As soon as I seen the mini dress with open back shrug, I knew I had to have it. I’m a size XL right now, and the only sizes available are Small/Medium and Medium/Large. I obviously picked the M/L option. I have a few pieces from Leg Avenue, so I know that they can run a bit small. The material is stretchy though, so I had my partner purchase it for me anyway.

I plan on getting back to a size M/L, so eventually it will fit me better… but for now, I’ll review the product as a size XL since that is what I am.

So the dress comes in a plastic sealed bag. The item is folded neatly inside and has the tag showing through the clear plastic. The tag has the stock photo on it, care instructions, material, etc.

The materials of the dress are as follows:

55% polyester
35% nylon
10% spandex

If you are a size XL like me, you will be able to fit into the dress, but it will grab every area of your body that you’d prefer it didn’t. The material is extremely stretchy, so if you are comfortable in the bedroom with your body, then it’ll be fine. As for wearing this dress out in public, I personally would not because of the extreme tightness grabbing all of my jiggly areas. Even if you are a size large, you should note that the Leg Avenue products do run a bit smaller, so the M/L size option leans more towards the M then the L.

There is no support for your chest in this dress. You are also able to see the outline of your nipples or piercings through the material, so keep this in mind if you plan on going braless/wearing in public.

The shrug and dress are one piece, and it is not difficult to get into. The arms are lace, and they are not as stretchy as the dress material, so if you are larger than an XL, you may not be able to wear the piece comfortably because of this.

I stand at 5’6, and the dress length is an inch or two longer than it is on the model in the stock photo. I don’t have a measuring tape handy so I’ll try to explain the best I can with my height being 5’6 and weight 160lbs.

The string that makes up the corset-style look on the front of the dress is extremely long. Standing at 5’6, the string almost reaches the ground (approx. 2-3 inches from hitting the floor). This is good, and bad at the same time. It’s good because you can adjust it to make it the way you like it, but it’s not so good when it comes to figuring out what to do with the left over string that just dangles. In the stock photo, I am not sure where they put the rest of the string. I tried tying it in a bow, and it looks silly. I supposed you could cut it, but that is completely up to you.

The neckpiece buckle fits my neck, and is most comfortable on the first hole (tightest option). When placing it on the second or third hole, the buckle is a bit loose. I’m quite surprised that it fits best on me when it’s buckled into the tightest option. If you have a thin neck, it may be loose on you, even on the tightest hole. ALSO, there is no piece for the extra belt on the buckle to slide into, so if you wear it on the first hole, you will have a bit of the belt hanging from the buckle. It looks a bit sloppy on the first hole, but you can remedy this by safety pinning it, etc.

The entire dress is extremely gorgeous and feminine, but with a sort of “bad-girl” edge. The first photo below is the front of the dress, and the second is the back.






As for the care instructions, the tag states the following:

-Hand wash cold
-Only non-chlorine bleach when needed
-Drip dry, do not iron

Like I mentioned earlier, I have a few other Leg Avenue pieces that have the same care-instructions as this dress. I have put the other pieces in the washing machine and dryer with no problems. I am not suggesting you do this because it is always better to follow the instructions, but if you are rebellious like me, you should not have a problem putting the dress in the washer. Use a lingerie bag or a similar product that you can place the dress into if you do use the washing machine.

I would have given this dress a 5 out of 5 because I love it so much, but the fact that it does run a bit small, and there are no larger sizes available made it lose one star.