Lipstick Boutique Curvy: Georgia Floral Dress

Last month I spoke about the welcome expansion of plus-size ranges at House of Fraser and today I'm featuring another one of those brands, Lipstick Boutique. LB's main range comes in sizes 8-16 and features celebrity collaborations with the likes of Amy Childs, Binky and Jessica Wright. The 'curvy' range comes in sizes 18-24 and very much adopts the same ethos as the main range, with bodycon silhouettes, lots of floral and lace and that same party-girl feel. That's not to say there's nothing suitable for daywear, I find the range easy to wear and it can definitely be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion.

I was sent the 'Georgia' floral print dress* £65 to try. It's got a lovely bright, multi-coloured floral print on a black background, featuring an assortment of flowers. Around the waist (on the front of the dress only) is a wide black band of lace. The dress itself is 'scuba' fabric, so obviously stretchy, but fear not, the lace section does have a fair bit of stretch too. There's a low cut v-neckline, centre back zip and puffed, cap sleeves.
I was sent an 18 and while it fitted without too much stretching, I would've been more comfortable in a larger size. There was no VBO (visible belly outline) until I sat down and it didn't 'cling' but I would've liked a little more room in the tummy area. I favour being able to breathe over feeling 'glam' these days!  It fits true to size though, so I would just opt for your usual size.  If you're between like I am, then it's down to preference of liking being 'sucked in' or opting for something a little comfier and less revealing.  I've not had much experience with clothing made from 'scuba' fabric, but I know you can find it on just about anything right now. I can see why it's so popular, because it feels nice and smooth and thick, so doesn't cling yet fits to the body. It has stretch, but the print doesn't become distorted or faded when pulled. I actually managed to get this on and off no problem, without even realising the zip was there!  Plus it doesn't crease...always in favour of dresses that don't need ironed!   
The bust area is usually where I find dresses too small, but this one felt alright.  The bodice of the dress is lined, but the skirt section isn't.  I'm not sure if the lace is supposed to sit solely on the waist but you can see it just beginning to creep up onto my chest.  The neckline is reasonably low cut and you can see flashes of my bra in some of the photos, so if I'd jiggled about in the boob area to try and 'fix' the lace issue, a lot more of my bra would be showing.  You could simply fix this by wearing a camisole/vest underneath and I think I'd be more comfortable with that for future wear.  The length of the dress felt exactly right for me, hitting just below my knee and no more.  I wasn't afraid of it riding up at the back, but it doesn't go into that midi-length territory (for reference I'm 5ft 5").  The slightly more 'demure' hem length felt right with an exposed neckline like this.     
I like the little puffed, cap sleeves and the armholes themselves didn't gape on me.  They were just ever so slightly more cut-away than I'd have liked, though it has to be noted, no bra showed.  The good part being, my arms were able to move freely, without being hindered or restricted by the sleeves.  Overall I think it's a cute wee dress.  I love the print and the colours in it.  I like that the range echos the main collection, because quite frankly there's no size limit on wanting to feel bold and glamorous.  I think for a long time the plus-size world was lacking variety and choice of styles and even just a few years ago, a 'floral bodycon dress' would be unheard of in anything over a 14, so that's always good to see.  What do you think?

P.S. I felt like I wanted to wave to you all in these images because it's so long since I've posted regular outfit shots or 'shown' myself.  Headless waving might have been a bit strange though.

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