has a cardboard tag attached to it. It's made in Hollywood, California - USA. The tag says to hand wash and hang dry.

*Sizing/fit: Everything but the bust is decent for a L

I decided to get L because of my experience with my other ForPlay dresses. This one looks like it doesn't have all that much wiggle room if the wrong size is ordered (no rouching to the main piece, so that's another reason I got the L. The bust is the main reason. According to their sizing chart, the L should fit a size 10-14 dress, C-D chest, 36-38" band, 28-30" waist, 38-40" hip, and 135-155 pounds.

At the time of this review I am about 145 pounds, size 8 in most jeans, 8/9 in dresses, 36 D or DD (on occasion) bra, 34.5" under bust, ~41" bust, 39" hip, and 30 1/2" waist. (Note my measurements have changed. I hadn't retaken them in about a year!)

I'd say this dress isn't grossly inaccurate based on its chart. The cup is the biggest inaccuracy and I'd say the dress range is a little high. I have plenty of stretch room in the L.

My Re-done chart/BEST fit: For large
Dress: 10-12
Cup: B-C
Bust: 35-38 (around the fullest part of your breasts)
Band: 34-38" (underneath your breasts)
Waist: 28-32"
Hips: 38-40"
Weight: 140-165 lbs

*Possible accessories:

A glitter pair of pumps in silver would be awesome. I only have them in gold.





Here is how the dress looks with the sleeve across the chest, but it doesn't stay that way for long...It slides to the side.


If you look at the back side photo you can see that compared to the other backside photo, the draped side adds to a figure. It makes the wearer look larger than they are. This can happen at certain other angles as well. From the side the dropping can also add to the middle.

*Conclusion: ★★★

The first time I tried this on, I thought I'd be rating this a 2. With a strapless bra designed to be seamless, it can't be seen under the clingy material as much as I thought. The bra can be seen if you are a few inches taller than me...down the front of the dress. However, it actually makes this outfit acceptable to me. BUT, I don't like how it can add to the stomach from the sides. Why wear a dress that can make you look larger than you are and hide an hourglass figure? No thanks! I'll probably wear this once and never again. At least it's comfortable!

And here are some pics of it on another model:

I don't think I'll even wear this out. When I did the review, I thought I would, but I've totally changed my mind. I've changed into this dress a few times with the intent of wearing it out, but it requires too much adjusting between the bust and the floating piece in the middle.