I was super excited when this lingerie by DreamGirl appeared on EdenFantasys, because it appeared to be the exact shape of my favorite style of shirt to wear: fitted below the bust to accentuate the most narrow part of my torso, a little more flowy across the stomach and a nice deep v-neck to show off cleavage. I ordered it immediately in hopes that I could use it both as lingerie and as an actual shirt, if I wear something else underneath it.

This top is available on EF in sizes small-XL. I ordered the XL, which the size chart on this site oddly kinda skips over, but according to the chart on DreamGirl's site should fit sizes 14-16, D-E cup, 31-33" waist, 40-42" hip, 160-180 lbs. I alternate between L and XL in DreamGirl products, each one seems to fit a bit differently. For comparison, I'm 5'11", size 10/12, 33" waist, 39" hip, 155lbs. I went with the XL since I'd rather have this be a little loose than totally skin tight.

The top (It doesn't seem like a chemise to me, even though it's called that in the name) arrived in a plastic bag (like what sometimes comes on clothes picked up from a cleaner) with the matching thong sharing its plastic DreamGirl hanger. It's made from stretchy black floral pattern lace, 100% Nylon. The lace is sort of middle grade, neither really scratchy nor super soft. I really wish DreamGirl would have sprung for a more luxurious fabric, but c'est la vie, I guess. The tag suggests hand washing in cold water and hanging to dry, which is probably the best advice, but I may eventually get lazy enough to try tossing this in the delicate wash cycle. (I'll do a follow-up if I do!) The tag is white, and easily seen through the black lace, so you may want to consider removing it.


Lace close-up

There were a few things I noticed right away when trying this on that seemed quite different than what I expected from the photos. First, the back is ruched. There's a strip of elastic that runs straight up the center of the back, causing "decorative" bunching. I kinda hate it. Who wants a lumpy back? A nice smooth lace back would be so much more flattering.



Second, this is actually LONGER on me than it appears on the model. This NEVER happens to me, since I'm just an inch shy of 6 feet, and most of the models seem to be around 5'5" or less. This is actually almost the same length on me as the Ruby Sequin Dress. It comes down far enough to more than cover my butt in the back- if it wasn't see-through, I could wear it as a dress in public. I guess that might be in part because of it being an XL? But still, very odd when I was expecting a shirt length! The plus side of the extra-long length is that it makes this great to wear over another dress. Have a sort of skimpy dress that you have been wanting to wear, but aren't quite comfortable with wearing it in public? You could toss this on over it for a little extra coverage.

I'm really thankful I ordered up in size, because this is skin tight through my torso. It's a little big in the shoulders and arms (I'm going to have to alter the sleeves, they drive me nuts), but everything below the bust clings right to my body. There is a sort of unusual tie at the back of the neck that will let you adjust how wide/narrow this is through the shoulders, so I plan to experiment with how tight I tie it in order to find a happy medium.

I'm kind of on the fence about this one, which makes this a hard review to write- it's so much easier to review something you love or hate. This chemise/top would probably be best on someone tall, unless you don't mind it coming down to your knees. The proportions make it best suited to someone larger on top than on bottom; this is one where ladies with a large cup size will actually be ok. For everything below the bust, keep in mind that if you're any larger than about a 10, the torso will be quite clingy.

The XL measures 31" from the top of the shoulder down to the hem when all bunched up from ruching, but stretches to about 40" long easily. The bottom hem is 18" across unstretched, and will stretch to about 21", while the seam below the bust measures 14.5" when laid flat and stretches to about 17".

I tried this a few different ways for photos:


As-is, with just a bra underneath. Pardon the off-center photo, I really need an assistant!


Over a cami. I can see wearing it out of the house like this if I make it a bit shorter.


Just for fun, I tried it with a corset. The sleeves are a major fail here, but it's kind of workable if you want some extra coverage with your corset!

I'm giving this a solid 3 stars. It's good, not great. I may try to tailor it to be a bit shorter, but I haven't sewn stretchy lace before, so I'm a little nervous to tackle it. On the plus side, if this piece does work for your body type, you get something that is both relatively comfortable to wear in the bedroom and something that can be worn out of the house when paired with other clothes.