I must preface my review with a little personal background and explanation that I am sure many women will understand. Although it has been a few years, and I am actually below my pre-pregnancy weight, my bra size has since extended to a 36 DD. Needless to say, this has literally blown me out of the wardrobe of babydolls and negligees that I once happily strutted around in, which was quite a distressing evening for me! Now being a tough size to find anything pretty and sexy, I was excited to find the collection of lingerie in extended sizes to choose from in the Edenfantasys collections.

The Loungerie Chemise with Side Ties from Fantasy Lingerie (although it says Especially Yours on the inner tag) seemed like a great initial choice. The sheer polyester material hangs down from a very sexy halter collar into a lettuce edged hem. The halter winds over the shoulders through a pretty silver ‘O’ ring that sits above the sternum, leaves that back open, and the halter’s straps string through little fabric loops at the waist before hanging freely over the hips. Upon wearing in the style of the mannequin that models this piece, however, it definitely illustrated a style that would flatter the more petite women. Wearing in this way, the flowing, roomy gown did not provide any waist and hip accentuation whatsoever. On me, for example, the chemise felt more like an apron or a sack, and I definitely did not feel sexy. There simply was just too much room, too much fabric. Yes, the “girls” were covered (albeit precariously since there was nothing keeping the fabric in place and was prone to slipping to the side…the model must be using double-sided tape!), and I was wearing the simple G string that was included in the ensemble, but my waist was lost, and I was frustrated. I mean, having a larger than average rack shouldn’t have to require that I look and feel frumpy in this get up!

Determined to make it work, I problem-solved the situation and eventually came up with a solution. I realized that the halter strap ties were the key, and restringing them through the loops at the waist to crisscross across the back and tied tightened up the slack in the waist and provided much needed body shape to the gown. To allow for the open-backed look that the mannequin initially advertised, the straps can be left in their original looped position and tied at the lower back instead of left hanging at the sides. It took some trial and error, as well as wrestling the long ties, but I finally looked in the mirror to see the sexy vamp look that I wanted when I first saw the chemise. By the way, worn in any way that I’ve described still allows for a quick and easy removal; no tugging over the head or unfastening, just a pull of the ties and a slip over the shoulder, and it hits the floor in a matter of seconds.

It is the hidden versatility of the Loungerie Chemise that I am the most happy with. It can be manipulated in different ways to accentuate various body types, and we women know how important that is to find. To top it off, it is machine washable and can tumble dry, you can’t ask for much more!