The dress arrived in a clear, see through bag and was on the luxurious and pretty padded satin hanger. The first thing I noticed was the deep, but true purple color overlaid by black fishnet material. This is a sexy and very complimentary pairing of the two materials.

The material is 80% Nylon and 20% Spandex. There is a decent amount of stretch, but the stretch also will distort the lines of the dress. The purple, shiny material is soft against your skin and the fishnet overlay is not touching any part of your skin. There was no itching or irritation while I was wearing the dress. I was worried about snags, though.

The studded trim on the band of the empire waisted dress is made up of pyramid shaped plastic beads. I am not sure how they are attached. I have washed the dress a couple times and they are still firmly attached. These look great in the photo but are a bit of a lower quality trim compared to the rest of the dress.

There were numerous loose threads, but no open seams. There are removable shoulder straps, which I ended up having to wear with the dress for bust support. There is no under wire, but the cups are lightly padded and this does add a bit to the support. This dress comfortably fit my 43D bust size--but I would not go over that measurement.

The length makes the dress a good match for wearing with leggings, but even for me, it was a bit short. I would notice it climbing up after walking around for a few minutes. Taller people will definitely have some issues with the short length. I had a problem with the lack of shaping in the waist area. I know empire waists are more of an 'A' shaped dress than a curved one, but this dress seemed to bulge out instead of flowing with my body. If I would not have known better--I would have thought this was a light maternity or post baby outfit.

After loving the corset, I fully expected to really enjoy this dress. I did not like the fit, short length or lack of flow with your body under the waist.

The dress needs to be hand washed in mild detergent and hung to air dry. Heat from a dryer will melt the material. You can and should use the padded hanger for storing the dress when not wearing it, but it can be folded for traveling.

My Measurements 43D Breast - 30" Waist - 42" Hips - 28" Inseam - 22" Thighs - 5"2" Tall & 150 Lbs.

Size: L

Coquette (Copied from Sizing Chart.)
Cup Bust (in) Waist (in) Hip (in)
Small 4 - 6 B 34 - 36 26 - 28 36 - 38
Sm/Med 6 - 10 B 34 - 38 26 - 30 36 - 40
Medium 8 - 10 B 36 - 38 26 - 30 38 - 40
Med/Lg 10 - 12 C 36 - 40 28 - 32 38 - 42
Large 14 - 12 C 38 - 40 30 - 32 40 - 42
X Large 14 - 16 D 42 - 44 34 - 36 44 - 46
One Size4 - 14 B 34 - 40 26 - 32 36 - 42
1X/2X 18 - 22 D 46 - 50 38 - 42 46 - 52
3X/4X 24 - 28 D 52 - 56 44 - 48 54 - 58
Oueen/
One Size18 - 26 D 46 - 54 38 - 46 48 - 56

The quality, material and the dress is lovely. It just does not fit my body type. So...the Empire has a new home!! It fits my friend like a dream and now I definitely see the flattering styling on a body type made for the dress. And I am jealous--but will deal with that later.

Great dress for the right body type!!