Image courtesy of BiuBiu
Image courtesy of BiuBiu
The Monaco dress is available in black and blue and of course I had to order them both. At the time of ordering the sizes available were limited due to lots of people purchasing. My previous BiuBiu items were 42 BB/BBB and I'd found the dresses a little roomy so I was hoping to be able to try a size down, the 40 BB/BBB, but this was sold out. Not to be defeated, I went for both colours in 42 BB/BBB and hoped the fit would still be good enough.
The Monaco dress is a fit and flare dress that is cut to allow for curves. It's available in two bustiness options: B/BB and BB/BBB. As you can probably guess, the former is for reasonable bustiness and the latter is for more extreme curves. You can read more about the BiuBiu sizing system on their website here - make sure you scroll through and read the whole page as sizing is different for non-stretchy and stretchy items.
The Monaco dress is made from 92% cotton and 8% elastane and it feels very soft to the touch. The stretchiness gives a great fit but I do find the material creases very easily and both dresses were quite creased from transit so I had to hang them up for a few days before taking photos.
The boob room on this dress is superb. For reference, I am wearing my Ewa Michalak S Szykuś bra 32KK 70KK in these photos. There is plenty of room for my 46" bust in this size dress, partly thanks to the stretchy material, but also partly due to the ingenious cut of the bust area. There are six seams running down the front that provide extra room on the bust, giving lots of room for boobs and resulting in a superior fit.
I found the back torso section of the dress less of a good fit for me in the 42 BB/BBB. The shoulder area is fine, but the upper waist area is loose and I get quite a lot of bunching of the material in this section of the dress, as you can see from my photos. It's not terrible but it is a shame. I think because of this I would have done better trying the dress in a 40 BB/BBB, had it been available at the time of my order.
I love the square neckline of the Monaco. It's different from many other dresses out there and it's great how it gives a wide set but not low cut appearance. There is no hint of cleavage with the Monaco, making it a dress that's perfect for everyday wear and especially for work.
There is a 'faux belt' effect feature on the front of the dress. I have mixed feelings about it as on me it's a little low but I do like the idea in principle. It comprises a strip of velvet ribbon with a silver square on each side of the waist. It looks very pretty but I find it rather frustrating because it means I cannot add my own belt if wished. I suppose I could cut the faux belt off but I would rather not do so for fear of damaging the dress.
The long sleeves on the Monaco are lovely and very much welcome in the cold weather! They are very fitted and are the perfect length. However, there's not much room for manoeuvre so I find that if I don't position them correctly when I'm putting the dress on they feel twisted and uncomfortable. I have found the secret is to put my arms in the sleeves first of all, make sure the seams are in the right place, and then pull the dress on over my head. I hope that helps any of you who may have found the same thing with the sleeves - or maybe it's just me!
The length of the skirt is perfect on me. I am around 5'4 tall and it easily covers my knees. The skirt flares from pleats at the waist and on me these work very well at the front as I am fairly flat there. However, from the back they are not quite so good because I have a small waist and very large bottom so the pleats don't sit as they should. I don't think it looks bad but the pleats certainly don't work on me as the designer intended.
Perhaps best of all is the fact that the Monaco dress has pockets. Why doesn't every dress have them? They are brilliant and deep enough to keep something like a phone and probably even a small purse. I'm a lip balm fiend and always have at least one in easy reach so the pockets are a godsend for me!
Currently the Monaco is only available in these two colours - blue and black. The blue is slightly lighter and less rich than the blue of my beloved Oia dress, but the cut is similar and really the main differences are the neckline shape, the sleeve length and the faux belt.
I am really impressed with the Monaco dress and highly recommend it for busty ladies. If you're thinking of ordering from BiuBiu then you might like to use the code 'Facebook' to get 5% off your purchases.
