If I had waited one more day before ordering Espiral's Red Elegant Dress, I probably would never have gotten this. You see, the very next day, Eden started stocking the Black Elegant Dress. Had I waited, I would have ordered it instead, keeping with my theme of little black dress reviews. However, I did not wait that extra day, so this is the dress I have to review. I do not regret it (much) as red is one of my favorite colors to wear (along with black).

The Basics

The Red Elegant Dress is a faux wrap dress - the bottom layer of the skirt is attached rather than separate. It features an empire waist. What that means in this case is that the fabric is gathered underneath the bust, allowing the material to hang loosely from that point. This is meant to elongate the body (great for us short gals), and hide a heavy waist or bottom (also good things). The dress ties underneath the bust with a long "ribbon bow" - which is essentially just long stretches of the same fabric as the dress. The dress has a V neckline that will expose various amounts of bosom depending upon your personal endowment. The back drops into a V as well.

As mentioned above, this dress is available from Eden in both red and black. The material make-up is 94% Rayon and 6% Elastic. This gives the dress a good bit of stretch and a high level of comfort. Think of your most comfortable, stretchy t-shirt. This dress will exceed that t-shirt for its comfort level. It is just that cozy. Unfortunately, it is also curve-hugging, and while the wrap skirt will hide some figure flaws, it does not hide everything. In fact, the wider you are across the hips, the less the top layer of the skirt will hide. The way it is attached, it will not stretch along with the rest of the dress.

Sizing and Measurements

Eden offers this dress in sizes small, medium, large, and XL. The Espiral size chart lists each size as follows:

Small
Bust (in) - 34
Waist (in) - 25
Hip (in) - 34

Medium
Bust (in) - 36
Waist (in) - 27
Hip (in) - 36

Large
Bust (in) - 38
Waist (in) - 29
Hip (in) - 38

XL
Bust (in) - 40
Waist (in) - 31
Hip (in) - 40

Personally, my measurements are 42-34-40, so of course, I had to go with the XL, even though I am two to three inches outside of the recommended range for bust and waist. I'm a rebel like that. No, seriously, I figured that the material's stretch would be able to accommodate my slightly larger proportions. It does, though not quite as well as I would like.

As for measurements of the dress, I do have a few to share. The dress is 35" long from the top of the shoulder to the bottom of the skirt. This makes it long enough for someone of my (short) stature - it stops right above my knees. If, however, you have a longer torso, you may find the length of this piece to be lacking. As the top has a wrap style, it is difficult to have an exact measure across the bust, but my best guess on this is 18" across the front. The V neckline drops about 10" in both front and back, though that will depend on how the dress is tied. The shoulder straps are 2" wide at their thinnest. The "belt" below the bust is 1 1/2" wide, and is only on the front of the dress. The ribbons that close the dress, giving it the wrap style, are 20" and 25" (longer on the left side where they tie together). The lower skirt is 25" long across the bottom, while the upper skirt is only 17" across. This 8" difference is what may cause difficulties if you are much outside of the recommended size range. The only thing that makes the top layer of the skirt stretch at all is the ribbon tie across the empire waistline. The closer you get to the bottom of the skirt, the less the top layer will have stretched, meaning the upper skirt will hang at an angle, rather than straight down.

Packaging, Care Instructions, and Storage

The Red Elegant Dress arrived in a plastic pouch. An Espiral tag featuring front and back views of the black version of this dress was attached. The tag indicated that the dress was made in America...well...South America...Colombia, to be exact. At least, it was made in the Western Hemisphere.

Packaging, Care Instructions, and Storage continued...

The care tag, which is conveniently visible through the thin fabric of the dress, says that you should hand wash, steer clear of chlorine bleach, and avoid ironing or twisting this piece. I have not washed this yet, but I can see that there might be some risk of the dress shrinking in the washer/dryer. I don't understand the instructions not to iron this dress, as it does wrinkle quite fabulously. I would say that if you do iron it, make sure to do so inside out and on a low setting. I did find that tossing the dress into the dryer (totally dry) for a few minutes did manage to take out most of the wrinkles.



Storage is not a problem with this piece. Just put it on a hanger with notched spaces for the shoulder straps, and place the dress in your closet along with your other dresses.

Experience

At first, I tried this dress on without any undergarments. It is, as I said, extremely comfortable, but it is also extremely sheer. To be totally blunt...you could see my areolae through the fabric...size, shading, everything. That is to say, the dress is not exactly discreet. I then tried it on with a bra. The problem with this is keeping the straps from sliding out from under the straps of the dress. There is also the issue of the thinness of the dress fabric - if your bra has a pattern, it will show through. The same goes for panties - you will have VPL in this dress.

Another issue is that if you are, shall we say, buxom, the wrap top will not wrap on you quite as well as it does on ladies who are less well endowed. If you are uncomfortable with the amount of cleavage that shows, you may have to do the old, safety pin trick to keep the top closed. Also, as I alluded to above, the skirt is not at all forgiving of tummy bulges. For these reasons, I will probably reserve this dress for days I want to lounge around my house. It is comfortable enough to spend the whole day in, but I would be uncomfortable wearing it out.



For me, personally, the dress would get three stars, but since I am a little outside of the recommended size range, I will add one back, giving the Red Elegant Dress an official rating of four stars.

I still like this dress, but I am not any more comfortable with wearing it outside of the home. It is great for lounging around the house though. It isn't as good for sleeping in...the faux-wrap layer gets in the way. It can wind up underneath you, making for a lumpy sleeping surface.